Cold+War

Overview
In this activity, you will explore the Cold War, the creation of NATO and the trials and tribulations of the Canadian-made Avro Arrow.

The Origins of the Cold War
At the conclusion of World War II, another type of war broke out - a war of cold stares and harsh words known as the Cold War. As studied earlier in this unit, Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union (also known as Russia). He was a dictator and a communist. As dictator, Stalin was a one-person ruler. As a communist, he believed in government control of society and the economy. On the other hand, the US was prepared to use force to put forward it's views that every society should be capitalist. Both countries were guilty of invasion of other countries and using violence and spying to further their aims.

The Cold War
In 1945, Stalin’s troops occupied the countries of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany and some others. Although Stalin had promised the United States and England that he would allow free elections in these countries, he did not deliver on this promise. By 1948, Stalin had forced communist governments on these countries. Stalin’s actions infuriated the United States and its allies. The world was rid of one powerful dictator (Hitler), but now he had been replaced by another (Stalin). After the six years of terrible fighting during World War II, neither side wanted more casualties, therefore they resorted to the Cold War. The Cold War was deadly serious, especially after the Soviet Union gained possession of the atomic bomb in 1949.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
To protect the democratic governments of the West against Soviet expansion, Canada and the United States joined with 10 European countries to form the military alliance known as NATO in 1949. The member countries pledged to protect each other from enemy attack. The Soviets had a similar alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. Both sides were guilty of aggressiveness towards each other and both sides used propaganda, just as in the previous 2 world wars.

The End of the Cold War
By the 1980's the Communist countries were beginning to struggle. Their economies were weak and their people were having a difficult time trying to earn a living. In 1989, the famous Berlin Wall fell (we'll explore what that means in class). The Eastern Bloc countries suffered a number of economic and political catastrophes in the following few years and by 1991 there were only a few major communist countries left in the world. 45 years of history began to be wiped away in just a few nights in East Berlin. It's people, who had so few freedoms for so long, finally had the same amount of freedom that we enjoy. media type="youtube" key="wnYXbJ_bcLc" height="315" width="420" Berlin Wall Video

Avro Arrow
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The CF-105, or Avro Arrow, was a supersonic jet developed by a Canadian company. Faster than any other aircraft, the Arrow was designed to carry nuclear-tipped missiles to destroy Soviet bomb attacks over the Canadian North. Despite being an incredible aircraft in many ways, the program was scrapped. Many feel that it was pressure from the US that caused this, as the US wanted no competitors in selling its military aircraft. Others feel that this airplane was not all that it was cracked up to be. There is no question however, that the US benefitted from having less competition in selling its aircraft. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">media type="youtube" key="RlrfGx4ncgI" height="315" width="420" <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Avro Arrow Video

<span style="background-color: #d7b7b7; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Nuclear Threat
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">During the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war was always very real. Growing up in this period meant that the possibility that the world could end the next day was a concern that everyone felt in some way. Both the US and the Soviet Union stockpiled nuclear weapons capable of destroying the world many times over. As the cold war ended this fear has decreased, but these weapons are still with us.

<span style="background-color: #d7b7b7; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The Red Scare
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">It wasn't just the threat of nuclear war that kept everyone afraid. In the US and Canada there was something called "The Red Scare". This was a fear of communists taking over the country. This was an irrational fear as there was never any real threat, but both the US and Canadian governments used spies and police to track and sometimes harass people that they felt might have communist sympathies. One such individual was Tommy Douglas, a person who was voted "The Greatest Canadian" a few years ago on the CBC. The RCMP tracked Douglas for decades, all because his politics were different than the governments and police forces of the time. Many Hollywood actors lost jobs and could no longer work in the US because of their political views. Land of the free? Maybe not so much!

<span style="background-color: #c9e4e4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Task
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1. Let's compare and contrast this Cold War with the traditional idea of war that we've come to know through our studies of WW1 and WW2.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2. Research information on the following terms and show how each of the terms has some connection to the Cold War. Some of you will be doing this in a group with a teacher, others will be working together. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">a) capitalism <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> b) communism <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> c) North American Air Defence (NORAD) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> d) Sputnik (1957) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> e) Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">f) Avro Arrow