berlin blockade:
we were afraid that soviets would use nuclear weapons
germany was set up into 4 zones
during the blockade soviet union blocked the railroads going into berlin to block supply lines
created berlin airlift
our planes dropped tons of supplies
soviets did it so they could have the entire city to themselves
allied forces wanted to repair germany and the soviets wanted to destroy it
stalin and the red army set up in east germany and us in west
blockade lasted 11 months
berlin airlift- we dropped supplies down to the people of berlin
dropped around 13 tons of supplies everyday
they ended the blockade because it was useless if we were dropping down supplies
during the winter, ppl mostly lived on potatoes and bread and they had little to no electricity
the soviets offered to drop supplies but the ppl in berlin rejected their offer
US put b-29 bombers in great britain
the nuclear arms race:
ww2 we developed nuclear weapons
we kept them a secret
first nuclear bombs were dropped on japan
US had a monopoly over nuclear weapon production during the years following ww2
soviets were secretly developing their own nuclear weapons secretly
august 29, 1949 soviets had their first nuclear weapon
after both nations possessed nuclear weapons they began to race to get better, more efficient high quality bombs
ballistic missiles or ICBMs were created. they could deliver missiles to any part of the world
soviets launched sputnik 1957 feared that they might launch a nuclear missile that would reach any part of the world
major cause of the space race
defense: satellites were designed to detect a nuclear strike before it happend
large bunkers were made to save leaders and citizens built fallout shelters
ppl were taught how to react to a nuclear strike in an act of civil defense
mutual assured destruction (MAD) US and USSR mutual understanding taht a nuclear strike from either sid would cause massive damage to both parties
came to play in 1950s when either side had enough power
if one side launched first the other ide would have means of sending a counter attack
second strike
lead to realization that an attack from either side would end both sides
United Kingdom, People's republic of china, and france all developed nuclear weapons
strategic arms limitations talks took place while richard nixon was president. 2 SALTS
arranged to limit the size of each power's nuclear arsenal
bans placed on nuclear testing
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