End of the Cold War

The End of the Cold War

The Cold War was a prolonged idealology arms race between two spacious nations. This drawn out conflict had been 40 years of waiting for the enemy to start a nuclear war. Spies, back door deals and political scandals were the reoccurring themes of the cold war. Soviet Union and the US were using nuclear warheads to gain power and control. Suspicion and hostility dominated most minds as they were to always been on the look out for spies. The growing sense of distress and anxiety was being fed by the abundance of propaganda being spread from both sides. Once the Soviet Union broke up, it marked the end of the Cold War.

Assassination of President Kennedy, 1963

A year after the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy was cheerfully addressing a crowd of Americans along a street of Dallas, Texas. A thunderous bang flooded the air and a silence drowned out the cheers. A bullet had gone straight into the President’s head, and he lay motionless in a pool of blood in the back seat. This was the hot topic of the globe for weeks. Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed by a nightclub owner two days after this incident when he was found guilty of the assassination. Following the murder of JFK, many other public figures were assassinated. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed the same year. Robert Kennedy (John’s younger brother) was also killed by a bullet in a Los Angeles hotel five years later.

The Vietnam War, 1954-1975

At the conclusion of the Indochina War in 1954, Vietnam was separated into two independently run sectors. The communists help power in the North, – under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh- and the anti-communists (partial democrats) governed in the South. Support from the United States (along with multiple other anti-communist countries) flooded to the South. Similarly, communist countries gave their support to the North. These relationships differed, however, in that the United States provided thousands of troops to help fight in this war, whereas the Soviets and the Chinese simply provided supplies. The American military support for South Vietnam was termed a Client War. This precluded direct militaristic engagement between the two disputing sides. Once Americans were exposed to the brutality of the war through the media, views of their involvement drastically changed. Casualties skyrocketed and progress was nearly non-existent. Multiple anti-war protests emerged across the United States. Some young men (called draft dodgers) even moved to Canada to evade military draft. The concluding four years brought a revolution to fighting tactics in Vietnam. Combat troops on the ground were reduced in exchange for the introduction of an air-war. Thousands of bombs were dropped in an attempt to achieve Vietnam’s surrender. In 1973, a cease-fire was agreed upon and the USA evacuated Vietnam while the Viet Cong seized Saigon. Soon after, the North dominated power and the country fell to communism. Anti-communists even fled to Canada to avoid this government.

Canadian Role in Cold Wars

Canada’s Role

1945, The Gouzenko affair was the official mark of the beginning of the Cold War for Canada. Igor Gouzenko, a young clerk working with the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa had got hold of information that proved there was a Soviet spy ring. Canada was infested with Soviet spies trying to find a trace of coalition with the US. The spies uncovered that in fact Canada was selling Uranium to the US. From that point on Canada was riding the in passenger seat next to the US. Once Canada got its feet wet in the Cold War pool, the next process was to build a Radar Station to detect any Soviet air forces. The cost was covered by the US and they hired many Canadian labourers and used joint responsibility by the Canadian Air Force and the US Air Force. When war broke out between North and South Korea, the Canadians proved their loyalty to the UN by following their orders and supported their goals. The NATO also kept Canadians busy by having to keep a full army brigade and several air squadrons together constantly, the NATO asked a lot of Canadians and they came through.

Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962



The cold war commended the two super powers (The United States and The Soviet Union) to expand their alliances. By doing so, these nations were given the abilities to store mass nuclear weapons all across the globe. Aerial surveillance revealed over 80 Soviet nuclear arms – along with a large squad of aircraft – to be stationed in Cuba. To prevent various other weapons from entering the country, the US formed a naval blockade around the island. Having nuclear weapons commissioned this close to the continental USA raised the threat of Soviet attack; what once had taken half an hour for an attack had now been condensed down to a matter of minutes. As a fleet of Soviet ships urged on towards Cuba, the world began to fear of nuclear war. The American blockade, however, managed to deter the Soviet ships to turn back. An agreement was established between Soviet leader Khrushchev and President Kennedy shortly after. America pledged to not invade Cuba as long as the Soviets removed the missiles. To the relief of the world, nuclear war was obviated.

Suez Crisis, 1956

The cold war commended the two super powers (The United States and The Soviet Union) to expand their alliances. By doing so, these nations were given the abilities to store mass nuclear weapons all across the globe. Aerial surveillance revealed over 80 Soviet nuclear arms – along with a large squad of aircraft – to be stationed in Cuba. To prevent various other weapons from entering the country, the US formed a naval blockade around the island. Having nuclear weapons commissioned this close to the continental USA raised the threat of Soviet attack; what once had taken half an hour for an attack had now been condensed down to a matter of minutes. As a fleet of Soviet ships urged on towards Cuba, the world began to fear of nuclear war. The American blockade, however, managed to deter the Soviet ships to turn back. An agreement was established between Soviet leader Khrushchev and President Kennedy shortly after. America pledged to not invade Cuba as long as the Soviets removed the missiles. To the relief of the world, nuclear war was obviated.

Korean War 1950-1953

Korean War

In 1950, war broke out between North and South Korea who had up until 1945 been under Japans control. This power struggle emerged and Korea was split, North became communist and South democratic. Chinese and the US got involved and threatened to attack the other, this threat was only followed through the Chinese. They feared that the US would take over Korea and use it as a puppet country. This attack took place the Yalu River. The UN chose to take action when 100,000 North Korean troops that were aided with tanks and aircrafts of the Soviet make invaded South Korea. This prompted The UN to take effect by sending their forces to fight in Korea. By the end of this battle an armistice was agreed on by both sides of the from then on split Koreans.

Berlin Blockade and Airlift, June 1948

Following post-war accords, the country of Germany was divided into four zones. Along with it, the city of Berlin was also split. Berlin, however, was positioned well within the Soviet segment of the country. Specific air corridors, highways and railways sanctioned the western nation’s admittance to the capital. The crisis emerged once a new currency was established within West Germany; the Soviet Union rejected this in Berlin. In retaliation, the Soviet Union cut off all transport passageways that permitted the West to deliver necessities into West Berlin. Abdication was a consideration of the Allies; however the ‘Domino Theory’ prevented this action from taking place. To reciprocate, the West organized a substantial airlift to provide Berlin with replenishments of essential supplies. Over the course of fifteen months, about 2.5 million citizens were helped; the result or a plane landing every two minutes. Once the Soviets realized their plan had failed, Berlin was agreed to have two disconnect governments. This paved the way for the Allies formation of NATO.

The Begining of The Cold War

Causes and beginnings

Once the dust settled from the ciaos that was the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the US emerged as the two new ruling power heads of the world. This bipolar world was directly translated from the inability of the other nations to rise from where the Second War left them. Countries in Europe such as Italy were obliterated and left in their own ruins, while Germany was completely nonexistent. In spite of the fact that Britain had at one point held influence over many nations, it was now declining in power and control. Paranoia took root between the Soviet Union and the US since both feared the other’s corresponding ideology. The US feared the world revolution from the communist ideology, while the Soviets feared capitalist countries encirclement which in turn would pose the danger of counter-revolutions.