Cold War Conflicts 10

Right after the end of WWII a new conflict between former allies emerged. Countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain formed alliances and competed in fierce rivalry. Memories of the atrocities (destructions) of WWII and the constant threat of an atomic war may have prevented the world from her final doom. Some conflicts were so close though, that the blink of an eye could have led to unforeseeable consequences...

At the heart of the Cold War stood two opposing systems: Soviet communism and Western capitalism. But what exactly made these two ideologies so different from each other? And why were they headed for conflict?

Communism even existed in America. Some people believed in the communists` message, some did not.  But is a country - based on  the right of political freedom - able to accept the communists´ ideology?

Cuba is a large island in the Caribbean. In 1959 a revolution took place in Cuba and Fidel Castro came to power. He introduced a Soviet-style government on the island and he looked to the Soviet Union for support. The revolution in Cuba was a great blow to America. A communist state had been set up only 90 miles from the USA. In early 1962 the Americans placed a number of nuclear missles in Turkey, within easy range of many cities of the USSR. Shortly afterwards Khrushchev decided to place missiles on Cuba. In late September 1962, U.S. spy planes flying over Cuba discovered the presence of Soviet-made medium-range nuclear missiles on the island.

Between 1965 and 1973 US troops fought a war against communists in South Vietnam.


Central Question: