Peace and the Cold War

What lessons are there to learn from the Cold War mentality that followed World War II? Was the Cold War necessary? Were there alternative ways of viewing the world at that time?

Specifically:

1. What happened at Yalta and Potsdam in 1945? What is the importance of the Yalta Conference? Evaluate the significance of Potsdam.

2. What difficulties did the Allies face as they tried to eliminate German Nazism? What were the results of the Nuremberg trials of 1945-1946?

3. Be familiar with the history and organization of the United Nations--how the United Nations were created (sic) and what was created. What have been the roles of the General Assembly, Security Council, International Court of Justice, and the Economic and Security Council?

4. Describe the events that first signaled a "Cold War" between the democracies and the Soviet bloc.

5. Identify:

   Truman Doctrine

   Marshall Plan

   COMINFORM

   Brussels Treaty

   Benelux

   Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OECD)

   North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

   European Coal and Steel Community

   Point Four Program

   European Defense Community

6. What indications signified the Cold War was dissipating as early as the 1950s?

7. What was the significance of 1956 for the Soviet bloc?