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Teaching Flow

Topic 22 International relations after World War II

Objectives

|Knowledge |To know the development and characteristics of the Cold War after the Second World War |

| |To understand the ideological differences between the USA and the USSR and their importance in the formation of the |

| |Cold War |

| |To understand the importance of the atomic bomb in the development of the Cold War and the formation of balance of |

| |power between the USA and the USSR |

|Skills |To arrange historical facts in chronological order |

| |To locate places on map |

| |To identify characteristics |

| |To judge, contrast, extend and cite sources |

| |To compare, elaborate and explain sources |

|Attitude |To develop the attitude of tolerance and acceptance |

| |Items |Format |Teaching Objectives |

|4 |1962 |Cuban Missile Crisis |The USA opposed setting up of missile bases in Cuban by |

| | | |the USSR |

|2 |1948-1949 |Berlin Blockade |The USA supported West Germany. The USSR supported East |

| | | |Germany |

|5 |1963-1973 |Vietnam War |The USA supported South Vietnam. The USSR and China |

| | | |supported North Vietnam |

|1 |1945-1949 |Civil War in China |The USA supported the Chinese Nationalist Party. The |

| | | |USSR supported the Chinese Communist Party |

|3 |1950-1953 |Korean War |The USA supported South Korea. The USSR and China |

| | | |supported North Korea |

To know more (1)

Ideological differences between the USA and the USSR brought about confrontation between the two camps headed by each of them. Capitalism in the USA is different from communism in the USSR.

The two camps competed with each other in securing economic and military supremacy, and many countries were dragged into either camps, resulting in regional conflicts and serious loss of human lives and material properties. However, the frightening power of the atomic bomb forced the two camps to remain in perpetuating tension, which led to confrontation.

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Topic 22 International relations after World War II

The locations of the military conflicts listed above are indicated on the map below.

Locations of major military conflicts after the Second World War:

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2. Which two countries of the two confronting camps are seen most often in the conflicts on the list above?

Suggested answer:

|X：The USA (or the USSR) |Y：The USSR (or the USA) |

3. On the world map above, fill in X and Y on the locations of these two countries fill in X and Y on the world map above.

Based on the answers for 1 and 2, differentiate the two camps by filling in the names of the countries below in the appropriate column:

Britain, the USA, East Germany, West Germany, North Korea, South Korea, People’s Republic of China, France.

Suggested answer:

|Camp X/Y* |Camp X/Y* |

|Britain |East Germany |

|the USA |North Korea |

|West Germany |People’s Republic of China |

|South Korea | |

|France | |

*Delete the inappropriate letter.

Task 2: What are the characteristics of the Cold War?

Source A is a description of the Cold War.

Unlike the First and Second World Wars, Cold War was not a total war. That is to say, although in the areas in which war was conducted, many people died and much property was destroyed, many countries which took sides in these confrontations, such as the United States and the Soviet Union, did not see war touching their own territory.

For the most part, from the end of the Second World War to the 1980s, an ideological gulf divided the United States and the Soviet Union, as the result of which, they and their allies contested for economic and military superiority. Many countries were drawn into the two camps led by them. This constant state of tension between the two camps was known as the Cold War.

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Group Discussion in Class

1. Identify from Source A the characteristics of the Cold War.

Suggested answer:

|a |Did not develop into a total war |

|b |Regional wars resulted in great loss of human lives and material properties |

|c |Ideological differences between the USA and the USSR |

|d |Many countries were dragged into the American or the Soviet camps |

|e |Other reasonable inferences |

2. Infer from your background information why there was no direct war between the USA and the USSR during the Cold War period.

Key discussion points:

a. Human and economic losses brought about by wars

b. Did military strengths of the USA and the USSR have deterring effects?

c. The aims of confrontation between the American and the Soviet camps

d. Other reasonable hints

Suggested answer:

|a |Avoiding repeat of great casualties and consumption of the two world wars. |

|b |Both sides possessed great military might and new weapons like atomic bombs. |

|c |Members of both camps involved in regional conflicts competing for resources and military supremacy. |

|d |Other reasonable inferences. |

Task 3: What are the ideological differences between the USA and the USSR?

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Teaching Tips:

When playing The Internationale sung in Chinese, the teacher may distribute the Chinese lyrics to the class or show them by visualiser, so that students can follow the lyrics along with listening to the song.

To know more (２)

The anthem of international socialism:“The Internationale.”

The song (L’Internationale in French) is one of the most famous songs in international socialist movement. It has also been the song most widely sung in the world. Its original lyrics (in French) were written by Eugène Edine Pottier in 1871 (using the melody of La Marseillaise of the time). Pottier wrote the melody for the song in 1888. The song has been translated into many languages of the world. The traditional practice when singing The Internationale is that the singers would hold their hand in fist as a sign of respect. The Internationale has been sung by not only the communists but also socialists, social democrats and anarchists in many countries, and was the official song of the First International and the Second International.

Source B shows the content of The Internationale:

|First Stanza |Chorus |

| | |

|Arise, ye workers from your slumber, |So comrades, come rally, |

|Arise, ye prisoners of want. |And the last fight let us face. |

|For reason in revolt now thunders, |The Internationale, |

|And at last ends the age of cant! |Unites the human race. |

|Away with all your superstitions, |So comrades, come rally, |

|Servile masses, arise, arise! |And the last fight let us face. |

|We'll change henceforth the old tradition, |The Internationale, |

|And spurn the dust to win the prize! |Unites the human race. |

Source：

Topic 22 International relations after World War II

4. With reference to Source C, list the characteristics of the communism carried out in the USSR.

Suggested answer:

• The Soviet Republic carried out the policies of abolishing private ownership of land, factories, mines, railways and banks.

• The state was controlled by the working class under the leadership of the Communist Party.

• The USSR would take up the task of spreading communism to the whole world. After the Second World War, it supported the rise of communist regimes in Eastern Europe.

1. Source B mentions “workers from your slumber”, “prisoners of want”, etc. Do you think these refer to the capitalists or the working class? (Hint: Information from Topic 15 Industrial Revolution.)

Suggested answer: The working class.

2. Explain which phrases in the chorus of the The Internationale are related to notions in communism such as “revolution” and “Down with the capitalist”.

Suggested answer: Promoting revolution and overthrowing the capitalists; e.g.

a. “So comrades, come rally, and the last fight let us face. The Internationale,

Unites the human race.”

b. “We'll change henceforth the old tradition, and spurn the dust to win the prize!”

3. How do you think the objective of “spurn the dust to win the prize” can be achieved by the class you identified in question 1 above?

Suggested answer:

To stage revolutions and overthrow the capitalists / bourgeoisie so as to establish a government dominated by the workers / the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Source C is about Soviet Communism:

• In 1918, Lenin, who emerged as the leader of the Russian Revolution, declared that it was the policy of the Soviet Republic (later to become the U.S.S.R.) to abolish private ownership of land, factories, mines, railways and banks. All land, factories, mines, railways and banks were to be owned by all the people within the state. The state, therefore, would be led by the working class.

• Internationalism, the abolition of private property, and the control of the state by the working class, under the leadership of the Communist Party, were the essential tenets of Communism.

• The U.S.S.R. was committed to promoting Communism throughout the world. At the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union set up communist regimes in Eastern Europe, including Poland, Rumania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Bulgaria. A communist camp led by the Soviet Union was formed vis-à-vis the Western camp led by the United States and Britain.

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Teaching Tips:

The teacher may, in accordance with students’ ability and interests, adopt the format below for discussion by letting students fill in the table below and provide the clues.

Suggested answer:

|The Internationale |Soviet Communism |

|Arise, ye workers from your slumber, |The Soviet Republic implemented the policy of abolishing private|

|Arise, ye prisoners of want. |ownership of land, factories, mines, railways and banks |

| |Under the leadership of the Communist Part, the state was |

|Away with all your superstitions, |controlled by the working class |

|Servile masses, arise, arise! |The Soviet Union took up the task of spreading communism to the |

|We'll change henceforth the old tradition, |whole world. After the Second World War, it supported communist |

|And spurn the dust to win the prize! |regimes in Eastern Europe |

Source D is about USA’s human rights idea. Below is the inaugural speech made by the American President John F. Kennedy in January 1961:

• We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.

• The world is very different now…the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

• Born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage – and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

• Let every nation know…, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

Topic 22 International relations after World War II

Source: Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy, 20 January 1061,

1. In his speech, John Kennedy emphasized that “We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom”. What are the characteristics of human rights to be preserved by the new generation of Americans that he wanted to express? Illustrate by citing other parts of Kennedy’s speech.

Suggested answer:

• “the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God” (Rights entitled to human beings.)

• One can clearly see from the speech that in Kennedy’s mind the core value that the new generation of American should preserve is “freedom and liberty”.

Source E is part of the American Declaration of Independence:

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We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; that, to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Source:

With reference to Source E and the sources in Task 2, identify the differences between the ideas of Soviet Communism and USA’s ideas of human rights, both of which indicated the pursuit of “freedom”.

Suggested answer:

| |Communism |Ideas of Human Rights |

|Private Ownership |Abolish / Oppose |Support |

|Rights |Must protect working class |Everyone enjoys equal rights |

|Power to control state |Working class |Opposed to control of government by any single social |

| | |class |

Group Discussion

Examine the relationship between the above-mentioned differences and Soviet-American conflicts.

Teaching Tips:

The teacher may remind students to synthesize and analyse the historical facts about Soviet expansion in Task 2 and about American expansion in the reference books or through internet search.

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Suggested answer:

• The Soviet Union attempted to spread Communism to the whole world in order to overthrow exploitations of capitalism around the world and to set up proletariat regimes. Therefore, after the Second World War, it supported communist regimes in Eastern Europe, including Poland, Rumania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Bulgaria. (Task 2 Sources)

• In order to defend world freedom, the USA led the Western European countries to confront the expansion of the Soviet Union. (Refer to library books or online sources)

• Both parties were in constant conflicts from the 1950s to the 1970s. (Refer to library books or online sources)

Task 4: To examine the part played by the atomic bomb during the period of confrontation between the American and the Soviet camps

Source F: American President John F. Kennedy spoke on the issue of preventing war in a speech.

Source: .

Source G: Scene of Hiroshima after explosion of the atomic bomb.

Source：。

We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they never be employed.

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course – both sides overburdened by the costs of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war.

Topic 22 International relations after World War II

課題19 : 歐洲的民族主義

1. In Source F, Kennedy mentioned “two great and powerful groups of nations” in his speech. Which two camps was he referring to?

Suggested answer:

The communist camp of the Soviet Union and the capitalist camp of the USA.

2. Describe the power of destruction of the atomic bomb with reference to the scene of Hiroshima in Source G.

Suggested answer:

The power of destruction was extremely strong. It led to serious casualties in Hiroshima and the entire city turned into debris.

3 Discuss, from the perspectives of research and development and the use, the attitude of the USA and the USSR in handling the atomic bomb and nuclear weapons with reference to Sources F and G and using background knowledge.

Suggested answer:

|Research and Development |Use |

|Both sides understood that the economic |Both sides understood the terrifying power of destruction of atomic bombs, which might|

|burden of research and development of |even destroy human beings, and so neither side had ever used nuclear weapons. |

|atomic bombs and nuclear weapons was | |

|extremely heavy. | |

|Both sides engaged in a continuous |Both sides possessed atomic bombs for the purpose of frightening the other side. The |

|armament race. |more they owned, the greater would be the frightening effect, and that turned into a |

| |balance of power situation. |

| |Both sides did not want the proliferation of atomic bombs in case that would threaten |

| |their leading position. However, there were still six to seven countries in the world |

| |that possessed atomic bombs. |

| |As a result there were only small-scale regional wars during the Cold War. No country |

| |ever used any nuclear weapon. |

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Extended activity

Write a piece of short essay to explain the importance of different factors which affected the development of the Cold War.

Suggested topics:

a. Do you agree that the deterring power of atomic bombs was more important than ideological differences in affecting the development of the Cold War?

b. To what extent was ideological differences a major factor which affecting the development of the Cold War?

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The formation of the Cold War was due to the ideological confrontation between the USA and the USSR and the great destruction power of atomic bombs after the Second World War. The former led to the condition of constant confrontation between two great camps, resulting in economic and military competition between them; the latter had the effect of deterring the opponent and each side sought to avoid direct war. As a result there were a series of regional conflicts and no general war between the two sides ever broke out.

Summary Chart

Conclusion

Topic 22 International relations after World War II

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