Cold War

The Cold War evokes images of espionage, propaganda, and nuclear competition. But the timeline of the Cold War includes plenty of military hot spots as brutal proxy wars flared around the globe. Understand this decades-long conflict in all its complexity through these lessons and materials.
Cold War

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Featured Materials

Cold War: An Overview
A photograph of a military checkpoint. There is a sign that reads “You are leaving the American sector”, with several people standing in front of it. The checkpoint is a booth, with two military police cars parked in front of it.
OER Project
Article

Cold War: An Overview External link

The Cold War came down to competing visions of world order as the two superpowers promoted communist and capitalist ideologies in a struggle for supremacy.
Source Collection: The Cold War
Children practice ‘duck and cover’ under their desks in preparation for a nuclear attack
OER Project
Article

Source Collection: The Cold War External link

Explore how competing visions of government and society shaped global politics and conflicts as Cold War tensions unfolded around the world.
Decolonization and the Cold War Thematic Map
OER Project
Visual Aid

Decolonization and the Cold War Thematic Map External link

A full-color thematic map of Decolonization and the Cold War in 1975 CE, meant to help you support, extend, and challenge the frame narratives.

Lessons

Lesson 8.2
World History 1200
Cold War and Decolonization
1945 – 1990 CE
Origins of the Cold War
The Cold War conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union was a confrontation between two different ideologies, but it was also a global struggle for control over the future of the world.
View Lesson
Lesson 8.3
World History 1750
Cold War and Decolonization
1914 CE – present
The Global Cold War
From Vietnam to Afghanistan, the Cold War became a global struggle. As the US and USSR battled for influence, they reshaped global politics and impacted lives far beyond their borders.
View Lesson

Materials

The Cold War Around the World
Several men are walking down the street together, smiling and in conversation. Two of the men are dressed in Cuban military gear, and the others are in suits and ties.
OER Project
Article

The Cold War Around the World External link

The Cold War started just as European colonialism was collapsing all around the world. This article examines how the Cold War and decolonization collided in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
The Collapse of Communism
Photo of President George H.W. Bush, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and their associates sitting behind a table, deep in conversation. Behind them on the wall are American and Soviet flags.
OER Project
Article

The Collapse of Communism External link

From a literal wall in Berlin to the figurative “iron curtain,” the rise and fall of the Soviet Union is a dramatic story of the barriers we build and tear down with ideology.
Arms Race, Space Race
Colorful propaganda poster of a Russian astronaut in looking at a rocket in the sky, the Soviet hammer-and-sickle symbol in its wake.
OER Project
Article

Arms Race, Space Race External link

During the Cold War, the two superpowers raced to build the most destructive arsenal in history. This competition caused several terrifying crises and launched the space race.

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