Cold war glossary

• Iron curtain


  Political and ideological division in Europe between the USSR alongside its allies and the western-non-communist countries after WWII. An actual wall was built in Berlin to prevent migration of people
• Truman doctrine


  Commitment to help states defend their democracies against communism. Created in 1947 by Harry S. Truman. It was one of the meassures established by the capitalist bloc to consolidate their power.
• Marshall plan


  Alson known as the European recovery plan. Promoted by the USA in 1947 to help European countries recover from the massive destruction and consequences of WWII
• NATO

  Short for: North Atlantic treaty orgnization. Millitary international allignment for mutual defense created in 1949. The first countries to join were: Canada, USA, Italy, UK and France.
• COMECON


  Short for: Council for mutual economic assistance. It was an organization created in 1949 by the Eastern-bloc countries to provide themselves with economical aid.
• Warsaw pact

  Collective defense treaty or alliance created in 1955 by the Soviet Union and other satellite states in response to the creation of the NATO. It aimed to create a coordinated defense to deter enemy attacks.
• Non-alligned movement


  Idea of neutralism that emerged in the Bandung conference. IN the 1961 Belgrade conference, 28 countries oficially declared themselves as neutral in the cold war.
• EEC


  Short for: Europena economic community. Created with the treaty of Rome signed in 1957 establishing a political and economic alliance between European countries in order to recover from the crisis and help each other.
• Five-year plans

  Economic method used by the Soviet Union between 1933 and 1937. It consisted of a planed economy with state intervention that focused on the development of heavy industry, collectivisation of production and agriculture and peasants forced to work in factories. It eventually led to a lack of consumer goods which developed in crisis and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
• Moscow-Washington hotline


  Direct line of contact between the leader of the US and the USSR established in 1963 after the Cuban misil crisis in order to achieve peaceful coexistence.
• Mass consumerism


  Belief of massive shopping that emerged in the Western bloc during the cold war. It was promoted by the chea prices, increase of living standards, advertising, etc.
• Viet cong


  Name given by the USA to the south-vietnam communist organization during the Vietnam war. They wanted to defeat the occidental government and unify the country under communism.
• Welfare state


  A form of government in which the state protects and promotes the economic aid and social wellbeing of their citizens. Promoted and supported by the western-bloc countries during the cold war.