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Germany leader's death trial
Nine of Nazi Germany’s top leaders were hung after their trials -
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Europe From 1946-Present
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The Berlin Blockade
The Berlin blockade provided compelling evidence that in order to deter the Soviets from further aggression, an alliance was necessary between nations of Western Europe and the United States. On April 4, 1949, the foreign ministers of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United States formally signed the North Atlantic Treaty. The key paragraph was Article 5. It stated that "an armed attack against one or more of -
Ireland
Republic of Ireland became independent -
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth becomes a queen -
Rioting In Hungary
Rioting against the Russians erupted throughout Hungary. Imry Nagy became Premier and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops. The Soviets initially complied, but changed course and returned to Budapest to put down the revolt. Thirty thousand revolutionaries were killed. Two years later, Imry Nagy was executed for his part in the uprising. -
Vienna Summit
From the time of the Vienna summit, East German exodus to West Germany began to skyrocket. The Soviets began to talk about war, and in July the Soviets detonated a 60-megaton atomic bomb, the largest atomic bomb up to that point. On August 13th, the Berlin Wall went up, dividing East and West Berlin, ending the flow of refugees out of East Germany and dividing the city. -
Greek Military
The Greek military staged a coup against the civilian government. All moderate and leftist politicians were arrested. When King Constantine refused to support the military, the King was sent into exile. -
Students Versus Police
French students took to the streets, bringing Paris to a virtual standstill. Fighting broke out between the students and the police. The students had allied themselves with workers who went out on a general strike to protest wages. They seized factories, paralyzing the country. When the minimum wage was raised by 35 percent, the workers were satisfied and the government was able to restore order. -
Dictator Francisco Franco
Spanish dictator Francisco Franco announced that Juan Carlos was to become his successor and King of Spain when Franco retired or died. Carlos was the grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last Spanish King. Alfonso had been deposed in 1931. -
Rioting Beset
Rioting beset Belfast for three days. Eight Catholics were killed and 236 people were wounded. The British sent in the army in an effort to keep order in Northern Ireland. Troops are still there 25 years later. -
U.S and Soviet Union Sign Treaty
The United States and the Soviet Union signed the "Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty" which pledged the two nations not to divulge information that would allow additional countries to build nuclear weapons. -
Palestinian Terrorists at 1972 Summer Olympics
Palestinian terrorists who were members of the Black September Organization attacked the Israeli team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Two Israelis were murdered immediately, and nine were taken hostage. The hostages were killed when German troops attempted to capture the terrorists at Munich Airport. -
Britain government controls the province
With the situation in Northern Ireland worsening, the British government, under Prime Minister Heath, suspended the provincial government and parliament and took direct control of the province. The action was spurred by two daylight bombings that killed eight people and wounded over seventy -
Greece starts voting
The military junta in Greece resigned, turning control of the government over to Constantine Karamanlis. Martial law was lifted and elections were held. -
Turkish troops invade Greece
Greek officers of the National Guard led a revolt that ousted Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios III. Turkish troops invaded the island, and captured over half of it. A cease-fire was arranged and Makarios returned. Cyprus, however, was virtually partitioned into Greek and Turkish territories -
Spanish dictatorship ends
On November 20th, Francisco Franco died. This ended a dictatorship that had lasted since the Spanish Civil War -
Pope John Paul ll assasination
Pope John Paul II was wounded in an assassination attempt. The assassin was Turkish-born Mehmet Ali Agca. There have been many reports indicating that the assassination attempt was the work of the Eastern bloc's intelligence community. -
Communism in East Germany falls
the regime of Erich Hoenecker, the Communist leader of East Germany, fell. It succumbed to increasing riots, as well as a flood of East Germans leaving via the open borders of Hungary. On November 10th, the new government announced the end of all travel restrictions, and soon thousands of Berliners took part in taking down the Berlin Wall that had divided the city for 27 years. -
Germany reunites
East and West German formally reunited. The newly reunited Germany ended the division of Germany created with the end of World War II. -
Yugoslavia has a civil war
Civil war broke out in Yugoslavia. As the Communist regime fell, Yugoslavia was divided up into Serbia, Bosnia-Hergezovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia. Fighting soon broke out inside these areas, as Serbs attempted to gain control of the entire territory. The Serbs instituted a policy of "ethnic" cleansing, whose goal was to force non-Serbs out of all areas that the Serbs conquered. -
A peace tready is signed between the U.K. and Northern Ireland
Representatives of the Catholics and Protestants of Ireland, together with representatives of the Irish Republic and the United Kingdom, signed a major peace accord. US envoy former Senator Mitchell brokered the accord, and it was hoped it would bring to an end the bloodshed in Northern Ireland -
Spain trains are attacked by terrorists
a series of coordinated terrorist attacks took place aimed at the Madrid commuter train system. The attacks killed a total of 192 people and wounded 2,050. An Islamic group loosely affiliated with Al Qaida perpetrated the attacks -
London subways are bombed
At 8:50 AM in the midst of the morning rush hour three bombs exploded on the London subways. Fifty minuntes later a bomb went off on a double deck bus. Initially 49 were reported killed but that number was expected to rise. Three different groups associated with Al Queda claimed responsibility for the bombing. The bombing came on the same day that the G-8 the leaders of the 8 largest economies in the world were meeting in Scotland.