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Victory in Europe
On May 8th 1945, it was considered victory day for the people in Great Britian and in the United States. The Germans finally put down their arms and stoped fighting the war. This is an important day because it marked the end of World War II. -
First Atomic Bomb
The United States was the first country to use an atomic weapon during war. A bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in Japan on August 6th, 1945. It killed nearly 80,000 people. This event is important because some say it may be the cause of the start of the Cold War. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
Three days after the United States bombed Hiroshima, the city of Nagasaki, Japan, was bombed. Nearly 40,000 more citizens died from this. Japan ended up surrendering after this. Some people thought that there was another reasoning behind bombing Japan and that was to threaten the Soviet Union with their massive destruction weapons. -
Dividing of Germany
After WW2, Germany was split amongst the allies. Germany was divided into four sections with Britian, France, the Soviet Union, and America each getting a section. After this, the city of Berlin was also divided. The Soviet Union got the east side of the city while the United States got the west side. This continued the tensioin between the two countries. -
Berlin Airlift
On June 24th 1948, the Russians tried to completely take control of their side of Berlin and not let the people of the East side to escape. They closed all highways, railroads, and canals to prevent the people from the western side to enter the eastern side. They thought this would prevent them from getting any food or goods and would eventually push them out of the city. However, the United States ended up flying above the city and dropping goods off to the people for over a year. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was established in 1949. It was created by the United States, Canada and some Western European countries to have security aganist the Soviet Union. The United States wanted Europe to be strong so they wouldn't become communists like the Soviet Union intended. The Marshall Plan was then established by the secretary of state, George Marshall, which provided aid for Europe so they stayed economically strong. -
First Soviet Nuclear Test
In 1949, the Soviet Union tested their first nuclear bomb. This bomb was called the "RDS-1." They created this bomb because Stalin knew that he had to create one within five years of the United States bombing Japan. The person in charge of making this bomb was named Igor Kurchatov. This is important because it shows how to Soviet Union might have been fearful that the US would drop a bomb on them so they had to make one also. -
Beginning of Korean War
On June 25th 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. Since the United States was part of the United Nations, they helped defend South Korea. After WW2, Korea was split into two and was permanent. The north side was communist and was controlled by the Soviet Union. The south side was controlled by the US and they supplied South Korea with finacial and military support. Once North Korea invaded, the fight contiued for three years. -
Nuclear Arms Race
In 1951, the Cold War was seen as a nuclear arms race. The United States tested a thermonuclear bomb called the 'George" test. Two years later, the Soviet Union coducted the 'RDS-6' test. Up until the end of the Cold War, the United States conducted 1,032 tests of their nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union tested 715. This is important because it shows the competition the two countries had. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution took place from 1953 to 1959. Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959 and was a communist leader. The people of Cuba became fearful of him and some fled to the United States. This is important because it shows how powerful communism was becoming. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was passed in 1955 by the Soviet Union. The treaty was also signed with seven othe European allies of the Soviet Union. This treaty was written so that if any of these countries were attacked by an outside source, the other countries have to help.This is important because the Soviet Union saw the treaty that the US signed (NATO) as a threat and created their own. -
Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik on October 4th, 1957. This satellite was looked at as improvement in areas such as science and military techniques. The invention of Sputnik started the "space age." This satellite took the world off guard, especially the United States. The citizens were fearful that they could bring nuclear weapons over to America by these satellites. The launching of Sputnik is important because it shows how the Soviet Union improved in technology. -
Bay of Pigs
In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the president of Cuba named Fulgencio Batista. Once he came into power, he reduced American relations with Cuba. Once he came into power, it made the Americans worried. President Eisenhower began training Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. In May 1960, Fidel Castro starting having diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and because of this, the US prohibited the importation of Cuban sugar. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was built by the communist goverment of the German democratic republic. He built a barbed wire and concrete wall between east and west Berlin. This wall was to keep the western "facists" out from the east side. This wall was up until November 9, 1989. This is important because it was looked at as a powerful symbol of the Cold War. -
Unity Day
Shortly after the Berlin Wall came down, east and west Berlin came back together. This was looked at as "Unity Day." After the wall came down the east and west German officials came together along with the United States, Great Britian, France and the USSR. It was over a year before it was settled and the Soviet Union was no longer in control. This is important because Germany coming back together was looked at as the end of the Cold War.
