-
Formation of the Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc was a large amount of communist states all joined into one group. This was caused mainly by the Soviets invading and annexing these groups or people and the land they lived on. Generally encompasses all the countries in the Soviet Union as well as the Warsaw Pact. -
Postwar Occupation (and Division) of Germany
After World War 2, the major players, the US, Soviet Union, Britain, and France, decided to split Germany into 'Occupational' zones, in which they each controlled. Since one of them had to, the Soviet Union got the section with Berlin in it, a major political advantage. However, to keep it fair they ALSO split Berlin into 4 parts, basically turning the country and it's capital into two distinct halves; the Communist East and the Capitalist West. -
Greek Civil War
In 1946, Greek communists tried to take control against the Kingdom of Greece, starting right before the Nazi occupation ended. The uprising lasted until 1949, while the US-funded Greek army cleared the rebels, until October 1949, when the communists declared defeat. It was estimated about 500,000 Geeks were displaced from their home. -
Enactment of the Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan, actually called the Economic Recovery Act of 1918, was signed by President Truman. The goal of the Marshall plan was to restore infrastructure and pre-war strength to all capitalist countries in Europe. This was done through 'economic-assistance' which was basically giving them money so they looked better compared to communist neighbors. -
Berlin Blockade (and Airlift)
The Berlin Blockade was the first major international problem between the nations in the Cold War. The Soviet Union blocked all convoys and supplies from the allies to get into Berlin, basically starving them of resources. In response, they flew them into via airplane, giving relief to those living in Berlin, until the Soviet blockade eventually stopped. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The first day of October, 1949, the Chinese Communist leader announced the creation of the "People's Republic of China." This declaration basically ended the civil war that had been going on in China since the end of World War 2. The creation of the PCR led American to cut diplomatic ties with China for several decades, as we were not so interested in the whole communist thing. -
Korean War
The Korean war was fought starting on June 25 1950 by South Korea and North Korea. South Korea was capitalist and funded by America. While South Korea was a communist nation and funded and supported by the USSR. -
Cuban Revolution
What led up to this was the passing of Cube from Spain to America following the Spanish-American war just before the 1900's. In the 1940's, Fidel Castro led an armed revolt to overthrow the current capitalist government. He still runs the country as a communist dictatorship. -
Overthrow of the Guatemalan Government
The Overthrow of the Guatemalan Government was the US government basically funding and pulling the strings in a coup that replaced the Guatemalan leader. The goal of this was to switch the country to a capitalist nation that would basically protect the US' trade to the country, mainly with the fruit industry. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam war was an attempt by the US government to set up a capitalist government in Vietnam. However, certain fighter groups in Vietnam did not want the US intervention and kept harassing the US troops. Eventually, the US decided that it was no longer worth the effort, and ended up leaving with no real success. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed attempt by the US government to land in Cuba. The US government secretly tried to finance and orchestrate a landing in Cuba with around 1500 exiled Cubans -
Building the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built to prevent people from fleeing from the communist side of Berlin to the better off, more free capitalist side. The communists had to build the wall because all the 'smart guys' decided to simply move across town where they were safer, so they were left with no one that they wanted. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a standoff between the US and the USSR about the missiles that were discovered in Cuba. The US did not want the missiles there in range of them, while the USSR thought it was only fair that they could ALSO have missiles in range. Eventually both countries withdrew and nothing large came of it, but it could have been bad. -
Rise of the Palestine Liberation Organization
The PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) was created to bring many Arab groups together under one name and group. The goal was to create Arab unity and create a state in Palestine. The have since become very interested in and involved in politics surrounding the Middle East, such as Israel's state legitimacy. -
Prague Spring
Prague Spring was a small period of mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. This was a time that led to "Normalization" in the CSR. However, eventually Prague Spring failed, as everyone was way too dedicated to the Communist Government. -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
The Soviets had the same goal in Afghanistan as we did in Vietnam; replace the government. However, just like us, they failed pretty miserably. After extensive fighting and losses, it simply wasn't worth it for them to keep being involved in the affairs in Afghanistan and eventually pulled out with not much to show for it. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Massacre was a protest in China that led to the slaughter of many Chinese civilians. These citizens were trying to prevent the entrance of military forces into Tiananmen Square, but where ultimately forcibly suppressed by the Chinese military. China does not like to talk about this incident and refuses that it occurred at all. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The German border police had been trying to reduce protest and complaint for years beforehand, trying to make it as easy as possible for travel between the wall, but it was never enough. Eventually, on November 9th 1989, they opened the wall completely to everyone. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
For many years, the Soviet Union was approaching collapse and getting more and more fragile. Eventually on Christmas day, 1991, the Soviet leader, Gorbachev, resigned from his post and disbanded the Union. This left each country on their own with there own new form of government, including Russia with their newest president, Boris Yeltsin. -
9/11 Attacks
On September 11, 2001, a large terrorist attack took place on American soil. Two planes purposely crashed into the Twin Towers, one shortly after the other early in the morning. This led to thousands of lives lost and mass panic and fear across the country.