Cold War By raejw 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact signed 1941 Operation Barbarossa Germany invades the Soviet Union Period: 1945 to 1942 Truman Presidency 1953 Eisenhower presidency - 1961 1959 Castro seizure of power 1959 Eisenhower response to Castro - 1960 Boycotts Economic pressure Embargos exports to Cuba except medicine & food attempting to force Castro to change policies 1960 Castro turns to USSR for economic aid 1961 Kennedy presidency - 1963 1961 Bay of Pigs Ended up failing 1961 Castro declares himself as Marxist Leninist 1962 Khrushchev authorizes nuclear missiles in Cuba 1963 Johnson presidency - 1968