Cold War Pictorial Timeline By 15morseapril Feb 1, 1945 Yalta Conference Agreement to temporarily divide Germany Period: Feb 14, 1945 to Aug 14, 1991 Cold War Aug 6, 1945 United States first used atomic Bomb in war Aug 14, 1945 Japanese surrender (V-J Day) Mar 2, 1946 Winston Churchill delivers "Iron Curtain" speech Jun 14, 1947 Marshall Plan is announced Jun 24, 1948 Berlin Blockade Begins Jul 14, 1949 NATO ratified Sep 14, 1949 Communist Mao Zedong takes control of China Sep 16, 1949 USSR explodes first atomic bomb Feb 14, 1950 Joseph McCarthy begins Communist witch- hunt Jun 14, 1950 Korean War begins Jun 19, 1953 Rosenberg executions Jul 19, 1953 Korean war ends Jul 19, 1954 Vietnam splits at 17th parallel May 19, 1955 Warsaw Pact formed Oct 4, 1957 Sputnik launched Jan 19, 1959 Cuba taken over by Communist Fidel Castro Apr 19, 1960 Bay of Pigs invasion May 19, 1960 U-2 spy plane shot down over USSR Nov 19, 1960 John F. Kennedy elected President Aug 19, 1961 Construction of Berlin Wall Begins Oct 19, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis Apr 19, 1975 Saigon, south Vietnam falls to communism Nov 19, 1989 Berlin Wall Falls Dec 19, 1989 Soviet empire falls Oct 19, 1990 Germany reunited Aug 19, 1991 Formal end to Cold War
