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Cold War timeline

  • Four powers divide Germany

    Four powers divide Germany

    Germany was divided into four zones after World War II because the Allies each desired to have some kind of authority over it. $$$
  • American Soviet Cooperation ends at end of WWll

    American Soviet Cooperation ends at end of WWll

    Competition between the USSR and the US escalated as World War II changed both countries, making them strong global powers. The Cold War began as a result of tensions between the USSR and the US due to ideologies and politics. $$
  • U.S. puts Marshall Plan into action

    U.S. puts Marshall Plan into action

    In response to Marshall's proposal, Congress approved the Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Plan. An approximately 13 billion dollar investment in Europe over the following few years led to the very quick and sturdy reconstruction of a democratic Western Europe. $
  • U.S. announces 'Containment"

    U.S. announces 'Containment"

    To stop communism from expanding farther throughout Europe and the rest of the world, the United States adopted its containment strategy. $$$
  • Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

    Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

    Soviet troops prevented access to Allied controlled parts of Berlin by train, road, and water. In response, Allied airbases in western Germany were used by the United States and the United Kingdom to airlift fuel and food to Berlin. $$$
  • NATO set up

    NATO set up

    In the years after the end of WWII, the North Atlantic Alliance was created. Its goals were to protect member's freedom, maintain peace in Europe, and encourage member collaboration. $$
  • Korean War (1950-1953)

    Korean War (1950-1953)

    The Communist North Korean army attacked non Communist South Korea across the 38th Parallel, starting the Korean War. Immediately after they were aware of the predicament, the UN urged its members to lend a hand to South Korea. $$$$
  • U.S. develops H Bomb

    U.S. develops H Bomb

    The US government's choice to create a hydrogen bomb, which was detonated for the first time in 1952, plunged the country into a perpetual arms race with the Soviet Union. Many Americans felt that nuclear war may break out at any time as a result of the arms race, and the US government advised people to get ready to withstand an atomic blast.$$$$$
  • Soviet Union develops H Bomb

    Soviet Union develops H Bomb

    The construction of a hydrogen bomb was also pursued by the Soviet Union. The information supplied by Klaus Fuchs served as the foundation for the initial Soviet research. $$$$$
  • France pushed out of Vietnam

    France pushed out of Vietnam

    The Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the spring of 1954 was one factor in the French fleeing in 1954. This is owing to the fact that the battle revealed how ineffective French colonial rule had become; the Viet Minh won mostly because of their sizable rural support base. $$$$
  • Creation of Warsaw Pact

    Creation of Warsaw Pact

    The Soviet Union wanted to stop its opponents from using Central and Eastern Europe as a base, so it devised a plan to create the Warsaw Pact. Additionally, ideological and geostrategic considerations influenced its policies. $$$
  • Khrushchev calls for "Peaceful co-existence"

    Khrushchev calls for "Peaceful co-existence"

    The Soviet doctrine of peaceful coexistence argued that rather than engaging in conflict, the USSR and the US could live with their respective views on politics. $
  • Hungarian Revolt

    Hungarian Revolt

    The 1956 Hungarian Revolution, often referred to as the Hungarian Uprising, was a nationwide uprising against the Hungarian People's Republic's government and the policies that resulted from that government's submission to the Soviet Union. $$$$
  • Sputnik is launched

    Sputnik is launched

    With the launch of Sputnik, a basketball-sized satellite that became the first artificial object to orbit the Earth, the USSR quickly took the lead in the "Space Race" that marked the brink of the Cold War. $$$
  • Vietnam War (1957-1975)

    Vietnam War (1957-1975)

    From 1957 through 1975, the communist government of North Vietnam and the Western-backed government of South Vietnam engaged in combat. To help South Vietnam, a Western ally, and halt the expansion of communism, the United States got involved in the battle. $$$$$
  • Berlin wall is built

    Berlin wall is built

    To prevent so called Western "fascists" from entering East Germany and weakening the socialist regime, the Berlin Wall's intended objective was to be developed and prevent the spread of Western ideologies. $$$$
  • Bay of Pigs invasion

    Bay of Pigs invasion

    The CIA attempted to remove Cuban leader Fidel Castro from office in 1961 with the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs Invasion, which was carried out during the Kennedy administration. $$$
  • Cuban missile crisis

    Cuban missile crisis

    The Cold War standoff involving the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 was the closest the two superpowers ever come to a nuclear exchange. $$$$$
  • American Soviet hotline established

    American Soviet hotline established

    The "hotline" was created to make it easier for the president and Soviet premier to communicate. Despite being referred to as the "red telephone" in popular culture, the hotline never had a phone line, and no red phones were ever utilized. $$
  • Czech Uprising (Prague Spring)

    Czech Uprising (Prague Spring)

    Dubek made a concerted effort with the Prague Spring changes to partially decentralize the economy and democratize Czechoslovakia by granting new rights to the country's population. A relaxation of restrictions on the media, speech, and travel was among the freedoms allowed. $$$$
  • U.S. votes to admit Communist China into U.N.

    U.S. votes to admit Communist China into U.N.

    In addition to saluting China for its contribution to the war effort during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed his desire for China to "play its proper role in maintaining peace and prosperity" around the world. $
  • SALT treaty signed

    SALT treaty signed

    Between the United States and the Soviet Union, a series of bilateral meetings and multilateral agreements known as the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were conducted. $$
  • Berlin wall torn down

    Berlin wall torn down

    The Berlin Wall's fall marked the beginning of Germany's unity. The fall of the Berlin Wall had a negative political, economic, and social consequences that further damaged the already shaky East German administration. $
  • Iron Curtain collapses

    Iron Curtain collapses

    In 1989–1990, with the communists' loss of one-party rule in eastern Europe, the Iron Curtain essentially vanished. $$
  • Germany is reunited

    Germany is reunited

    One of the last events of the Cold War in Europe was the reunification of Germany, which ended the split between East and West and began a new period of cooperation. $