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Yalta Conference
The Big Three powers met in Russia to discuss the end of the war. Germany's defeat was obvious at this point. The United Nations was also discussed. Land was traded. Compromises were made. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was another name for the European Recovery Program. It followed the Truman Doctrine. The Marshall Plan was designed to aid in the rebuilding of the stability of Europe after the war. The Marshall Plan included $13 billion to fix the economy because it was believed that communism was most prevelent in countries with economic problems. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine stated that the U.S. would provide money to countries threatened by communism. The reason the U.S. volunteered to do this was because they were terrified of communist expansion. -
Berlin Airlift
Supplies were flown to Berlin by American and British aircraft for more than 10 months. The Soviets finally lifted the blockade in May of 1949 in order to prevent World War three. -
USSR Atomic Bomb
The explosion of the atomic bomb by the Soviet Union launched the U.S. and the Soviet Union into an arms race. This then led to the creation of military alliances such as NATO and the Warsaw Pact. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to formally ally Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Iceland, Canada, the U.S., West Germany, Turkey, and Greece. They agreed to provide help to each other if any of them were ever attacked. -
Korean War (begins)
The Korean War began with an attempt by Communist North Korea (allied with the Soviet Union) to take over South Korea. This was confirmation of communist expansion. The U.S. made even more military alliances out of fear of communism. -
Rosenberg Spy Case (executed)
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (married) were conviceted of espionage conspiracy and killed by the electric chair. They were accused of being leaders of a spy ring that sold classified information about the nuclear bomb to the Soviet Union. They never admitted to anything. "Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed." 2014. The History Channel Website. May 3 2014, 1:17 http://history.com/this-day-in-history/julius-and-ethel-rosenberg-executed -
Korean War (ends)
After three years, the Korean War finally ended. South Korea was able to emerge as an industrial power through their development of chemicals, textiles, ship building, and automobile building. They eventually developed a democracy. -
Nikita Khrushchev comes to power
Nikita Khrushchev loosened government controls on literature. He also tried to emphasize production of consumer goods and increase agricultural output. His poor handling of foreign policies gave him a bad reputation among his colleagues. -
East German Uprising
Citizens of East Berlin protested government demands to increase productivity. This continued for quite a while. It showed how repressive life under communist rule could be.
“The East German Uprising, 1953.” Office of the Historian. N.p., 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 2 May 2014. -
Warsaw Pact
A formal military alliance between the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. The Warsaw Pact was a retaliation against NATO. -
Hungarian Uprising
The rebellion was caused by unrest and economic difficulties. In an attempt to control the revolt, Imre Nagy Declared Hungary a free nation with free elections. Khrushchev was not about to let them leave the communist club, so the Soviet Army attacked Budapest and took over Hungary. -
U-2 Spy Incident
An American spy plane was shot down in the USSR. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had to admit that he had been spying on the Soviet Union. The pilot was sentenced to ten years in prison, but released after only two years in exchange for a captured Soviet spy. It was the first USSR-U.S. “spy-swap.”
History.com Staff. “U-2 Spy Incident.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 01 May 2014 -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first human-made space satellite to orbit the earth. Sputnik was made by the Soviets. America was very scared of it. They thought there was a “missile gap” between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
John F. Kennedy approved a secret invasion of Cuba. Cuban exiles hoped to cause a revolt against Castro. The invasion did not work. Most of the exiles were captured or killed when they reached the Bay of Pigs. -
Berlin Wall (building)
It was constructed to keep East Germans from going west. It was built seemingly overnight and was a symbolic as well as a physical boundary dividing communism and democracy.
Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Berlin Wall – The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall.” About.com 20th Century History
N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Khrushchev began placing nuclear missiles in Cuba. The U.S. didn’t like that there were such powerful weapons so close to their mainland. The Cuban Missile Crisis almost brought the world to nuclear war. -
Prague Spring
Prague Spring was a brief time in Czechoslovakian history. It began with attacks on the president and led to student uprisings and eventually the election of Alexander Dubcek. He made a reform plan, but Soviet troops invaded, so it was short-lived.
“Pr.” Glossary of Events: N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014. -
Mikhail Gorbwchev comes to power
When Mikhail Gorbechev came to power, the Cold War Ended. He encouraged an openness policy that led to changes. He also stopped supporting communist nations. This led to the overthrow of communist nations and the end of the Cold War. -
Berlin Wall (taking down)
The head of the Communist party of East Germany announced that GDR citizens could cross the border if they wanted to. Some did, and others brought hammers and things to take the wall down for good.
“Berlin Wall.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.
30 Apr. 2014.