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Postwar Occupation/Division of Germany
The surrender of the German forces on May 8th, 1945. It was signed by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel from Berlin. This retreat ended WWII for Germany. -
Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
On March 5th, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a speech declaring that Russia had built an "iron curtain" that separated eastern Europe from western Europe. The "iron curtain" was a non-physical barrier yet still made a division between the two democratic & communist countries. This signified the Soviet Union's dictatorship over half of the continent. -
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States after World War II in 1947. It was characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures such as open warfare. It was called the Cold War because neither the Soviet Union or the United States officially declared war on each other, and it lasted until 1991. -
The Truman Doctrine
On March 12th, 1947 the Truman Doctrine was established by U.S. President Harry S. Truman. The doctrine stated that the United States would undergo any issues to put a stop to the spread of Communism by the Soviet Union. On July 12th, 1948 the doctrine was further developed to contain any Communist aggression in Greece & Turkey. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
On April 3rd, 1948 the Marshall Plan, formerly known as the Economic Recovery Act of 1948, was signed by President Harry S. Truman. The plan was named after George Marshall who proposed for the United States to provide economic aid for the restoration of post-war Europe. It was enacted in 1948 and provided Europe with more than $15 billion to help rebuild their continent. -
Berlin Blockade & Airlift
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises that happened of the Cold War. It arose because of the Soviet Union's attempt to force the Western Allied Powers out of their post-WWII rule in West Berlin. This event lasted from June 24th, 1948 to May 12th, 1949. -
Formation of NATO
On April 4th, 1949 NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was established. The U.S., Canada & several western European nations all joined together to form NATO in attempt to provide security against the Soviet Union. This was the first military alliance that the U.S. entered into the outside of the Western Hemisphere. -
Chinese Communist Revolution & The Great Leap Forward
The Chinese Communist Revolution occurred after the Chinese Communist Party leader, Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward in January of 1958-1960 failed. The Great Leap Forward was an attempt made by Mao to transform China into a society that was able to compete with other Western nations within a short period of time. Mao having felt the Soviet leadership came too far into a revisionist direction, he gathered his wife, Jiang Qing, defense minister, Lin Biao, and troops to attack the Soviet Union. -
Korean War
On June 25th, 1950, the Korean War erupted after the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel that divided North and South Korea and invaded the non-Communist country. The North Korean leader, Kim II-Sung's army overran South Korea with its Soviet tanks. Seeing that South Korea was being overrun, the United States came to their aid. It ended on July 27th, 1953. -
Sputnik (Space Race)
On October 4th, 1952, a Soviet satellite named "Sputnik" was launched into Earth's orbit. This launch sparked the Space Race between the Soviet Union and United States as many speculated that the U.S. would be the first to accomplish this scientific achievement. The Space Race established which country had more advancements. After WWII, both the Soviet Union and United States realized the importance of rocket research for the military. On January 4th, 1958, Sputnik re-entered Earth's atmosphere. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt led by Fidel Castro, a Communist leader. The purpose was to overthrow the dictatorial leader of the Cuban government, Fulgencio Batista. Castro and his army fought for the freedom they believed they deserved but were denied to them. On January 1st, 1959 Batista and some of his supporters fled Cuba, marking the end of the Cuban Revolution. -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was an alliance formed to counterbalance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The members that made up the Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia & Bulgaria. It stated that all members apart of the pact had to defend one another in case of any outside attacks. -
Vietnam War
By November 1st, 1955, Communism had taken control of North Vietnam. Having so, the United States was afraid of it spreading to South Vietnam. If it were to take over South Vietnam, then Communism would spread to the rest of Asia and takeover. With this fear, the United States sent money, supplies and military advisers to help the South Vietnamese government. The went on until April 30th, 1975 when President Richard Nixon ordered the retreat of his troops in Vietnam. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military invasion by Cuba that lasted from April 17th, 1961 to April 19th, 1961. It was planned to have 1,500 Cuban exiles be trained and financed by the CIA to launch an invasion to overthrow Fidel Castro and his revolution, known as the Cuban Revolution. The United States underestimated the amount of troops needed for the invasion which caused the invasion to fail and become an embarrassment to the United States. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
On August 13th, 1961, the construction of the Berlin Wall began. It acted as a division to keep Western "fascists" from entering Eastern Germany. It was constructed by the German Democratic Republic and from August 13th, 1961 to November 9th, 1989, it prevented almost all emigration. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the U.S. and Soviet Union. It was initiated from the American discovery of the Soviet's missile deployment in Cuba. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev made a promise to defend Cuba from the U.S., seeing an opportunity to strengthen the Soviet Union and Cuba's relationship. It ended on October 28th, 1962 when Nikita agreed to dismantle and remove missiles from Cuba in exchange for the United States' promise to respect Cuba's territorial control. -
Soviet-Afghan War
On December 25th, 1979, the Soviet Army invaded Afghanistan in order to establish the Communist government of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. A small group known as the mujahideen as well as smaller Maoist groups fought against the Soviet Army and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. On February 15th, 1989, the Soviet Union assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of Afghanistan. -
Tienanmen Square Massacre
On June 4th, 1989, protesters in Tienanmen Square were peacefully protesting for economic and political reform. In response, the Chinese authorities responded by sending troops that stormed through Tienanmen Square and killed and arrested thousands of protesters. This protest was a part of many others that were student-led protesting for basic human and press rights against the Communist-led Chinese government that began on April 15th, 1989. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 9th, 1989, the Berlin Wall was demolished. After several weeks of civil unrest in East Germany, the government declared that citizens could visit West Germany and Berlin. U.S. President Ronald Reagan also declared the wall be torn down, calling for General Secretary of the Soviet Union to open the barrier that has divided West & East Berlin since August 13th, 1961. The fall of the wall symbolized the lack of freedom under Communist rule. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
On December 26th, 1991, the Soviet Union officially fell. This was due to Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms that did more bad than good and hastened the fall of the Soviet Union. The fall of the Soviet Union raised the iron curtain and marked the end of the 45-year long Cold War.
