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This German invasion of the Soviet Union was the largest military operation in history until then. Although Hitler sent an incredible amount of troops, the Germans lost and had to retreat in the end.
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Winston Churchill, FDR, and Josef Stalin met in Yalta, a Soviet Union city to decide the military plan to end World War II and a subsequent joint occupation of Germany. In this conference, Stalin promised to allow free elections in Poland to satisfy FDR's wish for an independent and democratic Eastern Europe.
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Allies defeated Germany, who surrendered through the Berlin Declaration
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The U.S. successfully tested the world's first atomic bomb in Alamorgordo, New Mexico.
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German, the Soviet Union, and the US agreed to recognize each others' influence over regions where their troops remained at the end of the war
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The U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war in Japan.
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Stalin established Soviet-controlled governments in Eastern European countries occupied by his Red Army, including Poland.
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Truman stated that it was the obligation of the U.S. to support free that were resisting Communism. It outlined the Cold War policy of containment. Truman asked for and received $400 million to provide assistance to Greece and Turkey, who successfully defeated the attempted Communist takeover.
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The governments of Greece and Turkey were fighting off Communist rebellions
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The Marshallp Plan was introduced to provide $17 billion in aid for the economic recovery of Europe. Although the US perceived this as an effort to promote world peace and stability, the Soviets saw it as a cunning attempt to support American capitalism by economically enslaving European nations, who could not reject the money because of their poor economic conditions.
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President Truman drafted this secret document that was a "blueprint for American policy in the Cold War." It warned that Soviet military capability was now superior to that of the West and continuing to grow at a rapid rate. As a result, the NSC recommended that Truman increase U.S. military spending to $50 billion a year.
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France, Great Britain, and the United States announced plans to introduced a new form of currency in Germany.
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In response to the introduction of the new currency, the Soviets formally withdrew from the Allied Control Council.
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In response to the introduction of the new currency in West Berlin, the Soviets protested by forming a formal blockade of Berlin. Soon after Stalin cut off all road, rail, and water routes to the city.
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The American monopoly on nuclear weapons ended when the Soviets developed a nuclear weapon by perfecting their nuclear technology.
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Mao Zedong successfully led the Communist Revolution in China and quickly allied itself with the Soviet Union.
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Stalin reopened all routes into Berlin, although the city still remained divided.
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The U.S. joined other western nations to form the Nort Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO's members formed a military alliance to protect each other from Soviet aggression.
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The U.S. was even more alarmed over the spread of communism in Asia after the Korean War happened.
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South Korea, supported by the U.S. and the UN, fought against the North Korean invasion, assisted by China and the Soviet Union.
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The U.S. successfully testedm a nuclear device even more powerful than the atomic bomb.
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Shortly after the U.S. successfully tested its hydrogen bomb, the Soviet Union followed and developed its own in 1953.
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After 3 years of fighthing, the Korean War ended in a stalemate.
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In response to the formation of NATO, the Soviet Union formed a military alliance with Czechoslovackia, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, and Romania.
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Because of the strict Iron Curtain, Hungarian citizens began rioting and demanded more freedom from their Communist government. They were auickly put down by the Soviet Red Army which was sent by the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev. Although the Hungarians pleaded the U.S. for help, Eisenhower did not even consider sending troops and the rebellion was brutally crushed.
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The Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin to prevent people from escaping to the west free zone.
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Czechoslovakia put up a similar rebellion to Hungary's, but it was also stopped by the Soviet Union.
