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July 17 - August 2, 1945
War was ending and the allies needed a plan. Peace settlements were discussed but no treaty was made or brought up. The main issue for this was the control of Germany and battle against Japan. During that time, the US told Soviet about the atom bomb. In Germany’s four occupied zones, allied countries could take reparations from the zone they occupied. Poland was given part of Germany last conference where everyone was able to work together. -
Date: April 4, 1949
12 countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C. including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Great Britain, and the United States. Member countries jointly planned, financed, and built infrastructure such as bases, airfields, pipelines and communication networks. NATO’s nuclear build began to impact the upcoming military. -
Date: April 4, 1949
The Warsaw Pact was made in an attempt to establish a friendship and cooperation system for the Soviet Union and countries like Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland and more. The presence of Soviet troops led to a revival of nationalism and expressions of hostility toward the Soviet Union, mainly Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The Warsaw Pact’s military structure was disbanded on March 31, 1991. -
North Korea and South Korea fought in the Korean War from June 1950 to July 1953. Other countries such as the United States and China were involved as well. The United Nations wanted to put the country back together quickly after Japan lost the war and the Soviet Union took over in the North while the United States took over in the South. However, the Soviets refused to let the people vote on a new government.
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On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. This came as a shock to experts and citizens in the United States, who hoped that the US would accomplish this scientific advancement first. The fact that the Soviets were successful fed fears that the US military had generally fallen behind in developing new technology. As a result, the launch of Sputnik served to intensify the arms race and raise Cold War tensions.
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During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the US and the Soviet Union engaged in a 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation.
