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Yalta Conference
Meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin to decide what would happen at the end of the war. Topics discussed included –
Partitioning of Germany
Fate of Poland
The United Nations
German reparations -
V E Day
Victory in Europe as Germany surrenders to the Russian army. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference formally divided Germany and Austria into four zones. It was also agreed that the German capital Berlin would be divided into four zones. The Russian Polish border was determined and Korea was to be divided into Soviet and American zones. -
Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech
Churchill delivers his ‘Sinews of Peace’ speech which contain the famous phrase “..an iron curtain has descended on Europe” -
Cominform
The USSR set up Cominform (Communist Information Bureau) which was the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers’ Parties responsible for the creation of the Eastern bloc. -
Marshall Plan
This was a programmed of economic aid offered by the United States to any European country. The plan was rejected outright by Stalin and any Eastern Bloc country considering accepting aid was reprimanded severely. Consequently the aid was only given to Western European Countries. -
Formation of West Germany
The French, USA and UK partitions of Germany were merged to form West Germany -
Berlin Blockade
Russia’s response to the merger of the French, USA and UK partitions of Berlin was to cut all road and rail links to that sector. This meant that those living in Western Berlin had no access to food supplies and faced starvation. Food was brought to Western Berliners by US and UK airplanes, an exercise known as the Berlin Airlift. -
NATO formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization formed with member states Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States -
Space Race
USSR Sputnik II carried Laika the dog, the first living creature to go into space.
