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Period: to
World War I
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The Bolshevik Revolution overthrows Czarist Russia and creates a Provincial Government
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Stalin becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party
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Vladimir Ilyich Lenin dies
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FDR is first elected US president
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FDR is re-elected
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The Soviet Union and Germany sign a non-agression pact
Germany invades Poland. -
World War II commences in Europe
Germany invades Poland. -
Period: to
World War II
WWII ended with the surrender of Japan -
Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany.
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USSR invades Poland from the east
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Winston Churchill becomes UK Prime Minister
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FDR is re-elected
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Operation Barbarossa - Germany invades Soviet Union (breaks non-agression pact with the USSR)
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Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
This caused the Americans to enter the war. -
Operation Husky - Allied landings in Sicily.
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Tehran Conference in Iran
The first meeting together of FDR, Churchill and Stalin. -
D-Day
160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. They fought along a 50 mile stretch of Nazi fortified coastline. -
FDR is re-elected
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The Yalta Conference
Ended on February 11, 1945. -
FDR dies, Harry S. Truman becomes president
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Germany signs unconditional surrender, ending the WWII in Europe
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VE Day
Victory in Europe Day, the formal end of Hitler's war. The end of six years of suffering. The US celebrated VE day on May 8th, however, most of Europe celebrated it on May 9th. -
Division of Germany into four zones of occupation
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United Nations Charter signed in San Fransisco
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Churchill resigns as Prime Minister
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US drops its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima
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Nazi War Crimes Trials begin in Nürnberg
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Stalin's "Two Camps" Speech
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Winston Churchill delivers his "Iron Curtain Speech"
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Stalin's response to the "Iron Curtain Speech"
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Truman Doctrine was proclaimed in the US
It stated that the US would support Greece and Turkey against the communist with military and economic aid. -
USSR backs communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
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The Marshall Plan is signed into law
The Marshall Plan was to give aid to any European country damaged during WWII. -
Berlin Blockade begins
The USSR blocked all train, truck and barge traffic from entering Berlin. No food could then be delivered. Starvation was inevitable. -
Period: to
The Berlin Airlift
The Allies began a massive Berlin airlift effort to deliver food and other nesessaties to the inhabitants. They started delivering six tons of food to Berlin every day and worked up to 2,500 tons daily by the end of the campaign. The USSR ended the blockade in May 1949. -
NATO Treaty is fully radified
NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was joined by the US, Canada and ten Western European nations . -
First Soviet atomic bomb is tested in Kazakhstan, USSR
This successful test shocked the US. US intelligence thought that the USSR was several years away from being able to detonate a nuclear device. Truman's response was to urge US atomic scientists to hurry up the development of a hydrogen "super bomb." -
Churchill elected Prime Minister, again
Churchill completes his term in April 1955. -
Stalin dies
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The Warsaw Pact is signed
This was Stalin's response to the NATO Treaty. It was officially named the Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. The Soviet Union and seven Eastern European neighbors signed the Warsaw Pact. -
Berlin Wall constructed
"Barbed wire fences up to six feet (1.83 metres) high were put up during the night, and Berliners woke this morning to find themselves living in a divided city."
(BBC On This Day) -
Churchill dies