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Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union
This event helped launch the Soviet Union and the US into a temproary alliance. -
Yalta Confrence
Conference in Yalta, in the Soviet Union, between Prime minister Winston Churchill, US president FDR, and Soviet premier Josef Stalin. Planned to divide Germany into different regions of influence. -
Germany Placed Under Military Rule
After WWII Soviet Union and the United States decided that Germany should not be under its own rule. It was decided that Germany would be placed under military rule where Soviets took the east, Americans took the south, British controlled parts of the northwest, and France controlled parts of all of them. -
Postdam Conference
Took place in Postdam, Germany. US and Soviet Union recognized each other's influence over regions where their troops were after the war. accpted the two spheres of influence. -
Allies Defeated Germany
Germany's defeat led Stalin to establish Soviet-controlled governments in Eastern European countries. Also solidifed the idea that postwar Europe was divided into two spheres of influence: East and West. -
Atomic Bomb
The US successfully tested the world's first atomic bomb in Alamogordo, New Mexico. It was thr first high tech bomb the world had ever seen and it would quickly end conflict between the US and Japan. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Churchill delivered his now famous speech about the iron curtain which sepprated the capitalist from the communist. This sepperated east and west germany and other nations that we're communist. -
Truman Doctorine
To continue helping the Greek and Turkish governments fight communism, the US passed the Truman Doctornine which gave $400 million to provide assistance to Greece and Turkey. This doctorine helped the two governemnts defeat communism. -
Marshall Plan
The US provided up to $17 billion in aide fpr economic recovery of Europe. The plan was to also help the economies in Europe to resist the spread of communism from the Soviet Union. -
Greece and Turkey fight communism
Both the Brisish and the United States were helping fight off communism with their allies Greece and Turkey. British funding soon ran dry forcing the US to create teh Truman Doctorine. They did not want the Greek government to fall to communism because if it did, it would take down the Turkish government as well. -
NSC 68
Drafted by the National Security Council, it stated that the US had no choice but to rappidly increase it's atomic capability. The council recommeded that Truman increase U.S. military spendin gto $50 billion a year, which was done in two years. -
Different currency for Germany
France, Great Britain, and the United States introduced new forms of currency to the divided Germany to differ from it's Soviet neighbors. The Soviets, in retiallation, formally withdrew from the Allied Control Council. -
Blockade in Berlin
The Soviets introduced the Blockade in Berlin as a result of the currency change. They cut off all roads, railways, and water routes in and out of the city. Shortly after, Stalin also cut off power, fuel, and food. -
Berlin Airlift
US airlifted supplies into Berlin to help the starving citizens. The process was done through airlifs to avoid ground conflict. The airlifts saved the people in West Berlin. -
Chinese communist revolution
Mao Zedong successfully led a revolution chaning China's government to a communist one. After this happened, the chinese government quickly allied with the Soviet Union, and both countries signed a mutral defense and ecomonic aid agreement. -
Formation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Orginazitoin consisted of nations such as Canada, France, Great Britian, Italy, and the Netherlands. Their agreement was one of protection. They would all wage war if one country attacked any of them. -
Soviets build atomic bomb
The US was now not the only country that had developed the atomic bomb, and had lost their monopoly on it. They no longer had the threat because there was another group who also had the power to destroy a large group at any moment. -
Reopening of the Berlin Blockade
Stalin repoened all the gates to Berlin after a year of blockade. The freedom for West Berlin didn't last long however, later he put up a wall dividing east and west. -
Korean war
The war increased alarm for the spread of communism in Asian countries. The two divided countries (North by the soviets, and South by the US) were having conflicts. -
North Korea invaded South Korea
Using arms supplied by the Soviet Union, North Korea invaded it's southern neighbors. This attack quickly prompted the aid of the United Nations who authorized sending troops to the region under leadership of Douglass McArthur. -
US tests Hydrogen Bomb
The US continued to have the upper hand for a small period of time when they successfully created a weapon of mass destruction that was more deadly than the atomic bomb. This success did not last for a long time. -
Soviet Union tests Hydrogen Bomb
The US lost it's lead on the more competitive weapon when the Soviet Union successfully created an H-bomb as well. Now the race continued to build a more destructive weapon to devestate the other country. -
Korean war ends
The war in the Koreas ends in stalmate between North Korea aided by the Soviet Union, and South Korea helped by the US. General Douglas MacArthur and his troops fought well, and would have continued to fight if Truman had not disagreed about the fighting (Truman advocated limited war). -
Warsaw Pact formed
This pact was the Soviet Union's eqivelent to NATO with the same principal that an act of war would count as an act of war against all of the members. Members of this pact were: Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania -
Hungarian Revolt
Citizens in Hungary started a revolt rioting and demanding more freedom from their communist government. They threatened to return to parlimentary democracy if their demands were not met. The Soviet Red army rounded up the protesters and executed the leaders. -
Berlin Wall
The Soviet Union built a wall several years after the blockade between East and West Germany. The wall was to prevent people from escaping to the west and to trap people in the east in their town. -
Uprising in Czechoslovakia
An uprising like the one in Hungary occured in Czechoslovakia where people demanded more freedom from their communist government. The uprising was unsuccessful however, and most of eastern Europe remained under Soviet control until the late 1980's.
