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Yalta Conference
A meeting of the heads of government of the USA (Roosevelt), Britain (Churchill), and the Soviet Union (Stalin) with the purpose of discussing Europe's post-war reorganization.
<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybnzMnFEWJY' TARGET="_blank" >Click to view a video</a> -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held in Potsdam,Germany where the three major powers were represented by Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill/Clement Atlee, and Harry Truman. The goals of the conference included the establishment of post-war world order and peace treaty issues.
<a href=' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CYUh16AHIk' TARGET="_blank" >Click to view a video</a> -
Gouzenko Affair
Igor Gouzenko was a cipher clerk at the Soviet legation in Ottawa, where he learned that Soviet intelligence operated several spy networks in Canada. Disenchanted with Soviet life and politics, he decided to defect when he learned in 1945 that he and his family were to be sent home. On Sept 5 Gouzenko left the embassy with documents illustrating Soviet espionage activities. <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM94nEQFXEM' TARGET="_blank" >Click here to view video</a> -
Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech
Britain's former Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled with President Truman to make a speech in Missouri. Churchill gave his famous "Iron Curtain" speech" that made the Americans more aware of the growing threat posed by the Soviet Union in Europe.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAyXXepUgrE'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. The Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. The US Air Force and the British RAF flew over 100,000 flights carrying supplies into Berlin.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ30Rgc5Prc'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium. -
Korean War
The Korean War started as a war between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea along the 38th parallel. Cross-border skirmishes at the 38th Parallel persisted and escalated into open warfare when North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950. <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEGyRgYJKEY'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
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Korean War
<a href='http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/history/KoreaWar/koreawar_fact' TARGET="_blank">Veterans Affairs Canada </a> -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a mutual defense treaty between eight communist states of Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The founding treaty was established under the initiative of the Soviet Union and signed on 14 May 1955, in Warsaw. The Warsaw Pact was a Soviet military reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO in 1955. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. The U.S. government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KBPgqSgku0'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
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Vietnam War
<a href='http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/' TARGET="_blank">Website</a> -
Hungarian Uprising
The Hungarian Uprising was a spontaneous, nationwide revolt against the puppet government and its Soviet-imposed policies. It was the first serious challenge to Soviet control since Russian forces drove out the Nazis at the end of WW II. Despite the fact that the uprising was not successful, it had a significant impact and would come to play a prominent role in the subsequent downfall of the Soviet Union.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY7_vSDPr6M'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 was the first satellite launched by the Soviet Union into an elliptical Earth orbit. The surprise success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis, began the Space Age, and triggered the Space Race that was a significant part of the larger Cold War. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ic9bVEzoqk&feature=related'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
Avro Arrow
Avro Arrow (CF-105), an advanced, supersonic, twin-engined, all-weather interceptor jet aircraft developed by A.V. Roe of Canada from 1949 until the government's controversial cancellation of the project in 1959. A.V. Roe bitterly fired 14 000 employees; the government ordered all plans and prototypes destroyed; and many Canadians bemoaned the devastation of Canada's aircraft industry. <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWuZtk8uPP0'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
U-2 Spy Plane Incident
The U-2 incident occurred during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower and during the leadership of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. An American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union. The American government denied the mission but was embarrassed to admit its role as a covert surveillance aircraft when the Soviet government captured the pilot Francis Gary Powers.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eaf6cydnJG0'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful military invasion of Cuba undertaken by a counter-revolutionary militia trained and funded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA intended to overthrow the the leftist government of Cuba but was quickly defeated by Cuban forces led by Fidel Castro. The invasion was a major embarrassment for U.S. foreign policy and the Kennedy administration.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmkbAduMD_E'TARGET="-_blank">Video</a> -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier, constructed by East Germany, that completely cut off West Berlin from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, a "death strip" that contained anti-vehicle trenches, and other defenses. The Wall served to prevent defection from the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ycppm2cEsw"'TARGET="_ blank">Video</a> -
Berlin Crisis
Soon after the construction of the Berlin Wall, a standoff occurred between U.S. and Soviet tanks at Checkpoint Charlie. It began as a dispute over whether East German guards were authorized to examine the travel documents of a U.S. diplomat passing through to East Berlin to see the opera. <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb9AMndjr2U'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
Peter Fechter
An East German teenager was shot by East German guards while trying to escape from East Berlin. His body lay tangled in a barbed wire fence, bleeding to death, in full view of the world’s media. American soldiers could not rescue him and East German border guards were reluctant to approach him for fear of provoking Western soldiers. More than an hour later Fechter’s lifeless body was finally removed as a spontaneous protest broke out against American and East German border guards. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side, and the United States on the other. It is one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict. It is the first instance of the threat of mutual assured destruction (MAD) being discussed as a deterrent.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkuwS9E-FLo'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
Bobby Fisher vs Boris Spassky
The World Chess Championship 1972 was a match between challenger Bobby Fischer of the USA and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The match took place in Iceland and has been dubbed the "Match of the Century". Fischer became the first American World Champion since 1888 his victory also ended 24 years of Soviet domination of chess.<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6WsuBZfr10'TARGET="_blank" >Video</a> -
Canada/Russia Summit Series
The Summit Series was an eight-game hockey series between the Soviet Union and Canada. It was the first competition between the Soviet national team and a Canadian team represented by players of the NHL. The series was organized with the intention to create a true best-on-best competition in the sport of ice hockey. <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lXDMA_bZZw&feature=related' TARGET="_blank" >Video</a>
