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Potsdam Conference
Formally divided Germany and Berlin into four zones. -
Yalta Conference
Meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin to decide what would happen at the end of the war.
Topics discussed included:
1. Division of Germany
2. Fate of Poland
3. Declaration of Liberated Europe -
V-E Day
Victory in Europe as Germany surrenders to the Russian army. -
V-J Day
The Japanese surrendered bringing World War Two to an end. -
Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech
Churchill delivers his ‘Sinews of Peace’ speech which contain the famous phrase “..an iron curtain has descended on Europe” -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman promised to help any country facing a Communist takeover -
Marshall Plan
This was a program 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. -
End of Berlin Blockade
Russia ended the blockade of Berlin. -
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 -
Korean War Begins
The Korean war began when North Korea invaded South Korea. -
Death of Stalin
Joseph Stalin died at the age of 74. He was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev. -
Korean War Ends
The Korean war ended. North Korea remained affiliated with Russia while South Korea was affiliated with the USA. -
Geneva Accords
This set of documents ended the French war with the Vietminh and divided Vietnam into North and South states. The communist leader of North Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh while the US friendly south was led by Ngo Dinh Diem. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Pact was formed with member states East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. -
U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
After the failure of the Geneva Accords (which established elections to unify North and South Vietnam), the U.S. established the American Military Advisory Group to support South Vietnam, unofficially entering the conflict. -
Space Race
USSR Sputnik II carried Laika the dog, the first living creature to go into space. -
U.S. Established NASA
The United States responded to both Sputnik missions by forming the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. -
U.S. U-2 Spy Plane Shot Down
Soviet forces shot down a U.S. spy plane over the Soviet Union and captured its pilot. Peace talks failed when the Soviets proved that the U.S. was conducting espionage; two years later, they exchanged the pilot for a Soviet spy in American custody. -
First Man in Space
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel in space, as well as the first person to orbit the planet. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A force of Cuban exiles, trained by the CIA, aided by the US government attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow the Communist government of Fidel Castro. The attempt failed. -
Berlin Wall Created
Berlin wall built and borders sealed between East and West Germany. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A US spy plane reported sighting the construction of a Soviet nuclear missile base in Cuba. President Kennedy set up a naval blockade and demanded the removal of the missiles. War was averted when the Russians agreed on 28th October to remove the weapons. The United States agreed not to invade Cuba. -
JFK Assassination
President Kennedy was assassinated while on a visit to Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Two American destroyers reported that they were attacked by North Vietnam, leading the U.S. to increase its military presence in Vietnam. -
U.S. Deployed into Vietnam
The U.S. sent its first combat troops to defend the American airbase at Da Nang. -
Apollo 11
US Apollo 11 landed on the Moon and Neil Armstrong became the first man on the Moon. -
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
The U.S. and the Soviets negotiated the first of several treaties (SALT I) that regulated arms in both countries. -
Paris Peace Accords
Ended American involvement in Vietnam. -
Olympic Boycott by USA
A number of countries including the USA boycotted the summer Olympics held in Moscow in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Other countries including Great Britain participated under the Olympic flag rather than their national flag -
Olympic boycott by Russia
Russia and 13 allied countries boycotted the summer Olympics held in Los Angeles in retaliation for the US boycott of 1980. -
Govbachov leader of USSR
Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union -
Chernobyl Disaster
An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine remains the worst nuclear disaster in history -
Glasnost and Perestroika
Mikhail Gorbachev announced his intention to follow a policy of glasnost – openness, transparency and freedom of speech; and perestroika – restructuring of government and economy. He also advocated free elections and ending the arms race. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was torn down -
Reunification of Germany
East and West Germany were officially reunited as the nation of Germany. -
End of the Soviet Union
Most Soviet republics had already withdrawn from the Soviet Union when Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his post on December 25. The next day, the USSR ceased to exist, and Boris Yeltsin, president of Russia, now presided over an independent state.