-
The Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference is where the Allies Nations, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, decided the re-establishment of the nations conuered and destroyed by Germany. It was determined that defeated Germany would be divided into zones, where each zone was controlled by the three nations present. It was agreed that Germany would pay war reparations. They also discussed the fate of Poland and the creation of the United Nations. -
VE Day
VE Day is where Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Western Allies, offically ending the World War II in Europe. It was significant to the Cold War because the U.S. was able to focus more on the Soviet Union, rather than Germany. -
The "Iron Curtain"
The Iron Curtain was used to create a boundary that separated the Warsaw Pact countries from the NATO countries in 1945 until 1991 when the Cold War ended. It was a physical division as well as an ideological division that depicted the way that Europe was viewed after WWII. To the east were the countries of Czechoslovakia, Poland, part of Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania, all associated with the former Soviet Union. -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman created the Truman Doctrine in order to help countries facing a communist takeover. It was significant to the Cold War because it helped to temporarily stop communist takeover, but only infuriated the Soviets. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American program that supported Europe to help rebuild their economies after the end of WWII, in order to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism. The goals in order to rebuild Europe after the devastation of the war were to remove trade barriers, modernize industry, and make Europe prosperous again. -
Berlin Blockade
The Soviets established a blockade on Berlin to force the people of Berlin into Soviet alliance. The blockade attempted to starve out the allies in Berlin in order to gain dominance. The blockade was a high point in the cold war, and it led to the berlin airlift. The allied responsed by sending massive air supply, which had planes flying night and day to feed the city. -
NATO Created
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation formed with member states Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It is a collective defense where members agree to a mutual defense in response to an attack by any country outside the pact. -
The Korean War
The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. It was significant to the Cold War because it was the first armed conflict within the war. -
Warsaw Pact created
The Warsaw Pact was a mutual defense organization that put the Soviet Union in command of armed forces of the member states. The treaty included the Soviet Union, Albania, Romania, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. It called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force. It set up a unified military command under Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was the conflict between the United States and the USSR over resources around the world. The communist government of North Vietnam was an ally of the USSR while South Vietnam was the ally of the United States. The U.S. feared that if North Vietnam and the USSR won, South Asia would be consumed by Communism. The war ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under Communist control two years later. -
Sputnik
The launch of Sputnik was a key event in the Cold War. The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite that was a success. It was referred to as the Sputnik crisis to the American people because of its orbiting around the Earth, which scared the people due to being assumed that it was a way to spy on them. It was initiated the Space Race between the U.S. and Soviet Union. -
U-2 Incident
The U-2 incident occurred when a U.S. U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union. The U-2 incident raised tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs invasion was the U.S. government attempt to invade Cuba with the help from the CIA. The ultimate goal of the invasion was to overthrow Castro and to end the communist government, in hopes to create a non-communist government peaceful to the U.S. -
The Berlin Wall Created
The Berlin Wall was created in the middle of the night and kept East Germans from escaping to the West for 28 years. The wall was a physical split between West Berlin and East Germany from 1961 to 1989. It was also the symbolic border between democracy and Communism during the Cold War. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was when one of the U.S. spy planes flew over Cuba, reporting the sight of the construction of a Soviet nuclear base. President Kennedy set up a naval blockade and demanded the removal of the missiles. The Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles, and the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba. This confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was the war that came closest to a nuclear war. -
SALT
SALT, or the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, was signed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It was the negotiations that were aimed at decreasing the manufacture of strategic missiles that were capable of carrying nuclear weapons. It was important to the Cold War because it was the first agreement to put restraints and limits on the most important armaments. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall happened as abruptly as it began. The start to the fall began on November 9, 1989, when the leader of the East German Communist Party declared that citizens were now able to cross the border. Citizens began to cross over into West Berlin immediately. After the Berlin Wall came down, East and West Germany rejoined into a one German state on October 3, 1990. The Berlin Wall remains one of the most powerful symbols of the Cold War. -
End of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact, which was a military alliance between the Soviet Union and the Eastern Europe Countries, came to an end. This was an indication that the Soviet Union was losing control over its former allies and that the Cold War was deteriorating. With the allies retreating from the pact, the Soviet military commanders gave up their control of Warsaw Pact forces. The pact was finished. -
End of the Soviet Union
The end to the Soviet Union happened on December 26, 1991. The world watched in amazement as the Soviet Union separated into 15 different, independent countries. The West greeting the fall as a victory for freedom and a triumph over Communism. The U.S. rejoiced as its enemy collapsed, finally ending the Cold War. The fall of the Soviet Union changed the entire world political situation.
