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The Yalta Conference
This was a conference that was held between the heads of government for the US, the UK, and the Soviet Union. The main purpose of this meeting was to discuss Europe's post-war reorganization. -
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The Cold War
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The "Iron Curtain"
The Iron Curtain is a metaphorical term that was adapted after the boundary that the Soviet Union made with its central and European allies. The boundry helped separate the West and the other noncommunist areas. It also helped protect and guard from military and political disagreements. -
The Marshall Plan
There was an obvious toll that was taken on each country after WWII. They all faced economic crisises and famine, which ultimately made it hard to live a successful life. Secretary of State George C. Marshall called for assistance from America in order to help replensih the economic framework of Europe. -
The Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was created in result of the Berlin Blockade. The Soviet Union created this blockade to prevent Western Allies from accessing Berlin. Many people were frustrated with this action, and that is how the Berlin Airlift was created. The Western allies flew supplies into Western Berlin, which was blockaded at the time. -
Formation of NATO
The Soviet Union started to take over the satellite countries, and started to run them politically. This resulted in an even larger growth in armed forces, which left the neighboring countries scared and threatened. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was made after this, in order to help control the Soviets. -
The Soviet Union's Atomic Bomb
The Soviets attacked back by using the atomic bomb. This was a threat and proof to the US that they were a force to be reckoned with. They were the second country ever to produce the atomic bomb. -
Beginning of The Korean War
In June of 1950, North Korea decided to involve themselves in the fighting by invading South Korea. North American troops then sided with the South Koreans, which ultimately led to a victory. The main reason the US decided to join was because they wanted to help stop the spread of communism. -
Execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were a couple who was convicted of conspiracy to commint espionage. This resulted in a dramatic finale of the most controversial espionage case of the entire Cold War. The two resulted in death by the electric chair. -
The End of The Korean War
The People's Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agreed to an armistice, which ended the Korean War. This battled turned out to be a lot bigger than originally expected, and there was a lot more blood lost. -
The Rise of Nikita Khrushchev
After Stalin's death, there was a large debate over who would take over the Soviet Union. Nikita Khrushchev was elected leader on September 7th. He was a declared communist as well. -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites decided that they would all ban together and protect one another if an outside country tried to attack. This led to putting the Soveits in command of the armed forces of the member states. -
Launch of Sputnik
Sputnik was the first artificial satellite that was launched by the Soviet Union. Many experts were shocked by this because everyone thought that the US would be the first country to launch a satelitte. The US saw this as an alarming threat, because it seemed as if they had fallen behind in the techonological race. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall acted as a barrier to divide Berlin into two parts. The parts were separated into East Berlin and West Berlin. It was a concrete wall built with barbed wire fencing, and was a large part of symbolizing the cold war. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
The Cuban Missle Crisis was just about the closet that the US and the Soviet Union came to an all out nuclear conflict. The US made the discovery of location 90 missles on the coast of Cuba, that was aimed directly towards the United States. After 13 long days, Kennedy finally talked Khrushchev into remvoving the missles from the coast. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 9th, 1989, the German government made an official annoucement that people were allowed to cross the borders of the Berlin Wall. People were hisitant to test this theory, because many did not think it was true. But, they ultimately were allowed to cross, which led to the falling of the wall. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The Fall of the Soviet Union ultimately started after the soviet republics broke off from control the Soviet Union. They formed the Commonwealth of Independent States. The world watched in true amazement as the once strong Soviet Union fell apart into 15 different countries. This event ended the Cold War, and left the US celebrating.
