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Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting of British prime minister Winston Churchhill, Soviet Joseph Stalin, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. These leaders demanded Germany's surrender and discussed plans for the postwar world. -
WW2 ends in Europe
VE day or Victory in Europe day. This day was marked as Nazi Germany's official unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
Postdam Conference
Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchhill, and Harry Truman met in Postdam, Germany to negociate terms for the end of WW2. The major issue was to dicuss what to do with Germany. -
The US drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
The dropping of these atomic bombs resulted in Japan's unconditional surrender. The making of these atomic bombs started as the Manhattan project. It was top secret. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman doctrine was a American foreign policy to stop Soviet imperialism. It was announced by President Harry Truman when he pledged to contain Soviet threats. -
Marshall Plan
Also known as the European recovery program it channeled over 13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe. It successfully sparked a economic recovery and it restored the confidence of European people. -
Berlin Airlift
US, British, and Soviet forces divided and occupied Germany. In response to the Soviet blockade into West Berlin the US began a airlift of food, water, and medicine to the people trapped there. -
NATO established
NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was created to provide security against the Soviet Union. This involved the countries of The United States, Canada, and other western European nations. -
Soviet Union detonates first atomic bomb
The Soviets constructed bridges and building to help measure the effects of their first atomic bomb. They also placed animals in cages nearby to test the radiation affects. The bomb destroyed the building and incinerated the animals. A man who had helped the US build their first atomic bomb was arrested because he gave the Soviets information about the US atomic bomb program. -
US and other UN forces fight North Korean forces.
The United Nations landed and effectively cut the army in half and pushed them out of South Korea. South Korea regained its independence. The United Nations recieved much support for taking action. -
Dwight Einsenhower
He is a WW2 hero and former commander of NATO. He became US president in 1953. He helped bring the war in Korea to an end. -
Joseph Stalin dies
He died in Moscow. He was the Soviet leader. He is known as the man who helped save his nation from Nazi domination. He is also known as the mass murderor of the century having overseen 8 to 10 million of his own peoples deaths. -
U.S. sponsored coup overthrows Iranian government.
The Iranian government with the aid of the US overthrew the Iranian government. Iran was a cold war ally with the US until 1979. -
SEATO formed
In September of 1954, the United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, or SEATO. The purpose of the organization was to prevent communism coming into the region. -
Warsaw pact
The Soviet Union and seven of its allies signed the warsaw pact. It was a defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. The Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria were all involved. -
First Summit Meeting between President Dwight Eisenhower and Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
Nikita Khrushchev would visit the United States to talk with President Eisenhower. People were hopeful that these meetings would help ease the tensions of the Cold War. The Unites States relationship with the Soviet Union were better. This relationship was over when Soviets shot down an American spy plane. -
Red Army crushes the Hungarian Revolution.
After nearly 2 weeks of protest in Hungary, Soviet tanks and military viciously crush the protesters. Thousands were killed and many fled the country. The people just wanted more of a democratic political system and freedom from the Soviets. -
Soviets launch first man‑made satellite.
The launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviets frightened many Americans. They were disapointed that they got so far ahead of the technology of the US. They were also afraid that they had gained the upper hand in the arms race. -
Fidel Castro becomes premier of Cuba, installs Communist government
He was sworn in as prime minister of Cuba. He was later arrested and sent to trial for conspiring to overthrow the Cuban government. -
The U-2 incident
A United States spy plane was shot down by the Soviets. At first the US denied the planes purpose and mission but was forced to admit it when the Soviet Union produced the remains and the pilot who survived. -
The Bay of Pigs
Fidel Castro drove his army in Cuba and overthrew their president. For the next 2 years the US state department and the CIA attempted to push him from power. The US launched a full scale invasion of Cuba by American trained Cubans who had been pushed from their homes. However they were forced to surrender after 24 hours of fighting because they were outnumbered. -
The Berlin Wall
East German authorities built the Berlin Wall to close off access to the west. It was a Iron Curtain that divided Europe. A massive airlift by the US and Britain kept the people there alive. In 1989 East Germany announced a easing of travel resistrictions to the West. Thousands of East Berlin people demanded to be let out and the guards opened the borders. -
Sino‑Soviet Conflict
A major diplomatic conflict between The People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union began. When Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, died Mao, the leader of The People's Republic of China, felt that he was now senior leader. He was resentful when the new Soviet leaders did not recognize this and tensions rose. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
US spy planes discovered Soviet missle bases in Cuba. There was almost a nuclear war between two big superpowers. On October 23 the quarintine of Cuba began. President Kennedy gave the Soviet leader time to consider US action by pulling back the quarintine 500 miles. The Soviet ships slowed down and reversed course. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Communism began to falter and new points in the Berlin Wall were being opened. People demanded to be let out. They gathered at checkpoints to get out of East Berlin. The border guards didn't know what to do so they opened the borders.
