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The Cold War, Years 1945 to 1991
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The beginning of the Cold War is believed to be the Yalta Conference.
The conference was a meeting between the three largest super powers on the world at that time. This included Great Britain’s Winston Churchill, the Soviet Union’s Josef Stalin, and the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt. The three men met in Yalta to discuss the dividing of Germany, the formation of the United Nations, German War reparations, the entry of Soviet forces into the Eastern front, and the future of Poland.
<a href='http://library.thinkquest.org/10826/timeline.htm' >Thinkquest.org</a -
The Soviet Union's first known atomic test.
Radiation was found by a spy plane in early September and alerted the United States that a nuclear detonation had occurred recently. This test was held by the Soviets to see how destructive the blast was and how the radiation fallout would affect animals similar to humans. This event led to the arrest of Klaus Fuchs who passed atomic secrets to the Soviets.
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Russians launch the first man made satellite.
Sputnik 1 was the first satellite to leave Earth. This caused a panic in the United States because it showed that the Soviet Union had the ability to send things into Earth’s orbit. Before this type of technology Americans believed they were safe from nuclear detonations due to their distance from the Soviet Union, but due to this technology warheads could reach around the world.
University of Washington -
Fidel Castro becomes premier of Cuba.
Fidel Castro is a very well-known name when it comes to communism and the Cold War. He became the premier of Cuba and installed a Communist government there. Cuba became a heavily guarded island due to its alliance with the Soviet Union and its proximity to the United States.
University of Washington -
Cuba having short and medium range ballistic missiles was a great threat to most of the Western hemisphere.
A large amount of ground to ground and air to ground nuclear ballistic missiles were found being assembled in Cuba. Due to Soviet influence in Cuba and its location, it instantly became a threat to everything within 2,000 miles.
Wiki - Cuban Missile Crisis -
The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy was tragic to say the least.
As his political career began to look promising, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated after a speech in a hotel room in California. His death was saddening for three major reasons. It was saddening because he was the second Kennedy brother to pass away during that generation, he was a major supporter of racial equality, and he was a main supporter of those who were impoverished in America.
Required Lecture -
President Nixon resigned from office in 1974.
Due to the Watergate scandal and other political mishaps President Nixon resigns from office. He was officially pardoned by his vice-president replacement Gerald Ford. Times were tough in America during these years, the resignation of their President only made them worse.
Required Lecture -
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
A new type of leader was elected by the Politburo in 1985, one who would promote policies of openness and restructuring. He also met with President Reagan many times to discuss the changes in the Soviet Union’s future.
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United States and Soviet Union agree to remove medium and short range missiles from war space.
The signing of this treaty meant the destruction and removal of all short to medium range ballistic missiles that were placed throughout the Soviet Union’s influence as well as in the United States. The elimination of these weapons caused tension to slightly ease on both sides of the conflict.
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The fall of the Berlin Wall created reunification among the East and West sides of Berlin.
For two decades families had been separated by a concrete wall, guards, and other dangerous defenses. Once the East German Government allowed Eastern Germans to visit Western Germans the wall was said to have fallen. However, the wall did not actually fall until later in 1990 when large construction equipment was used to flatten the majority of what used to be known as the Berlin Wall.
Wiki - Berlin Wall -
In 1990 "Unity Day" was the official day that East and West Germany were truly reunited.
October third is a nationally recognized holiday in Germany. This is because this is the day when Germany was said to be in unity, not re-unified or in union.
Wiki - German Unity Day -
The end of the Warsaw pact shows signs that the era known as the Cold War was coming to an end.
The Warsaw pact established friendship, co-operation and mutual assistance between the eight communist countries of the time. The end of this treaty was due to the disposal of communist governments in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Albania, East Germany, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Wiki - Warsaw Pact -
The final dissolution of the Soviet Union meant the official end of the Cold War.
With the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev and the acknowledgement of independence for the twelve republics of the Soviet Union the former Soviet Union was no more. With a dissolved Soviet Union the Cold war was officially over.
Wiki - Dissolution of the Soviet Union
