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The Iron Curtain
The 'Iron Curtain' symbolized efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and it's surrounding areas from any open contact with the West and non-Soviet controlled areas. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/294419/Iron-Curtain -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the United States effort to aid Europe during the war. The United States provided $17 billion in economic support to help rebuild the European economy after World War II in order to prevent spreading Soviet Communism. http://marshallfoundation.org/marshall/the-marshall-plan/ -
The Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was an attempt by the Soviet Union to block off western allies railway, road and canal access to Berlin with aim to take control of the entire city. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-blockade -
The Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was in response to the Berlin Blockade. Western Allies organized over 200,000 flights in one year, providing over 4700 tons of necessities to the people of Berlin. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-airlift -
Formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
In 1949, twelve countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty. This was a security pact saying that a military attack against any of the countries participating in this treaty would be considered an attack against all of them. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/formation-of-nato-and-warsaw-pact -
The Korean War
The Korean War was the first military action of the Cold War. The United States entered the was representing South Korea. American officials believed that this was was a fight against international communism itself. http://www.history.com/topics/korean-war -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty among eight communist states of central and eastern Europe. It was meant to maintain peace in Europe, but was ultimately motivated by the Soviet Union's desire to control eastern and central Europe. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/formation-of-nato-and-warsaw-pact -
Start of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam war began in November of 1955. The war was held in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. This war was started to stop the spread of communism. The war ended with the withdrawl of U.S. forces in 1973 and Vietnam was unified and under communist control two years later. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war -
The U2 Incident
On May 1, 1960, a United States U2 spy plane was was shot down in Soviet airspace. The plane was performing aerial reconassistance, which is essentialy a spy mission, when it was hit. http://www.coldwar.org/articles/60s/u2_incident.asp -
The Bay of Pigs
In 1961, the United Stated planned to invade Cuba and overthow Fidel Castro. On April 17, 1,700 exiles armed with United States weapons landed in Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). Despite their efforts, they were quickly defeated by Cuba. http://www.coldwar.org/articles/60s/bay_of_pigs.asp -
The Berlin Wall
In August of 1961. the German Democratic Republic began to build the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin. The purpose of building this wall was to keep western "fascists" out of eastern Berlin. The Berlin Wall stood until November 9, 1989 when the head of the Eastern German Communist Party announced that citizens of the German Democratic Republic could come and go as they pleased. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall -
The Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement was created by six leaders (India's first Prime Minister, Burma's first Prime Minister, Indonesia's first President, Egypt's second president, Ghana's first President, and Yugoslavia's president). The aim of this movement was for these states to not join sides of the Cold War, but rather remain neutral. http://www.nti.org/treaties-and-regimes/non-aligned-movement-nam/ -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles that were set off in Cuba. It was the closest thing to a full out Nuclear War that the Cold War had experienced. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx -
Detante
Detante is a French word meaning release from tension. This word was given to a time period of improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. President Richard Nixon vistied the secretary general of the Soviet Union Communist Party, Leonid Brezhnev, in May of 1972 to resolve issues. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/detente -
Glasnost and Perestroika
When Mikhail Borbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, he launched the dual program of "glasnost" ("openness") and "perestroika" ("restructuring"). This program put an end to the Cold War in 1991. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/perestroika-and-glasnost
