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End of WW2 in Europe
The end of WWII in Europe came after the death of Hitler in his Berlin bunker in April of 1945. An allied victory was assured, and postwar rebuild of Europe began. -
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Yalta Conference
The conference at Yalta between Josef Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill was a major step towards the end of the war effort. Postwar goals for Europe’s rebuild were set, with Stalin’s request for a buffer zone granted along with an unfulfilled promise to implement democracy in those areas. -
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Potsdam Conference
Held near Berlin from July 17 to August 2, 1945, the Potsdam Conference was the last of the World War II meetings held by the “Big Three” heads of state. Featuring American President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, his successor, Clement Attlee, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, the leaders arrived at various agreements on the German economy, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries and reparations. -
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Nuremberg Trials
The war crimes trial of Nazi officials that took place in Nuremberg, Germany after the conclusion of World War II. 22 prominent Nazis were tried in the Nuremberg trials, and 12 were eventually sentenced to death. -
Founding of Israel
The Zionist movement led to the establishment of a unified Israel supported by Great Britain and the United States. However, with multiple religions holding claim to the area, the region is extremely disputed over and has been a war zone for many years. -
Marshall Plan
The plan implemented by the United States to grant aid to western European countries for the rebuilding effort. This plan also helped to rebuild the economy of the states that aid was given to. Behind the scenes, the plan also served as a barrier against the infiltration of communism. -
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Berlin airlift
In June 1948, the Russians, who wanted Berlin all for themselves, closed all highways, railroads and canals from western-occupied Germany into western-occupied Berlin. Instead of retreating from West Berlin, however, the U.S. and its allies decided to supply their sectors of the city from the air. This effort lasted for more than a year and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo into West Berlin. -
Creation of NATO
This treaty was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. -
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Korean War
The United States and the USSR had to decide what to do with Korea, and they eventually opted to split the peninsula Korea rested on along the 38th parallel. June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and real war began. North Korea, backed by the Soviet Union and China, pushed past the 38th parallel and engaged with South Korean forces. In response, the United Nations Security Council began to dispatch forces immediately. -
Creation of Warsaw Pact
This pact was created in 1955 by the Soviet Union in response to the formation of NATO. The pact included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. The treaty called on members to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force. The pact came to an official end in 1991 with the rise of non-communist governments in other Eastern bloc nations such as Poland and Czechoslovakia. -
Building of Berlin Wall
As Germans under soviet occupation in East Germany fled to West Germany though Berlin, the Soviet Union built a wall to keep Germans in their zone of occupation and keep them from fleeing to West Germany. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy announced the blockade on October 22 and warned that U.S. forces would seize all material that Soviet vessels might attempt to deliver to Cuba. On October 28 Khrushchev surrendered. Soviets agreed the missiles already in Cuba would be returned to the Soviet Union and Kennedy committed the United States never to invade Cuba and to withdraw the missiles that the United States had stationed in Turkey, fulfilling their promises, and the crisis was over by late November. -
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OPEC oil embargo
During one of the Arab-Israeli wars, the Arab members of OPEC put sanctions on nations that supported Israel, such as the United States, South Africa, and the Netherlands, causing a major oil crisis as supplies ran short in oil dependent countries. -
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Helsinki accords
An agreement that promised a respect for sovereignty and human rights, that was a major part of the easing of the tensions of the cold war, as it promised to end one of the major tactics the two superpowers used. -
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Fall of Communism in Europe
Starting in the late 80’s into the early 90’s, the communist governments in eastern Europe collapsed one by one, leading to the independence of the nations that had been under soviet domination since WWII.
