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The Berlin Wall Goes Up
Soviets built a wall between the east and west parts of Berlin, the capital of Germany. This wall forcibly closed off the people of East Germany. The problem was that East Germany contained Berlin, but the western half of the city itself remained a part of West Germany. Once the Western had access to West Berlin, people from the East fled to the West because there was democracy. The Berlin wall is significant because it became the symbol of the Cold War and the splitting up of East from West. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan also known as the European Recovery was intended to rebuild the economies and spirits of the Western Europe people.This plan included 16 nations which received nearly $13 billion in aid, which initially resulted in shipments of food, staples, fuel and machinery from the United States. The United States supplied because it was the only major power in the world that was not significantly damaged by WWII. This was significant because the trade relations helped shape European Union -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Air lift made to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin because the western powers didn’t allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel so the soviets could gain control over the entire city. It was significant because it was the first battle of the Cold War and also brought embarrassment to the Soviets who had refused to believe it could make a difference. -
Creation of NATO
NATO was designed to organize the military defense nations against the possible Soviet aggression. Whichever nations agreed to NATO it stated that an armed attack against any one of them would be taken as an attack against all who is included in NATO. The significance was that Russia didn’t want to attack anyone because if they did everyone would attack back. -
Soviets create & test nuclear bomb
The Soviet Union set off its first nuclear weapon at its testing range on the Kazakhstan steppe. The successful Soviet test came as a sock to the West. It is significant because Russia is now the world's largest nuclear arsenal. -
The Korean War
The Korean War began as soldiers from North Korea crossed the boundary between the Soviet Democratic Republic of Korea, to the north and the Western Republic of Korea, to the south in an attempt to invade them. The U.S. entered the war siding with South Korea because they were against the forces of international communism. The Korean War was significant because this invasion was the first military action of the Cold War and also created a 2-mile-wide demilitarized zone that still exists today. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a military treaty that was made to bind countries. Whoever was included in this would help the aid of the others included, if any of them would be the target of a foreign aggression. The Pact became a political tool for the Soviet Union to get power over its allies by using the powers of their combined military. This is significant because of the eventual fall of Communism. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was between nationalist forces which attempted to get Vietnam under a communist government and The United States which tried to prevent the spread of communism. To do so the United States decided to help France defeat Ho Chi Minh, the communist Vietnamese revolutionary leader and his revolutionaries by sending the French military aid. This war was significant because the U.S. leaders lost the American’s support and only learned what to not do in all future U.S. foreign conflicts. -
Fidel Castro comes to power in Cuba
Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. He took power when Batista left the country because of war. Castro’s significance into coming into power is because Cuba became a communist nation right next to the USA. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by the United States backed Cuban exiles to overthrow the government of the Cuban dictator. The exiles landed in Bay of Pigs to cross to Havana but the invasion was stopped by Castro's army. All of the exiles had ether died or gotten captured. This was significant because since the Bay of Pigs failed the United States and President Kennedy looked bad. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Present Kennedy declared that Soviet Union was building secret missile bases in Cuba. Kennedy ordered a blockade on Cuba to prevent Russian ships from bringing more missiles and construction materials to the island. The Russian leader agreed with President Kennedy's orders by sending all Soviet supply ships away from Cuba and removed the missiles from Cuba's mainland. This is significant because it would have been the first nuclear holocaust. -
1972 Basketball Game
The U.S. and Russia faced off in the championship game in the Olympics. The U.S. have never lost a game in the Olympics. Russia was leading at half by 5 points. In the controversal last minute Russia ended up winning on the last second shot to win 51 to 50. This is significant because it gave Russia somthing to cheer about and be excited about because they won. -
1980 Olympic Hockey gam
The USA beat USSR and game Americans something to cheer about because the USSR was supposed to be the best and greatest team of all time. This is significant to the cold war because its U.S. verses soviets. -
German Reunification/Fall of Berlin Wall
The people of East Germany decided to protest openly and tried to keep the situation under control. After the protest there then was a press conference that then announced new travel regulations. It was significant because the East German people brought down the Berlin Wall through non-violent resistance. After the wall was gone it eventually led to the fall of East Germany, and later led to the re-unification of Germany. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
The collapse of the Soviet Union was a victory for freedom in the west and the victory of capitalism over socialism. The breakup of the Soviet Union led the complete reformulation of political, economic and military alliances all over the world. It is significant because the fall of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War.
