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Cold War
The state of hostility, without actual warfare, that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union from the World War ll until the collapse of the Soviet Union. -
United Nations (UN) Formed
The Formation of the United Nations, 1945. On January 1, 1942, representatives of 26 nations at war with the Axis powers met in Washington to sign the Declaration of the United Nations endorsing the Atlantic Charter , pledging to use their full resources against the Axis and agreeing not to make a separate peace. -
Germany Divided
After the Potsdam conference, Germany was divided into four occupied zones: Great Britain in the northwest, France in the southwest, the United States in the south and the Soviet Union in the east. Berlin, the capital city situated in Soviet territory, was also divided into four occupied zones. -
Containment Policy
U.S. foreign policy of checking the expansion or influence of the Soviet Union and the spread of communism, as by the creation of strategic alliances or support of client states in areas of conflict or unrest -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman’s foreign policy of financially supporting Greece and Turkey to help them fight Soviet communist threats -
Marshall Plan
U.S. gave over $13 billion ($140 in current dollar) in economic assistance to help rebuild Western Europe after WWII -
Berlin Airlift
The supply of West Berlin in Germany by American and British planes during a Soviet blockade in 1948. -
NATO Formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. ... After the destruction of the Second World War, the nations of Europe struggled to rebuild their economies and ensure their security. -
Kim Il-sung invades South Korea
With the end of the Korean War, despite the failure to unify Korea under his rule, Kim il-sung proclaimed the war a victory in the sense that he had remained in power in the north. ... At the same time, he consolidated his power over the Korean communist movement. -
UN forces push North Korea to Yalu River- the border with China
UN forces invaded North Korea in October 1950 and moved rapidly towards the Yalu River—the border with China—but on 19 October 1950, Chinese forces of the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) crossed the Yalu and entered the war. ... The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. -
Chinese forces cross Yalu and enter Korean War
Those who escaped envelopment and capture were forced back north. UN forces invaded North Korea in October 1950 and moved rapidly towards the Yalu River—the border with China—but on 19 October 1950, Chinese forces of the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) crossed the Yalu and entered the war. -
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Korean War
The Korean War (1950-1953) began when the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded non-Communist South Korea. As Kim Il-sung's North Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, quickly overran South Korea, the United States came to South Korea's aid. -
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg Execution
On this day in 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviets, are executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. Both refused to admit any wrongdoing and proclaimed their innocence right up to the time of their deaths, by the electric chair -
Armistice Signed
The Armistice was an agreement signed by representatives of France, Great Britain and Germany. It was an agreement to end fighting as a prelude to peace negotiations. The Treaty of Versailles signed six months later would act as the peace treaty between the nations. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Treaty Organization (also known as the Warsaw Pact) was a political and military alliance established on May 14, 1955 between the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries. -
Sputnik I
That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.
