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Potsdam Conference
From July 17 to August 2, 1945, Allied leaders met outside of Berlin. The Potsdam Conference set up a competition between capitalist Western powers (the United States and Great Britain) and the communist-controlled Soviet Union. This rivalry grew into the Cold War. -
NATO/Warsaw Pact
The NATO was established in 1949, as a defense against the Soviet Union and its eastern European Allies. On April 4, 1949, 12 countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C. In 1949, the original members of NATO were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom (Great Britain), and the United States. -
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NATO/Warsaw Pact
On May 14, 1955, (Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance), was signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, etc…. The Soviet Union wanted to establish a strong defense alliance against any potential military or economic threats from the West, especially with a rearmed West Germany as a member of NATO. In November 1990 Warsaw Pact and NATO Leaders declared that they were “no longer adversaries,” ending the Cold War. -
The Korean War
North Korea and South Korea fought the Korean War from June 1950 to July 1953. Japan controlled Korea until the end of World War II (1939-45). On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans attacked southward across the 38th parallel, beginning the start of the Korean War. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War began in 1954, after Vietnam was split into two parts, one part as North Vietnam and the other part as South Vietnam. -
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Vietnam War
In 1975, North Vietnam won the war. -
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Vietnam War
In February of 1968, the Communist attacked about 30 cities in South Vietnam. -
Suez Crisis
Ten Israeli brigades invaded Egypt and advances toward the canal, on October 29, 1956. -
Sputnik/Space Race
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the earth’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. -
Sputnik/Space Race
On January 31, 1958, the United States succeeded in launching its first satellite, the Explorer. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In October of 1962, there was “a 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba. On October 22, 1962, “President John F. Kennedy notified Americans of the missiles.” -
Glasnost/Perestroika
“Glasnost was the Soviet policy of open discussion of political and social issues.” “Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev instituted this policy in the late 1980’s.”
