Cold War: Years 1945-50, or How Stalin and the US Started Worrying by Setting Off a (Not-So) Atomic War
By LongNights89
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The Yalta Conference
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin discussed the terms of German surrender, the boundaries and governments in post-war Eastern Europe. The conference resulted in the formation of UN and division of Germany into 4 zones, with the Eastern section controlled by the Soviet Union and the Western section controlled by the US, UK, and France. -
Period: to
Cold War, Years 1945-50
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Potsdam Conference
A six-day conference held between the major Allied powers to further the reconstruction of Europe, which included changing Poland's borders , as well as the formalities of Germany's division, leading to the division of Berlin into 4 zones as well. Moreover, America announced to the world that it had nuclear weapons. -
Hiroshima
The US launched the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan in the hopes of scaring the Japanese forces into submission. -
Nagasaki
The US launched a second atomic assault on Japan. This time on the city of Nagasaki. These two events are the only times nuclear weapons have been used to attack opposition forces. -
The Japanese surrender
A devastated Japan finally surrenders to the US, officially bringing an end to the violence originated from World War II. -
Igor Gouzenko exposes Stalin's spying tactics
Igor Gouzenko, a codebreaker for the Soviet Embassy in Canada, revealed USSR's plan on stealing nuclear secrets from the Western world through planting Russian spies on their soil. This led to Stalin's role shifting from being an ally to a foe in the eyes of the Allied powers. -
Stalin's election speech
Stalin makes his communist beliefs dominant and clear, even citing capitalism and imperialism as the cause of war for future generations. -
Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech
An iconic speech given by Winston Churchill declaring the overshadowing and unstable presence of the USSR in the East, altering many Western nations' views on Stalin, who was formerly seen as the 'big brother who helped out the good guys in the war'. -
Truman Doctrine
A policy by President Truman to provide military and economic aid to devastated nations, though, essentially created as a way to get most of Europe back on its feet so it doesn't fall in the hands of Communism. -
Marshall Plan
A detailed "rescue" plan designed by George Marshall, the US Secretary of State, to rebuild the military, economic, and industrial strength of Europe. The Marshall Plan was basically a comphrensive expansion of the ideals made public in the Truman Doctrine. -
America refines occupation policies in Germany
These "new" policies are not drastically different, however, the intended refinement makes Germany an integral factor in the rehabilitation of Europe. -
Communism spreads in Europe
The Communist Party spread in Romania. -
Communism spreads in Europe
The Communist Party overcomes Czechoslovakia. -
Marshall Plan enacted
President Truman put the Marshall Plan into immediate effect after noticing the fast-growing influence of Communism. -
Stalin orders the blockade of land routes
Following the announcement of the 'Deutsche Mark' as a form of currency for the Western zones, Stalin blocked all land routes from Berlin to West Germany to starve the American, British, and French forces in the German city. -
The Berlin Airlift
The Big Three supplied stocks of resources to citizens of their zones by air. This is an important event in the Cold War as it perfectly exemplifies the kind of rivalry that existed between the USSR and the Big Three, mainly the US, at the height of growing differences. -
NATO founded
NATO, short for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is created to fight the spread of Communism by the US, UK, Canada, France, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. The formation of this group made the social projection of the USSR as an evil influence become apparent. -
USSR tests its first Atomic Bomb
After years of research and espionage, Stalin successfully tests out his country's first atomic bomb, which turns the Soviets into the second major power to have nuclear weapons. -
USSR and China sign a Mutual Defense Pact
The two nations form an alliance, making Communism's power and influence even stronger beyond their vast regions. -
North Korea invades South Korea
North Korea suprises South Korea by invading its land in order to create a united Communist government between the two countries. The North Koreans were backed by the Soviets, and the South Koreans eventually recieved aid by the Americans. This invasion sparked the beginning of the Korean War, and it was becoming clearly apparent that the US & USSR were in a war against one another through indirect attacks over time.