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Iron Curtain
The Fall of the Iron Curtain and the beginning of a new chapter in our history. The Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 paved the way for the reunification of Germany and reunification of Europe after more than 40 years of political and economic division between the West and the East. -
Yalta/Potsdam Conferences
Yalta was the second of three major wartime conferences among the Big Three. It was preceded by the Tehran Conference in November 1943 and was followed by the Potsdam Conference in July of the same year, 1945. -
Novikov Telegram
The Soviet response to The Long Telegram was The Novikov Telegram, in which the Soviet ambassador to the USA, Nikolai Novikov, warned that the USA had emerged from World War Two economically strong and bent on world domination. As a result, the USSR needed to secure its buffer zone in Eastern Europe. -
Long Telegram
Kennan's Long Telegram spurred intellectual policy debate that formed the basis of American policy towards the Soviet Union for the next 25 years, including the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. Kennan's original February 22, 1946 telegram is part of the historic holdings at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an act of containment by the United States. The Marshall Plan was a program that granted economic aid to those directly affected by communism, allowing the countries to rebuild easier. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was the Soviet Unions attempt of starving the city of Berlin from aid from NATO. But overall, this plan backfired, which showed the power of NATO. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was NATO's response to the Berlin Blockade, sending supplies and food to the city of Berlin through aircraft carriers. This forced the Soviet Union to relinquish the walls surrounding Berlin. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was another act of containment put in place by the United States. The Truman Doctrine simply stated that the United States would provide direct support to countries threatened by communism. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, more commonly referred to as NATO, was a defensive military alliance formed by 10 Western European nations, the United States, and Canada. This overall made it more difficult for the USSR to spread communism. -
Communist Revolution in China
The Chinese Communist Revolution was Mao Zedong's proclamation to the People's Republic of China. This made China become the largest socialist state. -
North Korean Invasion
North Korea aimed to militarily conquer South Korea and therefore unify Korea under the communist North Korean regime. Concerned that the Soviet Union and Communist China might have encouraged this invasion, President Harry S. -
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Korean War
The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and rebellions in South Korea. -
Korean Peace Treaty
The Peace Treaty on Korean Peninsula is a proposed settlement to formally end military hostilities on the Korean Peninsula as a follow-up to the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement implemented by the United Nations after the Korean War. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Unions response to the acts of containment. The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European countries. -
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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Although Kennedy had the option of launching air strikes against the missile construction sites, he decided to come into terms with Khrushchev that would see the Soviets remove the missiles in exchange that the U.S. would not invade the Island. Unmistakably, the U.S. won by giving in to Khrushchev's demands. -
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Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution, refers to a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. -
Chernobyl Crisis
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union.