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Yalta Conference
A major wartime meeting between the three major allies of the war. The U.S.A., U.S.S.R., and U.K. They made public announcements like demanding Germany's total surrender and plans to split up Germany into 4 parts. Also they tried to set up NATO with demands that Stalin allow free elections in Eastern European countries he now controlled. Stalin broke this promise later. The conference is and was after it controversial for many secrets agreements between the nations. history.com -
Iron Curtain
The separation of Eastern and Western Europe between U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. powers. Churchill described it as an Iron Curtain in his famous speech in Fulton, Missouri. He warned the nations "“nothing which they admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for military weakness.” https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/churchill-delivers-iron-curtain-speech -
Truman doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was President Harry Truman's promise to provide military and economic support to and country fighting communism. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine -
Formation of Nato
Expanding communist control scared the U.S.A. and its allies. It decided to make NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In response the U.S.S.R. made the Warsaw pact. This further split Europe. https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/formation-of-nato-and-warsaw-pact -
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Korean War
North Korea was a communist state that wanted all of Korea for itself. In contrast South Korea was a capitalist state that wanted all of Korea for itself. Both the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. backed each of them respectively. The U.S. at first only trained troops and supplied weapons, but right before the war was won by North Korea they sent in the troops. The war ended in a standstill.
https://www.history.com/topics/korea/korean-war -
Death of Stalin
Stalin died of a brain Hemorrhage at the age of 74. Most of his best doctors died in The Great Purge and others were too afraid to operate on him. He was succeed by Nikita Khrushchev. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-death-stalin-180965119/ -
Warsaw Pact
U.S.S.R. forms a pact with its 7 allies. Allies include Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-warsaw-pact-is-formed -
First man in space
U.S.S.R. gets first man in space. 27 year old cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, is sent in the spacecraft Vostok 1 and returned in the ocean. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
America trains and funds troops to invade communist Cuba. They were scared by the recon pictures of U.S.S.R. nuclear weapons in Cuba. Massive failure because U.S.A. was too scared to seem directly involved so sent zero air support. -
Berlin Wall is constructed
East Berlin continuously seemed much worse than West Berlin as it was a successful capitalist society compared to the East's much more poor population. Too many people were immigrating to West Berlin and so the U.S.S.R. put a wall to keep immigrants in.
