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Iron Curtain Speech
The 'Iron Curtain Speech' (unofficial title), was made on March 5,1946 by Winston Churchill at Westminster College. The 'Iron Curtain' was a metaphor for the division between East and West Europe. The Soviet Union percieved this metaphor as a threat, and increased Cold War tension. -
Period: to
Cold War
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Marshall Plan Initiated
The Marshall Plan was instituted by Douglass McCarthur on April 3, 1948 to provide economic aid to nations that opposed Communism. This was implimented in order to build alliances and weaken the communist stronghold on the world. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was instituted by Harry Truman (US President) on June 24, 1948 to provide supplies to the German city of Berlin that was essentially cut off from the rest of the world by the Iron Curtain. The barrage of aircrafts ended on May 11 (today is the 66th anniversary :) ) 1949 when Stalin ended to blockade and tore down the 'Iron Curtain'. -
NATO Formed
NATO was an alliance between Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States to oppose communism and defend one another. A threat on one of these countries was percieved as a threat upon all of these countries. This rose tensions between NATO countries and Communist countries. -
Sputnik Launched
Sputnilk was a huge victory by the Americans. It was the first sattelite to be launched into space. This was the first of many events in the 'Space Race' between Russia and the US. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Pact was an alliance between oviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria to spread communism and communistic ideals. It was created in oppostion of NATO. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a plan set in place by Kennedy to arm more than 1,000 Cuban exiles to topple Cuban communist control. The fail of this invasion added to the tension of this war. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was an agreement between the US and Cuba to reduce te amount of missiles in their possession. Cuba agreed to release their missiles if the blockage implimented by the US was lifted. -
Moon Landing
The moon landing was an unnoficial win of the 'Space Race' between Russia and the United States. On July 16, 1969 NASA successfully landing Neil Armstrong, along with his crew on the moon for a seven day expedition. -
Mikhail Gorbachev Became President
Many argue the end of the Cold War to be when Mikhail Gorbachev took power; he became the first elected president of the Soviet Union.
