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Occupying Germany
When the war in Europe ended in May 1945, much of Germany was in ruins and it had no functioning government. The victorious allies needed to establish a system to govern Germany and rebuild the nation. -
The struggle begins
In February 1946 Stalin stated publicly that he believed war between the east and west was bound to happen in the future. The next month, former British leader Winston Churchill gave a speech in the United States. -
Crisis in Berlin
In June 1948, the Soviets blocked off all land, rail, and water routes into West Berlin. As a result, Berlins 2 million residents were no longer able to import food, coal, and other vital supplies -
War in Korea
In June 1950 the North Koreans attacked South Korea. Their goal was to unite the country under a communist government. -
The nuclear arms race
In the fall of 1952 the United States tested the first fusion-powered hydrogen bomb with spectacular results, completely vaporizing the island on which the bomb was tested. As with the atomic bomb, the U.S. technology advantage was short lived. -
Other Cold War conflicts
In 1956 Egypt angered the west by taking over the Suez Canal, which had been controlled primarily by Great Britain and France. After Britain and France and Israel attacked Egypt the Soviet Union threatened to fight on Egypts side. -
Soviet Union launches Sputnik
In October 1957 the arms race took another leap forward with the Soviet Union successful launch of Sputnik. Sputnik was history's first artificial satellite. -
Communism in Cuba
In 1959 rebels under leadership of Fidel Castro overthrew Cubas dictator and installed a communist government. Once in power, Castro established a centrally planned economy and forged close ties with the Soviet Union. -
Another crisis in Berlin
Some Germans wanted to live in a free, democratic nation, while others simply crossed the border in search of work. By 1961 as many as 1,000 people a day were making daily trips between their homes in east Germany and jobs in West Berlin. -
Cuban missile crisis
In 1962 came the Cuban missile crisis, a confrontation between United States and Soviet Union over the installation of soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. After two week standoff, soviet leaders removed the missiles when the United States agreed to remove U.S. missiles from turkey and promised not to attack Cuba.
