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Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was established to decide who would gain the land of Eastern Europe. While the Soviet Union believed they had earned it, American and British leaders believed Stalin would not respect the rights of the Eastern Europeans. Marking the beginning of the Cold War. -
Berlin Airlift
In 1947, Western leaders began planning for the creation of an independent democratic German nation. They had also planned to establish a democratic government in West Berlin, deep inside the Soviet Union, which the Soviets opposed. in 1948, the Soviets blocked off all land, rail, and water routes into West Berlin. Resulting in 2 million Berlin residents without access of importing food, coal, and other vital supplies. -
NATO
During the aftermath of the airlift, the United States, Canada, and most Western European countries joined together in a military alliance known as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). NATO was formed to counter the Soviet Union and the Communist alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. -
Sputnik
The United States and the Soviet Union were in an arms race. In October of the year 1957, the Soviets launched a successful Sputnik into orbit. Which was history's first artificial satellite. -
Common Market
In 1957 six European nations founded the European Economic Community, also known as the Common Market. In 1960, seven other European countries formed the rival European Free Trade Association. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962 came the Cuban Missile Crisis, a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. After a two-week standoff, Soviet leaders agreed to remove the missiles if the United States agreed to remove their missiles from Turkey and promised not to attack Cuba. -
Salt I & Salt II
Strategic Arms Limitations Talks or SALT was created in 1968 by newly elected President Richard Nixon. He sought what he called detente, or reduced tension between the superpowers. -
ABM Treaty
Salt I led to the creation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Which prevented the development of weapons designed to shoot down nuclear missiles. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
When Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, he proposed two radical concepts: glasnost and perestroika. meaning "openness" and "restructuring". Which was pointed toward the reform of the Soviet economic and political system. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
In August of 1989, Hungary opened its border with Austria. East Germans traveled by the thousands to Hungary to cross this now open border to the West. Powerless to the amount of people traveling West, the East German government had to open the gates of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989. Anxious to cross, Berliners began tearing down the wall ending the Cold War.
