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Yalta Conference
This was a conference between the Big Three and it was dealing with Germanys uncoditional surrender. They discussed future plans and what they were to do with Germany now. -
Arms Race
The arms race during the Cold War was a race for whoever had the best weapons and eventually the most nuclear weapons between the United States and USSR. This caused a lot of world tension and fear during the Cold War. -
Potsdam Conference
The leaders of to victors in the takeover of Germany had a conference to determine how Germany would be split. Promises made at this conference were broken and later on, cause problems. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was a division between Western and Eastern Europe. This was a geographical separation politically and the military was also separated. This was proof of the tnesion between the two sides. -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry Truman began this foreign policy in a speech stating that the US will give aid to Greece and Turkey as long as they do not join the USSR. Many believe this to be the start of the Cold War. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a plan in which the US was going to aid the rebuilding of european economies. This helped European industrialization and also in return helped the US economies. It also opened up the idea of US foreign aid policies. -
Berlin Blockade
This was one of the first major events in the Cold War. The Soviets blocked off all systems of tranport leading into the East side of Berlin controlled by them. The Western allies organized an airlift to get supplies and bring them to the west side of Berlin.This was successful and the blockade was eventually taken down forming two separate German States. -
Berlin Airlift
Following the Berlin Blockade, Britian, France, and the US decided to launch an airlift to supply the West with needed supplies. They carried this on for over a year, supplying more than 2.3 million tons of cargo. -
Nato
This was a treaty created to provide mutual help if one of the members was attacked. It began with US, Britain, France, Canada, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Norway. This instigated the east to also create a military alliance. -
Korean War
The Korean Was was faught between North Korea and South Korea allied with the US. 5 million died during this war. US officials tried to negotiate with North Korea. Today, North and South Korea are still separate. -
Death of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from the 1920's to 1953. When he dies in 1953, it was a relief for many people as he has caused fear for everyone for more than thrty years. After he died, After Stalins death. Russia had xperienced de-stalinization and become less strict. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
The US and the Soviets agreed to limit nuclear capabilities and testing. This also prevented other nations from obtaining nuclear bombs. This was a relief for many protesters. -
Warsaw Pact
Soon after NATO was formed, the nations of USSR, East Germany, Albania, Czech, Poland, Hungary, and Romania formed an alliance called the Warsaw Pact. -
Space Race
The space race was a race between US and USSR for the best space programs. This helped create other beneficial technologies in the world. -
Nikita Khrushchev Comes To Power
Nikita was a leader of Russia that began the de-stalinization of Russia. Although he claimed to have wanted peace with the west, he instigated the Cuban Missile Crisis and approved the Berlin Wall. -
NASA
The creation of NASA only furthered the space race and the many technologies being created. -
U-2 Incident
This incident was a failed attempt by the Americans to spy on the Russians with a U-2 spy plane. The US was attempting to get photos of the air bases but the plane got shot down. The US denied the acccusations but the Russians had proof including the pilot of the spy plane. This caused a great deal of embarrassment for the President and the US. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
This invasion on Cuba was a failed attempt at overthrowing Cubas governmant and creating a non-communist government. The US was crushed by Cuba after making many mistakes. The two goverments are still strained -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a wall built to separate West Germany and the socialist East Germany. This wall created a barrior preventing emigration to any countries to the west and many people snuck over before or attempted to escape after it was built. In 1990 the Berlin Wall fell and led to the German Reunification. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This was a 13 day standoff between the US and USSR. As the US had missiles in Turkey and other areas, the USSR decided to put missiles in Cuba. To avoid disaster, both parties agreed to take their missiles out of Cuba and Turkey. -
SALT I
The US and the Soviets agreed to limit the amount of arms and required the dismantling of many. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a war between the North communist Vietnam and the South VIetnam along with the US.The US forces withdrew and communism took over. More than 3 million people were killed. -
SALT II
This was the further limitation of arms and was the first nuclear arms treaty. This treaty required the reductions in strategic forces and banned new missile programs. -
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviets staged an invasion on the already internally fighting Afghanistan. They took over much of the country and took advantage of the civil war. The US and European allies attempted the compel Russia to withdraw. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall came down and foreshadowed the unification of Germany. People were allowed to interact again and the barrier between the states was broken. -
Mikhail Gorbachev Comes to Power
Gorbachev was elected as president in 1990 and was working towards a reform. The Communists did not like him because of his reforms and the reformers did not like him because of his extremely slow reforms. OVerall, he loosened communism a bit but he retired as president in 1991. -
German Reunification
Thus was when the German Democratic Republic reunited with the Federal Republic of Germany to form the nation of Germany. This was a turning point because they had been two very different states and now combined and took responsibility for both. This was an event long awaited and wished for by many germans. -
INF Treaty
The INF treaty was a Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty which was made between the United States and the Soviet Union. This was an agreement made to eliminate nuclear bombs and some missiles. Russia violated this treaty and caused the US to act out. -
End of Cold War
After the breakup of the USSR, the Cold War had ended. -
USSR Breakup
The breakup of the USSR was preceded by Nikita Khrushchevs resignation. This event marked the end to the Cold War.
