-
“Yalta”
The Yalta conference divides Germany into occupation zones, to be controlled by the US, France, Great Britain, and the USSR. -
The Five Year Plan
Stalin releases another 5 year plan. The goals of the plan were to increase industrial production and to increase to collectivization of agriculture. Stalin also cut the military forces by ⅔ to increase the laboring population. Propaganda was used to increase the birthrate. -
Attacks on Jews
A crowd in Kielce poland attacked 250 Jewish Holocaust survivors. This attack was demonstrative of the lingering anti-Semitism in Europe including some denial of the crimes committed against the Jewish people. -
Indian Independence
India finally gained independence from Britain. As a result Indian industry became an important supplier of war goods and Indian business leaders were actually able to assist British entrepreneurs/ -
Truman Doctrine
Truman creating this plan to stop communist uprisings in Greece and Turkey. The plan allowed for $400 million in military and economic aid to those countries to promote the Free World. -
Marshall Plan
This program was designed to provided economic aid, to Europe to relieve the hardships still remaining after the war and to stop the seeds of communism from growing. The plan was officially title the European Recovery Program, within the next few years $12 billion worth of supplies were sent to Europe. -
Purge in Czechoslovakia
A purge of non-communist leaders began in the fall of 1947. President Edvard Benes stepped down by June of the following year, replaced by a communist leader. the Czechoslovakian people made no moves to stop the Communist takeover. -
German States
The Western allies created a West German state. In response Stalin formed the East German state. -
Creation of Israel
After the British ceded Palestine to the United Nation in 1947, the United Nations decided to partition Palestine into an Arab region and a Jewish one. However, conflicting claims led to war and the Jewish military succeeded. As a result, the state of Israel was established. -
“Stalin Blockades Berlin”
Stalin and his Soviet army blockaded Berlin, and area which ahad been divided into four occupation zones (UK, US, USSR, and France). Stalin declared that no western vehicles could enter Berlin. -
Period: to
Operation Vittles
Operation Vittles was the nickname given by U.S. pilots who peformed the operation. US pilots flew supplies into Berlin during the Winter of Stalin's blockade, including coal and food. -
Communist Takeover in China
Communism now took over China and this government was led by Mao Zedong. Chinese communism in the new People's Republi of China mainly looked towards the welfare of the peasantry rather than the industrial proletariat and as a result, was very different from Marxism and Stalinism. Mao also instituted civil equality for women, Soviet style collectivization, rapid industrialization, and brutal repression of the privileged classes. -
NATO
After the German States were formed, the Western allies, including the US, Canada, France, Britain, and some Scandinavian nations. NATO involved a unified military fed by and serving member nations. -
Berlin Blockade Ends
Stalin ended his blockade of Berlin. However, Berlin would become a symbol of the Cold War untill the Berlin wall came down in 1989. -
Ceasefire in Greece
Communist supporters in Greece had been in rebellion sine 1947. With American support and the Truman doctrine, the communist uprising came to a halt and a ceasefire was deeclared in Greece. -
Welfare State
he Welfare State was beginning to be established. It included veterans’ pensions, giving couples financial aid to boost the birth rate, initiating social security, family allowances were established, healthcare and medical benefits, and programs for pregnant women and new mothers. Across Europe, welfare state programs were improving health and state funded healthcare systems covered medical needs in many nations (except the U.S.). Due to better material conditions and state provision, life expec -
North Korean Invasion
Korea had been split at the thirty-eighth parallel after World War II. However, in 1950, North Koreans with the support of the Soviet Union invaded U.S. backed South Korea. The United State then convinced the Security Council of the UNinto approving a “police action” against the North, and the forces quickly entered North Korea where they combated the Chinese army. After two and half years of war, an agreement was made in 1953 that Korea would remain split at its prewar border, the 38th parallel -
Stalin against Jews
The Soviet government declares the Jewish doctors had been assasinating communist leaders and killing hospital patients. This fueled an anti-semitic feeling in the USSR. -
“Death of Joseph Stalin”
Stalin died from a multiple hemorrages and a stroke after suffering ill health since the end of WWII. Upon his death a struggle for power in the USSR and the communist party began, out of which Khrushchev would eventually become leader. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Pope John XXIII brought together the Second Vatican Council. People wanted to re-Christianize the West and the world after fascism without the barrier of national or imperial interests. It made the liturgy more contemporary, democratized church procedures, and took away the idea that the Jewish people killed Jesus. There was also the idea of a working together mutually with all faiths. -
France and Algeria
The liberation movement of Algerians from France led to the establishment of the Front for National Liberation in 1954. As a result, the French detained the Algerian revolt in very savage ways and because of barbarous practices against Algeria’s Muslim, protest in Paris and around the globe occurred. This led to France’s Fourth Republic collapsing over Algeria, and Charles de Gaulle returned to power in 1958 and by 1962, de Gaulle negotiated independence with the Algerian nationalists. -
Bandung Convention
the Indonesian president Sukarno, who had succeeded in getting Indonesia independence from the Dutch, sponsored the Bandung Convention of nonaligned nations to set a common policy for achieving modernization and facing the superpowers. -
Improvements in the Standard of Living
Stated funded programs began to play a role in the standard of living. Governments now legislated more leisure time for workers. In Italy, workers received 28 days of paid holidays every year. Governments also sponsored a postwar housing boom. Suburbs began to form (benefiting post war refugees, workers, and immigrants) and many buildings were being built. -
Arms Buildups
By 1955 the US and the Soviet Union had begun the arms race. Both countries now had atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs and were building nuclear weapons. -
“Germany Joins NATO”
The US encouraged other member nations to allow West Germany to join NATO, which it did in 1955. A major influence in this decision was that German manpower could aid in halting a soviet invasion. This move by the US led to the Warsaw Pact in the USSR. -
Nikita Khrushchev
He became the leader of the Soviet Union but did not follow Stalin's practices of executing his opponents. He listened to popular complaints of the people and attempted to fix them -- he was attacking Stalin's actions as a leader. -
"Cult of Personality"
At a party Congres Khrushchev denounced the "Cult of Personality" Stalin had built around himself. He also announced that Stalinism did not equal communism. -
Colonel Gamel Abdel Nasser and the Suez Canal
When Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser became Egypt's president on a platform of economic modernization and true national independence, he believed Egypt should have control of the Suez Canal instead of Britain. As a result, he nationalised the canal in July 1956. Nasser became a heroic figure to Arabs in in the region, especially when Britain (supported by Israel and France) attacked Egypt. However, the US who feared Egypt would turn to the USSR, made the British back down and led to Nasser’s triumph. -
"The Golden October"
After Polish railroad workers protested for better wages and it led to more resources being provided to ordinary people’s needs, this anger of being under communism inspired Hungarians to rebel against forced collectivization. -
"Doctor Zhivago"
This story about the Russian revolution was written by Russian Boris Pasternak. Russian communist leadership refused publication because of the light in which the October revolution was displayed in the novel. The book was taken to Italy where it was published in 1957 and became so well-liked that Pasternak was awarded the 1958 Nobel Prize (which the Soviet government did not allow him to accept. -
Launching of Satellite
The soviets successfully launched the first artificial earth satellite, Sputnik in 1957. In 1961, they put the first comonaut, Yuri Gagarin, in orbit around the earth. This was part of the cold war space race. -
John F. Kennedy becomes Presifent
He showed the commitment that America had in the cold war. He was also a symbol of American affluence and youth. Television and radio was very popular and he had the perfect look for the job. -
Bay of Pigs
Kennedy launched an invasion of Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro. Castro had aligned himself with the Soviets, which worried the United States. The CIA was at the head of the invasion, but the whole country was embarrassed when the invasion failed. -
Vatican II
Pope John XXIII brought together the Second Vatican Council. People wanted to re-Christianize the West and the world after fascism without the barrier of national or imperial interests. It made the liturgy more contemporary, democratized church procedures, and took away the idea that the Jewish people killed Jesus. There was also the idea of a working together mutually with all faiths. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The CIA notified the United States government about the missiles placed in Cuba by the Soviets. Kennedy sent in a blockade of ships to Cuba ordering the removal of the missiles. The Americans and the Soviets were very close to nuclear war. The Soviets and the Americans later signed a treaty outlawing the explosion of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere and in the seas. -
Intelsat I
This was a communications satellite launched by the US in 1965. Hughes Aircraft Company (now Boeing) built the Satellite. The satellite stayed in Space for over three years. -
Brandt’s Ostpolitik
This refers to the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic. It was influenced by Edgar Bhar, but the policies were implemented beginning with Willy Brandt, fourth Chancellor of the FRG from 1969 to 1974. -
First Successful Human Heart Transplant
Lewis Washkansky was the person who was first to ever receive a heart transplant. I happened at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. He received it from a 25 year old woman named Denise Darvall who had been fatally injured in a car accident. The surgeon who performed this operation was Christiaan Barnard. -
The Double Helix
This was an autobiography of James Watson and his partner Francis Crick and their double helix. They discovered the structure of the DNA molecule with parts of other people’s discoveries. -
Revolution in Czechoslovakia widespread student uprising
It was also called the Prague Spring, and it was due to a political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the time it was dominated by the Soviet Union after WW11. It began when Alexander Dubcek was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and it ended when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country and halted the reforms. -
U.S. Moon Landing
Though the first human made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union’s Luna 2 mission in 1959, the United States Apollo was the first manned mission to land on the Moon in 1969. -
Salyut 1
It was the first space station to ever and was launched by the Soviet union. It was launched using a Proton-K rocket and it was unmanned. -
SALT I
Also knows as the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks I, was a round of talks and corresponding international treaties between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was based on armament control and in SALT I the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and an interim agreement were made between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. -
US North Vietnam Treaty (Paris Peace Accords)
This treaty was made so to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam war. The governments of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the United States, and the Provisional Revolutionary Government representing South Vietnamese revolutionaries, signed the agreement of restoring peace in Vietnam. However, the agreement was not ratified by the U.S. Senate. -
Skylab
The official launch date of skylab was on March 14, 1973. It was operated by NASA and was the first U.S. space station. It orbited Earth from 1973 until 1979 -
OPEC
The 1973 oil crisis started when members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (including the Arab members of OPEC and Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia) proclaimed an oil embargo. As a result of this embargo/by the end of the embargo in 1974, the price of oil had risen by about $9 a barrel. -
Gerald Ford Becomes President
Ford Became President after Nixon's resignation. Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, moving closer to hostility in the Cold War. He presented a presidential pardon for Nixon’s role in the watergate scandal. -
North Vietnam Wins The War
This war occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and led to the fall of Saigon in 1975. The North was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies, while the South was supported by the U.S. and other anti-communist nations. It was a fight against communism. -
Period: to
Immigration to Europe
Workers from Africa and Asia moved to Italy and other nations that had previously had labor forces outside of their own countries. Scandinavian nation recieved many immigrants looking for more opportunities than their home nations. -
Viking Spacecraft
Viking crafts were two probes sent to Mars. It was built by NASA and the project cost the government $1 billion. -
Jimmy Carter Inaugurated
Carter, a former naval officer was inaugurated as the 39th president. During his term he was part of SALT negotiation and passed new energy policies in the US. -
Period: to
Voyager
The Americans launched Voyager into space. The spacecraft flew by Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter. -
Iranian revolution
The revolution was to overthrow the Pahlavi rulers. The Pahlavis were supported by the US. The USSR did not support the revolution, but was quick to recognize the resulting republic. -
SALT II
The goal of this treaty was to place limits on the amounts of nuclear weapons countries could have. It was signed after years of SALT negotiations by Carter and Soviet Secretary Brezhnev. -
Ronald Reagan becomes US president
Reagan was responsible for Reaganomics- an economic policy that supported growth, and beginning a War on Drugs. He was also anti-commuist and dealt with the beginning of the end of the cold war in his second term untill he was succeed by George H.W. Bush in January of 1989. -
Startegic Defense Initiative
This policy was introduce by Reagan. The goal was to set up ground defenses for nuclear weapons. -
Korean Airlines Fligh 007
The Soviets shot down the Korean plane after it violated oviet airspace. over 260 people were killed, including a US congressman. -
Los Angeles Olympics
The Soviet boycotted the summer Olympics in LA, in response to a boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1982 by the United States. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet Premier. He would hold multiple inmportant offices in the Soviet Communist party until the fall of the USSR in 1991 (when he was president). -
Chernobyl
This nuclear disaster demonstrated a need for openness. A nuclear explosion caused radioactive particles to dissipate into the air. The soviet government provided little information and many nearby resisdents were killed. -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Reagan and Gorbachev signed this treaty, This treaty prohibited Nuclear Missiles with a range of 300-3400 miles -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The wall, put up during the early 1960s, was announced to be no longer in use to separate the two German states by the East German government. People gathered at the wal wanting to be let through. This began the end of the cold war. -
The end of The Soviet Union
Earlier in the year the military and Communist party tried to oust Mikhail Gorbachev. He resigned on Christmas day 1991 and the next day the republics were released from the Sovite Union. Boris Yeltsin became preasident of the Russian Federation and the cold war drew to an end.
