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Potsdam Conference
A meeting between Joseph Stalin , Winston Churchill and Harry S. Truman. It divided Germany and Austria into 4 separate sections. Also, It divided Korea into American and Soviet sections. The allies wanted Germany to build back and become Democratic.
This event was important for the cold war because it defined a boundary between Anti-communist and communist nations in Korea. It is important to remember today because this was a reason the Korean war occurred. -
Churchill's Iron Curtian Speech
Churchill gave a speech warning the US of the Communist threat in Europe in Fulton, Missouri. Soviet forces had been starting to occupy Eastern Europe, and Churchill had feared of a future takeover by the Soviet Union. Great Britain wanted the United States to join them and other Western European nations in the fight against communism. This speech is very important today because it led to the formation of NATO, the Anti-communist agreement/pact. -
Formation of NATO
NATO stands for the The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Belgium, Denmark, Canada, Iceland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States were it's members. The purpose was to create and Anti-communist group to fight the threat of Communism by the Soviet Union in the west. This was because of Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech. This is important to remember today because it was the first pact created in the Cold War. -
Korean War starts
North Korea (communist) attacks South Korea (anti-communist and supported by the US). Harry Truman sent more troops to South Korea to fight the war. This event was heavily important in the cold war because it was the first large conflict caused by the Soviet Union, who supplied weapons for North Korea and inspired their communist ways. 55,000 US troops were killed in the war, and was hardly recognized in the United States because of the urge of peace between all nations. "The Forgotten War" -
Warsaw Pact
Treaty signed between East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, and the Soviet Union that formed an alliance, in response to NATO. It is significant to the cold war because it was created to promote communism. This alliance is important today because it was the time there was 2 clear and very large sides in the cold war, increasing the significance of the event during the time period. The previous 2 alliances made simultaneously had led to word war. -
Geneva Accords
This was a set of documents which ended the war between France and the Vietminh. It set a boundary in Vietnam; the North stayed communist and the South became allies with the US (anti-
communist). This is important because it ended the Indochina War and ended France's influence in SE Asia. It is also important to remember today because it was the second division of a country during the cold war into Communist and Anti- Communist Nations. NATO wanted the country to rejoin and become Democratic. -
Suez Crisis
French and British troops try to invade Egypt to regain control of the Suez canal, which was controlled by the leader Nasser. The United Nations disapproved of this, and sent in troops to stop the invasion. This proved that the cold war was a war where NATO wanted peace badly. The significance in this event lies in the fact that Egypt was receiving support from Russia. This could be seen as a blatant threat, which NATO wanted to avoid. -
Hungarian Revolution
Hungarians protested the Communist rule they were put under, and developed a democratic nation. The Soviet Union attacked and Hungary fell to Russia. This event was significant to the cold war because it showed the true power of the Soviet Union. The Warsaw pact was proving to be fortified enough to potentially equalize the power of NATO, and began to carve its name into world history with it's threatening power. -
Space Race: Part 1
The USSR Sputnik 2 sends Laiki the dog into space, making him the first living creature to go into space, after sending the first satellite, Sputnik 1. This marked history in Aerospace research, and influenced the United States to begin sending Satellites as well. This is important to the cold war because it shows the second, more technological, advancement conflict in the Cold War. Today, Laiki stands as the first living being to be sent to space from Earth. -
U-2 Incident
An American spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, and the pilot was captured.. This became problematic because of the US's agreement to not spy on the other side. The US claimed to have the plane be shot down on enemy territory. This is significant to the cold war because it derailed a meeting later that month between Dwight Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev. This proved there was sightings of espionage on both sides, not just communist spies in the US. -
Space Race: Part 2
The Soviet Union sends up into space cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyvich Gagarin, marking him as the first human being to enter space. He was launched in the Vostok 1. This increased American worry about Soviet advancement and powered the space race even more. It is significant to the cold war because it is yet another huge human accomplishment. This is a moment marked in space exploration, and an enormous accomplishment for the Soviet Union, making them still credible for the feat today. -
Bay of Pigs
1500 US troops trained by the CIA invade Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba at the Bay of pigs, but are quickly defeated and captured. Some of the troops made it home alive, but this defeat showed communism power and Castro's influence in Cuba. This event marks another US defeat in the cold war, making the conflict that much more threatening to the US. Cuba had begun to assure itself as a stable power under Castro's regime. -
Berlin Wall
The wall surrounding Berlin, protecting it from communist rule, is finally sealed. President John F. Kennedy praised the wall in a speech in Eastern Europe, Kennedy praised the wall, calling it better than war. This is essential to the cold war because completion of the wall prevented the taking of Berlin. It is important to remember today because it it the sealed wall which protected the city and prevented major conflict and human lives. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A United States spy plane spotted construction of a missile base in Cuba. In response to this, JFK ordered a naval blockade of Cuba until the missiles were removed. Cuba agreed to remove the weapons on October 24, 1962. This was a very large event of the cold war because it was a direct threat to the safety of Americans, not just on the eastern front and Asia. Today, the Cuban Missile Crisis is a much remembered event, where Americans experienced serious fear of bombing. -
Assassination of JFK
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while in a visit to Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. There was lots of speculation that Oswald was a communist spy because of the United States' involvement in the cold war. However, the speculation of Oswald's ties to the Soviet Union remain unsolved to this day. This is a defining point in American History, the first American president publicly assassinated in modern history.
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