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Winston Churchill
British politician and statesman. British Prime Minister during World War Two. After France was occupied by German army, Churchill’s speeches stirred Britain to continue fighting until the US and URSS joined the war in 1941, leading the nation to victory. He is considered the greatest politician in 20th century Britain and a national hero. -
Benito Mussolini
Politician and leader of the Italian fascism. Predappio (Italy). Prime Minister of Italy from 1922 to 1943. In March 1919, Mussolini formed the Fascist Party. He organized the armed squads known as «Black Shirts», that marched on Rome in 1922, forcing king Victor Emanuel to invite Mussolini to form a government. Mussolini made himself dictator, taking the little «Il Duce». He imposed a fascist totalitarian dictatorship in Italy and allied Italy to Germany and Japan in World War Two. -
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MARÍA CRISTINA REGENCY
In 1885, King Alfonso XII died. Several months later his son Alfonso (future Alfonso XIII) was born, so his mother, Queen María Cristina, exercised the regency until she came of age. The Conservative and Liberal parties undertook to maintain the parties' turn to guarantee the stability of Spain. Thus, until the end of the 19th century, Cánovas and Sagasta succeeded each other in conservative and liberal governments. When Cánovas died, Francisco Silvela succeeded him in the Conservative Party. -
Adolf Hitler
Politician and leader of the Nazi Party. Austria. He became German chancellor from 1933 to 1945. Hitler used his position as chancellor to impose a totalitarian dictatorship characterized by aggressive, nationalist and xenophobic policies. His policies precipitated World War Two and the Holocaust. -
Charles de Gaulle
Leader of the Free French during World War II. In 1940 German forces overran France. De Gaulle refused to accept French government’s truce with the Germans and escaped to London, where he announced a French government in exile. After the liberation of Paris in August 1944, de Gaulle was given a hero’s welcome and became president of the provisional government. However, when his desires for a strong presidency were ignored, he resigned. In 1958 de Gaulle formed the French Fifth Republic. -
Mao Zedong
Chinese communist leader and founder of the People’s Republic of China. He was founder member of the Chinese Communist Party. He fought Japan during World War II and against the nationalist party during civil war. The Communists defeated the nationalists and Mao proclaimed the founding of PRC. He tried to introduce a more «Chinese» communist moving away from USSR. He introduced communist in the largest country of the world, with a great influence in the southeastern Asia. -
Nikita Kruschev
Leader of the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1964. He suceded Stalin and promoted Peaceful Coexistence between the United States. In 1956 he made a secret speech in the 20 Communist Party Congress, denouncing Stalin and initiating a campaign of «de-Stalinization». He presided over the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. In 1964 he was forced to retired by his Soviet elite opponents. He attempted to pursue a policy of co-existence with the West. -
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CUBAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
The Cuban independence movement resurfaced in 1879, 1883, 1885 and 1895. In 1895, José Martín started an insurrection on the island. Despite the troops sent from the Peninsula, the Spanish army saw its ranks decimated by the continuous attacks of the insurgents and the epidemics. In 1896 the independence movement also broke out in the Philippines. -
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SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
The explosion of the American battleship Maine in 1898 in Havana served as a pretext for the United States to declare war on Spain. On May 1, the US fleet destroyed the Spanish squadron in Cavite (Philippines) and on July 3, it finished off the rest of the navy in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba. -
Treaty of Paris
After the Spanish-American war, the Treaty of Paris was signed by which Spain renounced Cuba, declared independent, but under the administration of the United States, while the Philippines and Puerto Rico became American colonies. It was the end of the Spanish empire in America and Asia. -
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CONSTITUTIONAL REIGN OF ALFONSO XIII
In 1902, Alfonso XIII was declared of legal age. The Constitution of 1876 remained in force. In the Conservative Party, Antonio Maura stood out and in the Liberal Party, José Canalejas. Maura wanted to put an end to caciquismo, although she did not succeed, modifying the electoral law and the local administration. Canalejas applied social reforms, but his most controversial measure was the "padlock law", which limited the establishment of new religious orders in Spain. -
Algeciras Conference
Morocco became a Spanish-French protectorate at the Algeciras Conference. However, the European presence in the area unleashed widespread opposition from the Rif tribes. -
Tragic Week
In 1909 the Maura Government decided to send reinforcement troops to Morocco to defend Spanish economic interests in the area. These troops were made up of popular classes, since the wealthy classes paid to avoid military service. This caused a week of riots: barricades were erected in Barcelona and churches and convents were burned. There were a hundred deaths and a thousand arrests. The anarchist pedagogue Ferrer Guardia, accused of promoting the revolt, was executed. -
Ronald Reagan
Actor and Republican Politician, he was the 40th president of of the US. He was a key figure in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of Cold War. He increased defense spending and this was a key factor in bringing the Cold War into an end, because he forced the USSR to admit that it couldn’t compete with American-led capitalist. After that, Reagan and Gorbachov made important nuclear disarmament agreements that signaled the end of Cold War. -
John F Kennedy
Democratic politician, known as JFK, he was the 35th president of the USA (1960-1963). Kennedy’s years in power were marked in foreign affairs by Cold War. The most critical was the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. He introduced some domestic reforms, most of all to expanding the civil right of African American. He was the USA youngest president, an inmensely popular leader who was assasinated before he completed his third year in office. -
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WEIMAR REPUBLIC
Following Germany's defeat in World War I, elections were held for a Constituent Assembly. This Assembly approved in 1919 in the city of Weimar a Constitution by which Germany became a democratic republic. The Social Democratic Party had a majority in the German Parliament and controlled the government. But, from the beginning, the new democracy was opposed by extremist political groups. -
Spartacist uprising
It was an insurrection, led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, that tried to impose a communist regime in Germany in 1919, but it failed. -
Foundation of the Nacionalsocialist Party
In 1919, Adolf Hitler joined the DAP, a German political party that a year later became the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). He remodeled the party and created a paramilitary body, the Assault Sections or S.A., to maintain order at party events. -
Battle of Annual
Serious Spanish military defeat in the Moroccan war, in which more than 10,000 Spaniards died. Following an investigation, several military commanders were accused of negligence. -
Foundation of the Italian Fascist Party
Italian fascism was linked to the personality of Benito Mussolini, founder of the National Fascist Party. The main ideological features of fascism were: opposition to democracy and communism, submission of the individual to the State, existence of a single party, cult of violence, monopoly of the media, control of the economy, exaltation of national values, inequality between peoples and militarism. -
March on Rome
Fascist mass demonstration that occupied public buildings in the Italian capital in October 1922. They demanded all power for Mussolini. Supported by a large part of the Italian oligarchy, they managed to force King Victor Manuel III to make Mussolini head of government. It supposes the assault to the power of the Italian fascists. -
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BENITO MUSSOLINI’S DICTATORSHIP
After the March on Rome, Mussolini obtained full powers for a year and, thanks to his campaigns of terror, won an absolute majority in the elections. From 1925 he established a dictatorship: he eliminated his opponents, banned all political parties and unions and suppressed individual freedoms. In addition, a Political Police was created and censorship was introduced. Economically, he campaigned to increase production and achieve self-sufficiency. -
Primo de Rivera’s coup d’état
Before the accusations of the Annual disaster were confirmed, General Miguel Primo de Rivera staged a coup with the king's approval. In this way a military dictatorship was established in which Primo de Rivera suspended the Constitution, dissolved the Cortes and banned political parties and unions. -
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PRIMO DE RIVERA’S DICTATORSHIP
The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in Spain was maintained until 1930 thanks to the economic prosperity of the twenties. Numerous public works were carried out and industry was boosted. State monopolies were created in telecommunications and oil supply. The war in Morocco also ended in 1927, after the successful landing at Al Hoceima. -
Beer Hall Putsch
It was a coup d'état, led by Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, which failed. After him, Hitler was sentenced to 5 years in prison, of which he only served one. During his imprisonment, he wrote the book "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle"), in which he outlined the principles of Nazism. -
Mein Kampf
Book that collects the ideas of Nazism. It was written by Hitler during his imprisonment after being sentenced to 5 years in prison following the failed Munich putsch. He exposes his nationalist, expansionist and militarist ideas, pointing to the Jews and communists as the main enemies of the German people. -
Fidel Castro
Leader of the Cuban Revolution that finished with Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship in 1959. His communist domestic policies and military and economic with the USSR led to stained relations with the US that culminated with the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. In 2008 he left power in the hand of his 76-year-old brother Raúl. He created a communist state in America that still remains today. Castro remains one of the most important political figures of the 20th century. -
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GREAT DEPRESSION
The Crash of 1929 was a major global financial crisis that lasted through the 1930s. The Great Depression originated in the United States, beginning with the New York stock market crash in 1929, and quickly spread to almost every country in the world. The crisis lasted until the end of the thirties. It was the longest depression in time, the deepest and the one that affected the largest number of countries in the 20th century. It was one of the causes for the rise of fascisms. -
Resignation of Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera had been dictator of Spain since 1923. From 1927, the regime began to be criticized by intellectuals, students, labor groups and nationalist groups. In 1929, faced with this opposition, the king withdrew his support for Primo de Rivera, who resigned in January 1930. -
Mijail Gorbachov
He was the last General Secretary and head of the USSR. His domestic reforms and nuclear disarmament deals helped to end the Cold War. Reagan and Gorbachov made important nuclear disarmament agreements that signaled the end of Cold War. He tried to revitalize the USSR on two plans: to transform Stalinist Soviet regime into a more modern social democracy and to restructure the Soviet economy. But he failed and it ultimately into the collapse of the USSR and the end of communism in Europe. -
Proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic
In April 1931, municipal elections were held that gave victory to the Republican candidates in almost all the provincial capitals. Although the overall victory was for the monarchists, the fact was interpreted as a victory for the Republicans. Once the result was known, Alfonso XIII went into exile and a provisional government was formed that proclaimed the Second Spanish Republic on April 14, 1931. -
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THE REFORMIST BIENNIUM OF THE 2º SPANISH REPUBLIC
In 1931 the more moderate Republicans left the Government, dissatisfied with the articles of the Constitution relating to religion. Niceto Alcalá Zamora held the Presidency of the Republic and Manuel Azaña was appointed President of the Government. Azaña continued the reformist work: the agrarian, military, labor and educational reforms began; autonomy was granted to Catalonia and civil marriage and divorce were regulated. The government had to face opposition from both the right and the left. -
Berlin Wall
After the constitution of the two "Germanies", Berlin had been divided into two sectors: the western and the eastern. Many East Germans fled to the West in search of freedom and economic betterment. To stop these leaks, the Soviet Union built a wall in 1961 that divided Berlin. -
Japan conquers Manchuria
After the crisis of 1929, Japan initiated an aggressive and expansionist foreign policy to control markets and basic raw materials, and end the social crisis by promoting fierce nationalism. Thus, Japan occupied Manchuria in 1931. -
Granting of the vote to women in Spain
One of the main topics of debate in the elaboration of the Constitution of 1931 was the granting of the vote to women. Many deputies considered that it was not convenient to do so because women would vote for the most conservative parties, which, in the long run, would harm the Republic.
Supporters of postponing the granting of the female vote were Victoria Kent and Margarita Nelken. A different opinion was expressed by another deputy: Clara Campoamor, who defended the right to female suffrage. -
The Nazi Party wins the elections
After the Great Depression, social tension increased and the population began to support extremist parties, such as the National Socialist Party. In the elections of November 1932, the Nazi Party won, but did not achieve an absolute majority. -
Hitler becomes chancellor
The Nazi Party had not obtained an absolute majority in the November 1932 elections, so it could not form a government alone. However, Hindenburg, pressured by businessmen and by the most conservative groups in Germany, appointed Hitler chancellor in January 1933. -
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HOLOCAUST
Name by which the Jewish genocide committed by the Nazis in World War II in Germany and the territories conquered by it will be known. Also known in Hebrew as Shoah ("Catastrophe"). Since 2005, the UN has established January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day (the day the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz death camp in 1945). -
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EXCLUSION OF JEWS FROM PUBLIC LIFE IN GERMANY
Hitler's first measures against the Jews were adopted in 1933 and consisted of eliminating them from public life and reducing their economic capacity. Officials were fired and works by Jewish authors were destroyed. -
Reichstag fire
After becoming chancellor, Hitler seized all power in Germany. In February 1933 the Nazis caused a fire in the Reichstag (German Parliament). They blamed this act on the communists, which served as a pretext to intensify the persecution against them. -
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THE CONSERVATIVE BIENNIUM OF THE 2º SPANISH REPUBLIC
In 1933 Azaña resigned and elections were called. In them the parties of the center and of the right achieved great success. The right joined the CEDA, led by José Mª Gil Robles. The center right won the elections and Alejandro Lerroux's Radical Party took over the Government.
The governments of the Conservative Biennium modified or suspended the reforms of the previous biennium: the agrarian reform was paralyzed, an amnesty was granted to the participants in General Sanjurjo's coup d'état. -
Night of the Long Knives
Hitler wiped out those who might oppose him within his party. On the night of the long knives, in June 1934, he had his rivals within the NSDAP assassinated, many of them members of the S.A. -
Revolution of 1934
Caused by the tension between left and right, the revolution took place when Lerroux named three ministers of the CEDA. The left-wing parties called a revolutionary strike to counteract the supposed danger that the CEDA posed to the Republic. The revolution triumphed in Asturias and Catalonia. After suffocating the revolution, the government went into crisis. Ideological differences and corruption in the Radical Party put an end to the ruling coalition and new elections were called. -
Nuremberg Laws
It was an anti-Semitic measure taken by the Nazi Government. The Reich enacted the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, which excluded Jews from German citizenship and prohibited marriages between German citizens and Jews. -
Straperlo sacndal
In 1935, Strauss and Perel Lowan attempted to introduce rigged roulette wheels in Spain, bribing members of Lerroux's party not to report the fraud. The knowledge of the case was a great scandal. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
In 1935, Italy, trying to get colonies in Africa, invaded Ethiopia. In addition, he reoriented his policy towards collaboration with Nazi Germany, ready to recognize his conquests. -
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POPULAR FRONT OF THE 2º SPANISH REPUBLIC
The leftist groups presented themselves for the elections united in the Popular Front. On the right, extremist leaders were gaining weight, such as Primo de Rivera, leader of the fascist Falange party. The left won the elections, resumed the reform policy and freed the prisoners of the 1934 revolution. Social unrest and conspiracies against the Republic increased. The assassinations of Castillo and Calvo Soleto precipitated the military uprising, led by Franco. -
Spanish coup of July 1936
The assassination of Calvo Soleto, one of the leaders of the right, precipitated the uprising of Spanish troops in North Africa on July 17, led by Franco. The uprising moved to the peninsula on July 18. The coup led by generals Sanjurjo, Franco and Mola was supported by the army, Carlists, monarchists, conservatives, Falangists and much of the Church. -
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SPANISH CIVIL WAR
The Spanish civil war was a military conflict —which would later also lead to an economic crisis— that was unleashed in Spain after the coup d'état of 1936 by a part of the armed forces against the Government of the Second Republic. The two sides of the war were the rebels, supported by Germany and Italy, and the Republicans, supported by the USSR.
The civil war ended in 1939 with the victory of the rebels and Francisco Franco established a dictatorship that lasted until his death. -
Berlin-Rome Axis
Relations between Italy and Germany were strengthened when the Spanish civil war began in July 1936 and both powers supported the rebel side. In October 1936 they formed the Berlin-Rome Axis. Japan will later join the alliance, forming the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis. -
Anti-Comintern Pact
In November 1936, Hitler signed the Anti-Comintern pact with Japan, against the USSR and against communism, which they considered their main ideological enemy. Italy will join later. -
Germany invades Austria
Strengthened by the support, Germany began a process of expansion in Europe, in which the European powers adopted a policy of appeasement, thinking that in this way they would avoid a war. Therefore, in 1938, German troops invaded Austria. -
Germany invades the Czechoslovak Sudetenland region
In 1938, Germany invaded the Czechoslovak Sudetenland region, which was home to three million Germans. In September, Hitler met with Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, who accepted the cession of the Sudetenland in exchange for Hitler making no further territorial demands. -
Aryanization campaigns
It was an anti-Semitic measure taken by the Nazi Government. Their goal was to seize the businesses and property of the Jews. Many were forced to sell their assets for very low values before the decree that forced them to cease as companies and independent workers. -
Munich Agreement
In 1938, the Munich Conference took place between Hitler, Chamberlain, the French Minister Daladier and Mussolini. France, Britain, and Italy agreed to Hitler's territorial demands and handed over all of Czechoslovakia, which was annexed in March 1939. -
Kristallnacht
On the night of November 9-10, 1938, the "Night of Broken Glass" occurred in Germany and Austria, in which members and assault forces of the Nazi Party and the Hitler Youth looted synagogues, homes and Jewish establishments. About a hundred Jews were killed and about 30,000 were arrested and sent to the first concentration camps. Western countries formally protested, but did not mobilize. -
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
Agreement signed in 1939 between Germany and the USSR mutually committing themselves not to attack each other. Hitler ensured peace in the East while waging war in the West. Stalin, isolated internationally, needed time to prepare for the inevitable war with Germany. In addition, both powers would share Poland, and the USSR would receive Finland and the Baltic States. Following the signing, Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939. -
Germany invades Poland
Hitler coveted Poland. Germany had never accepted the loss of Posen or the issue of Danzig (a corridor running through German territory). But Poland was protected by France and Great Britain. After signing a non-aggression pact with the USSR, Hitler demanded that the Polish government hand over Danzig, but the latter refused. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany on September 3. It was the beginning of World War II. -
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RESISTANCE
Groups that clandestinely opposed the fascist invaders or the collaborationist governments. Their mission was to hinder the collaborators or the occupation troops by resorting to disinformation, espionage, sabotage and concealment of the downed pilots. They also formed very large groups that dedicated themselves to guerrilla warfare. The most significant case was that of the Yugoslav resistance, whose civilian combatant partisans liberated the country with Soviet support. -
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AXIS OFFENSIVE
It is the first stage of World War II, between 1939 and 1941. After invading Poland, Germany used the "lightning strategy" to invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. In addition, he was bombing British cities and helping Italy with the invasion of North Africa and Greece. The invasion of the USSR began in 1941. The US entered the war by clashing with Japan in 1941. -
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JEWISH RECLUSION IN GHETTOS
It was an anti-Semitic measure taken by the Nazi Government. In 1939, the invasion of Poland, a country with 3 million Jews, marked a new stage in anti-Semitic violence. The Nazi authorities promoted a new form of seclusion for the Jews and created the ghettos, which were the neighborhoods of the cities where the Jewish population was forced to concentrate, subjecting it to extreme conditions of poverty and shortages. -
Withdrawal of Dunkirk
After conquering Belgium, Hitler prepared the great offensive on France. The English and French were barely able to cope with the powerful German army. The withdrawal from Dunkirk opened the gates of France to the Germans, who entered the Ardennes region in June 1940. -
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NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN
Italy had entered the war on June 10, 1940 and began a major offensive in North Africa with the aim of reaching the Suez Canal and hindering British communications with its empire. But the attack was repulsed and the Germans sent a contingent of troops to their aid, the Afrika Korps, under the command of General Rommel. Italy also decided to invade Greece, but due to its inability, German troops intervened to complete the occupation. -
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BATTLE OF BRITAIN
The French occupation left the United Kingdom alone against the Germans, who decided to invade it. Since the British fleet was far superior to the German one, Hitler considered dominating the air to control the English Channel long enough for German troops to cross it. Between June 1940 and June 1941 the Battle of Britain took place, in which it was subjected to continuous air attack. Faced with the effectiveness of British fighter planes and radar, the Germans responded by bombing the cities. -
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OPERATION BARBAROSSA
In a situation of almost absolute continental domination, Hitler invaded the USSR, as he considered communism his main enemy. He began Operation Barbarossa, whose objective was to occupy Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv before winter to obtain the supplies he needed to continue the war. The operation was delayed and the arrival of winter and the lack of fuel prevented the advance of the armored cars. The Russians reorganized themselves and prepared for a conflict that would be long and harsh. -
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JEWISH EXTERMINATION IN THE USSR
In the summer of 1941, with the German invasion of the USSR, where millions of Jews lived, the most brutal phase of the genocide was entered. The Nazi authorities considered that they had to be eliminated as they conquered Russian territory. By the end of 1942, the number of Jewish victims in Russia was almost 1,300,000. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
Japan was a great power in the Pacific, having occupied Manchuria and Korea, but its policy collided with US interests in the area. Before the Japanese invasion of Indochina, the US decreed an embargo on Japanese trade. In response, Japan attacked the US base at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. This meant the entry of the United States into the war on the Allied side. -
Wannsee Conference
In January 1942, the Wannsee Conference was held in Berlin, bringing together members of the SS and the Nazi Party and some German businessmen. The so-called Final Solution was adopted, which led to the mass and planned elimination of Jews in gas chambers. and their disappearance in the crematorium ovens of the extermination camps. -
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FINAL SOLUTION
It is the name of the plan of the Third Reich to carry out the genocide of the European Jewish population during World War II. This policy of systematic elimination that began throughout German-occupied Europe was applied by the Nazi leaders in January 1942 at the Wannsee Conference and culminated in the Holocaust, which involved the murder of 90% of Polish Jews, and of two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe. -
Battle of Midway
In the Pacific, on June 4, 1942, Japan took Midway Island, where Japanese and American troops clashed. The American victory equaled the naval forces in this ocean. -
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THE ALLIES VICTORY
It is the second stage of the Second World War, between 1942 and 1945. From 1942, the Allied offensives began, invading North Africa, Italy, Eastern Europe and part of the Pacific. In 1944 they created a front in the west and began to advance towards Germany. In 1945 the Russians occupied Berlin and Germany surrendered. The dropping of atomic bombs by the US brought about the surrender of Japan in 1945. -
Battle of El Alamein
In October 1942, British General Montgomery defeated General Rommel's German army in North Africa. The Afrika Korps surrendered in May 1943. -
Battle of Stalingrad
In February 1943, the Red Army launched a strong counteroffensive against the German troops, which were defeated. From this moment on, the war in Eastern Europe changed course: the German offensive stopped and the Soviets began to advance towards the West. This was the most important and bloodiest battle of World War II. -
Guadalcanal campaign
In the Pacific, Allied forces halted the Japanese advance at the Guadalcanal campaign in February 1943, launching an attack using General MacArthur's "leapfrog" tactic. This tactic sought two objectives: to advance by creating military bases that in turn would allow the next "leap", and to isolate enemy bases that, without supplies, were inoperative. -
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ITALIAN CAMPAIGN
Having conquered North Africa, the Allies began in July 1943 the invasion of Italy from the south, from Sicily. The king deposed Mussolini and gave power to Marshal Badoglio. But the Germans stopped the Allied advance towards Rome and managed to hold northern Italy. -
Battle of Kursk
In Russia, the German army was defeated in August 1943 at the Battle of Kursk. The Germans lost their ability to attack and went on the defensive thereafter. -
Normandy Landings
The Allies, realizing that Germany had no response capacity and that Russian expansion posed a significant threat, began the Normandy landing on the French coast on June 6, 1944, coordinated by US General Eisenhower. The intention was to open a front in the west to reach Germany before the Russians. They managed to break through the German defenses and liberated Paris on August 26, 1944. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans attempted a last desperate attack at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, but failed. In addition, the allies continued the strategic bombing against German cities, which they had maintained since the beginning of the war. These affected thousands of civilians; the most significant case was Dresden, where there were more than 150,000 deaths in two days. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans attempted a last desperate attack at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, but failed. In addition, the allies continued the strategic bombing against German cities, which they had maintained since the beginning of the war. These affected thousands of civilians; the most significant case was Dresden, where there were more than 150,000 deaths in two days. -
Yalta Conference
Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met at the Yalta Conference in Crimea. The division of Germany into occupation zones was agreed and a commission was created to assess the compensation that Germany should pay. the annexation of the Baltic countries and eastern Poland to the USSR was also confirmed. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
In the Pacific, the United States continued its advance by occupying, at the cost of numerous casualties, the island of Iwo Jima. In this battle there were 45,000 casualties on both sides. -
Battle of Okinawa
In the Pacific, the United States continued its advance by occupying, at the cost of numerous casualties, the island of Okinawa. In this battle there were 120,000 casualties on both sides. -
Battle of Berlin
The Soviets launched a final offensive against the Germans and occupied Berlin in April 1945. Hitler committed suicide and in May Germany surrendered. Mussolini was executed that year. The war in Europe was over. -
San Francisco Conference
At the San Francisco Conference, the UN Charter was drafted, an international political organization created to guarantee compliance with the peace agreements and become a forum for global debate. Its main objectives are to safeguard world peace, the defense of human rights, equality among all peoples and the improvement of the standard of living throughout the world. From the beginning, it had difficulties in its operation due to the tension of international relations during the Cold War. -
Potsdam Conference
Stalin, Truman, and Attlee met at the Potsdam Conference in Germany. The division of Germany and Berlin into four zones administered by the USA, Great Britain, France and the USSR was agreed upon; the "denazicification" of Germany and trying war criminals; the Soviet commitment to declare war on Japan; war reparations to be paid by Germany and Poland's borders and territorial changes were finalized. -
Hiroshima
Japanese city attacked by an atomic bomb by the US. It suffered the first atomic bombing in history, ordered by Truman. Together with the bombing of Nagasaki, it caused the deaths of more than 150,000 Japanese, almost all of them civilians, and also caused health effects to hundreds of thousands of people due to radiation. They caused the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945, but it meant the crossing of a "red line" during the war: the use of nuclear weapons. -
Nagasaki
Japanese city attacked by an atomic bomb by the US. It suffered the first atomic bombing in history, ordered by Truman. Along with the bombing of Hiroshima, it caused the deaths of more than 150,000 Japanese, almost all of them civilians, and also caused health effects to hundreds of thousands of people due to radiation. They caused the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945, but it meant the crossing of a "red line" during the war: the use of nuclear weapons. -
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END OF THE CHINESE CIVIL WAR
Since 1927, there was a civil war between the Chinese nationalist party and the Chinese Communist party in China for control of the country.
After Japan's defeat in 1945, it left China and civil war broke out again. The conflict ended in 1949 with the communist victory, that proclaimed the People's Republic of China and started a communist regime supported by the USSR.
The nationalists took refuge in Taiwan, where they established a Chinese Nationalist Government, supported by the US. -
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NUREMBERG TRIALS
Judicial processes undertaken by the victorious powers after the World War II to determine the guilt of the Nazi leaders and their collaborators. They were found guilty of crimes against peace or humanity and war crimes. Some culprits were sentenced to death, life or temporary imprisonment. A similar process was carried out in Japan: the Tokyo Trials, to try Japanese culprits. They exerted great influence on others celebrated later. In 1998, the International Criminal Court was created in Rome. -
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GREEK CIVIL WAR
The Greek civil war was a conflict between the communists, supported by Yugoslavia and indirectly by the USSR, and the conservative monarchists, who counted on the British and later on the Americans.
Following the Truman Doctrine, the US supported the monarchists financially and politically to prevent the fall of Greece into communism.
The monarchical won the war. Greece remained in the Western Bloc, protecting the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The differences between USA and USSR increased. -
Churchill’s speech
In this speech Churchill announced the creation of an 'iron curtain'. With this term he described the growing influence of the USSR over the countries of central Europe and made public that the understanding between the allies was breaking down. -
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PARIS CONFERENCE
Treaties were signed at the Paris Conference with other countries that had supported Germany during World War II. The treaties allowed the defeated Axis powers to resume their responsibilities as sovereign states in international affairs and to qualify for membership in the United Nations. -
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FALL OF EASTERN EUROPE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE SOVIET UNION
The countries of Central and Eastern Europe became satellites of the USSR, with complete economic and political dependence on it. -
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THE COLD WAR
It was the state of permanent tension that characterized international relations between 1947 and 1991. During that period, the world was divided into two antagonistic blocs, each headed by a superpower. Each bloc represented a different political and economic model: the Western bloc, led by the US, had a democratic political system and a capitalist economy; and the eastern bloc, led by the USSR, defended a totalitarian Marxist political system and a planned economy. -
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FROM THE BEGINNINGS TO THE PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE
The first years of the Cold War, between 1927 and 1953, were the hardest and most tense. The most important crises of this period were the Greek civil war, the Berlin blockade, the end of the civil war in China and the Korean war. -
Truman Doctrine
In 1947, the effects of World War II in Western Europe were severe: food and fuel shortages, dismantled infrastructure, and a failing financial system. In the opinion of the US administration, if this situation continued, there was a risk that communism would advance in this area of the continent. For this reason, the president of the United States, Truman, launched a foreign policy focused on containing communism through an economic aid program. -
Rio Pact
It is a purely defensive agreement, that is, an inter-American mutual defense pact signed during the Cold War in Rio de Janeiro. It was signed between the US and several South American countries. -
Marshall Plan
The US government designed an aid plan to revive the European economy worth almost 13 billion dollars. The plan benefited seventeen countries in Europe. Spain was excluded because it did not have a democratic regime. -
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BERLIN BLOCKADE
It was a conflict that pitted the USSR and the Western Allies directly against each other.
After World War II, Germany and Berlin were divided into 4 zones administered by the US, UK, France and the USSR. At London Conference the Western Allies agreed to unify Germany. In response, Stalin blockaded Berlin (included in the Soviet zone), preventing the arrival of ground transportation from the western zone. The allies neutralized it by a airlift.
Facing failure, USSR ended the blockade in 1949. -
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon)
Its objective was to coordinate the planning of the economy of the member countries and agree on a mutual aid system. The Comecon initially belonged to the USSR, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary. Albania later joined, although he left the organization in 1961. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington, which established a defensive military alliance against any possible aggression against the Western world. It was initially made up of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the United States, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. -
The Soviet Union develops its atomic bomb
During the Cold War an arms race began between the USSR and the USA. The main weapon was the atomic bomb. At first only the United States had it. However, the Soviet Union started its own program to produce it, which it did in 1949. -
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KOREAN WAR
During the Cold War Korea was separated into North Korea and South Korea.
In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, occupying almost the entire country. The US intervened in defense of South Korea, pushing communist troops back to the Chinese border. China intervened in support of North Korea, entering a war of attrition.
The armistice was signed in Panmunjom. The division of the two Koreas was consolidated. There were more than 3 million dead (mostly civilians). -
ANZUS
The ANZUS is an alliance, entity type, formed between the United States, Australia and New Zealand, which in turn has a unity pact with the United Kingdom that aims to guarantee security in the South Pacific. It was created during the Cold War. -
USA’s H-bomb
In 1952, the United States made a new exhibition of weapons power: it carried out the first test with a hydrogen bomb (H-bomb), known as Ivy Mike. It was a much smaller bomb than the one dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 during World War II, but 2,500 times more powerful. -
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FROM PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE TO THE MISSILES CRISIS
In 1953 there was a change of leadership of the two superpowers. In general Eisenhower assumed the presidency of the USA and Nikita Khrushchev was elected first secretary of the CPSU. A new stage was opened in the relations between the two blocs, which was called peaceful coexistence. However, despite lowering the tension between the superpowers there were localized crises. -
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CUBAN REVOLUTION
Fidel Castro had started a guerrilla movement against the Batista dictatorship in Cuba. The guerrilla was anti-American in character, as a consequence of the US involvement in the dictatorship. In 1959, Castro overthrew Batista's government and took over as leader of Cuba. He would rule for nearly 50 years. -
Korean Armistice Agreement in Panmunjom
It is a non-aggression treaty currently in force, signed by North Korea (with the USSR and China by its side) and the United States (with South Korea and the UN by its side) in 1953, which ended the hostilities carried out by both nations. Its objective was to ensure a cessation of hostilities and acts of armed force on the Korean peninsula until a peace agreement was reached (which has not yet been reached). The armistice also established Korea's current demilitarized zone at the 38º parallel. -
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, or SEATO for its acronym in English, was a regional defense organization, in force from 1954 to 1977, made up of Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Great Britain and the United States. . It was created during the Cold War. -
The Baghdad Pact
The treaty, originally called the "Baghdad Pact", was signed during the Cold War, in 1955, by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and the United Kingdom and was dissolved in 1979. The objective for which the pact was created was similar NATO's: curb Soviet influence, this time in and around the Middle East. -
Warsaw Pact
For military protection and in response to NATO in 1955, the Warsaw Pact was founded, which was an alliance between the USSR and the European countries of the Soviet orbit to defend themselves against any aggression from the Western bloc. This military agreement, in reality, was used more to impose order within the communist bloc than for the objectives for which it was created. -
Hungarian Revolution
In 1956 in Hungary there were demonstrations criticizing communism and demanding freedoms. The army joined the protesters and the protest turned into a revolution. Hungary left the Warsaw Pact and asked the UN to be recognized as a neutral country.
To avoid this, the USSR organized the invasion of Hungary. the non-intervention of the Western Bloc meant recognition and distributed areas of influence. -
Suez Crisis
In 1956, Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, until then controlled by an Anglo-French company. Britain and France, supported by Israel, tried to overthrow Nasser and militarily occupied the Suez Canal.
The operation failed, since it was not supported by the US or the USSR, and the UN imposed the withdrawal of the Anglo-French forces. -
Bay of Pigs invasion
The United States tried several times to remove Castro from the power of Cuba, where there were a communist regime. This included the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 ordered by President John F. Kennedy. In this invasion, around 1,500 Cuban exiles trained by the CIA attacked Cuba. The invasion was a disaster with the majority of the invaders captured or killed. -
URSS’s H-bomb
After knowing the advances in weapons of the United States with its new hydrogen bomb, the Soviets developed their own H-bomb. In 1961 they detonated the Tsar bomb, which became the greatest devastating capacity up to that moment. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The USSR installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, which posed a threat to the US. In response, the US blockaded the island and threatened to invade Cuba if the missiles were not removed.
Finally, Khrushchev ordered the withdrawal of the ships and the dismantling of the missile ramps, while the US promised not to invade Cuba and to withdraw the missiles from Turkey. It was the best example of deterrence in the face of a threat of nuclear holocaust. -
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FROM THE MAXIMUM TENSION TO THE CRISIS
Between 1963 and 1973 there was a transition from detente to great tension between the blocs and there was a serious crisis, the Vietnam War. Even so, after the crisis in Cuba, a new stage of contacts began between the two powers in order to limit the production of atomic weapons. In 1968 the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was signed, and in 1972 the so-called SALT I Agreements for the limitation of strategic nuclear defensive weapons. -
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VIETNAM WAR
Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam (communist) and South Vietnam (capitalist). In South Vietnam there was a communist guerrilla, Vietcong, that threatened to overthrow the government.
In 1964, the US intervened. However, they couldn’t face the guerrilla tactics and by 1968 it became clear that the US couldn’t win the war.
In 1973 US President Reagan reached a ceasefire agreement. The war continued until 1976, when the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed, joining the communist bloc. -
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PRAGUE SPRING
In 1968, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia undertook political and economic changes that raised expectations of the possibility of building a socialism with a "human face."
However, the USSR did not allow it: the forces of the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union forced the government to return to the political line set by Moscow. -
Chilean coup d’état
In 1973, the US financed a coup to overthrow President Salvador Allende, after which a military junta was formed, presided over by General Pinochet, who established a dictatorship and carried out atrocious repression. -
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War broke out when Egypt and Syria attacked Israel for its oil fields. Despite the territorial advantages achieved by the Arab countries, Israel recovered lost ground.
The US and USSR were not directly involved, but supported the Israelis and Arabs, respectively, and pressured the UN to mediate in the conflict.
The war had long-term consequences. Arab countries cut oil production to persuade the Western bloc not to ally with Israel, triggering an international economic crisis. -
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SOVIET-AFGHAN WAR
In 1978 a group of leftists seized power in Afghanistan and undertook socializing and secular reforms, which were financed by the people through the organization of Islamist guerrillas. The USSR intervened in 1979. To stop the advance of communism, the US provided weapons to the guerrillas, so the war stalled. The guerrillas were gaining ground on the USSR and, finally, Gorbachev withdrew the Soviet troops in 1989.