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The Yalta Conference, The start of the Cold War
The Allies of WWII Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin meet to discuss what would be done with Germany after the countries defeat. They decided that Germany would be divided into four zones that would be controlled by the U.S., France, and the Soviet Union. Tensions grew when Stalin pushed for communism in Eastern Europe. -
The Potsdam Conference
This was the last meeting between the U.S., Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. This was President Truman's first meeting after Roosevelt's death. Soviets pushed to unify Germany, but also keep them completely unarmed. This caused Truman to grow suspicious of the Soviet's intentions. The conference helped fuel the beginning of the Cold War. -
Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a speech addressing his wishes for a closer relationship between America and Great Britain. He also voiced his concerns about the Soviet Union and its intentions of expansion. In the speech, he said, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” With this, he was referring to the division of Europe and the effects it would soon have. -
The Truman Doctrine
American President Truman established the Truman Doctrine in 1947. It stated that the U.S. would support or join any fight that was against the spread of communism. At the time, the Soviet Union was suspected of intentions to expand, meaning that they would spread communism too. The doctrine was basically a threat to the Soviet Union saying that the U.S. wouldn't be afraid to fight them in another war. -
The Berlin Airlift
The Soviet Union created a blockade around Berlin, saying it was for "road repairs". They did this with the intention to starve the powers of Western Berlin because of a previous request made by them. Soviets wanted America to withdraw from Berlin, which they refused to do. The U.S. & Britain decided to help Berlin by flying supplies like food, fuel, & medicine to West Berlin. This lasted almost a year. By 1949, it was lifted and the failure only increased tension between the U.S. and Soviets. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a treaty that bound those involved to aid the others if they were to be attacked by a foreign nation. The original members were Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Eastern Germany, Poland, Romania, USSR, & Czechoslovak Republic. The pact was the Communist's response to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance between the U.S., Canada, France, and several other countries. The Soviets saw NATO as a direct threat from America, prompting them to make their own threat.
