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Yalta Conference
The Big Three agreed that after Germany's unconditional surrender, it would be divided into four post-war occupation zones, controlled by U.S., British, French and Soviet military forces. The city of Berlin would also be divided into similar occupation zones. -
Creation of the United Nations
The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, and achieve international cooperation. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. -
Creation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere. -
Korean War
The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and rebellions in South Korea. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was a military and political effort to overthrow the government of Cuba between 1953 and 1959. -
Space Race
The Space Race was a competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. -
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis was an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The Egyptian Government seized control of the Suez Canal from the British and French owned company that managed it. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles financed and directed by the United States. It was aimed at overthrowing Fidel Castro's communist government. -
Berlin Crisis of 1961
East German police and military units sealed off all arteries leading to West Berlin. The communists pulled up train tracks and roads, erected barriers topped with barbed wire, completely isolating the Western sectors and preventing East Germans from escaping to the West. -
Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia
On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Hungarian People's Republic. -
Soviet-Afghan War
Armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It was fought between Afghanistan rebels called the Mujahedeen and the Soviet supported Afghanistan government. -
Chernobyl Disaster
A nuclear accident that occurred at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that divided Germany.
