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Yalta Conference
The "Big Three" allied leaders—American president Franklin Roosevelt, Soviet leader Josef Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill—meet at the Yalta Conference to make arrangements for the postwar world order. Their contradictory agreements include a declaration to respect democracy throughout Europe, but also the recognition of a de facto Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. At Yalta the Allies also finalize plans to divide Germany into separate zones of occupation. -
Potsdam Conference
The "Big Three" leaders of the United States, Soviet Union, and Great Britain meet at the Potsdam Conference. President Harry Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill continue the work begun at Yalta to determine the future of postwar Europe. The conference establishes a military administration for Germany and agrees to put Nazi leaders on trial for war crimes. -
Iron Curtain
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at a college graduation in Fulton. Churchill delivers his 'Sinews of Peace' speech which contain the famous phrase "..an iron curtain has descended on Europe" -
Truman Doctrine
In a speech later remembered as the "Truman Doctrine," President Harry S. Truman pledges American assistance to any nation in the world threatened by Communism, officially establishing the worldwide containment of Communism as a vital American national security interest. -
Marshall Plan
This was a program of economic aid offered by the United States to any European country. The plan was rejected outright by Stalin and any Eastern Bloc country considering accepting aid was reprimanded severely. Consequently the aid was only given to Western European Countries. -
Berlin Blockade
Russia's response to the merger of the French, USA and UK partitions of Berlin was to cut all road and rail links to that sector. This meant that those living in Western Berlin had no access to food supplies and faced starvation. Food was brought to Western Berliners by US and UK airplanes, an exercise known as the Berlin Airlift. -
NATO Formed
Ten Western European nations join the United States and Canada to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an anti-Soviet military alliance that extends the deterrent threat of America's nuclear weapons to cover Western Europe. -
Korean War
The Korean war began when North Korea invaded South Korea.The Korean war began when North Korea invaded South Korea. -
Hydrogen Bomb
The United States explodes its first hydrogen bomb—a weapon hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945—at Enewetak in the South Pacific. -
Stalin Dies
Soviet leader Josef Stalin dies, ending his 30-year stranglehold on power within the Soviet Union. -
Geneva Accords
This set of documents ended the French war with the Vietminh and divided Vietnam into North and South states. The communist leader of North Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh while the US friendly south was led by Ngo Dinh Diem. -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution begins when student protesters demand changes to the Communist government's national policies. The government falls and protesters organize to resist an invasion by Soviet troops. -
NASA Created
The United States creates NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to lead the space race with the Soviet Union. -
Berlin Wall
Berlin wall built and borders sealed between East and West Germany. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A US spy plane reported sighting the construction of a Soviet nuclear missile base in Cuba. President Kennedy set up a naval blockade and demanded the removal of the missiles. War was averted when the Russians agreed on 28th October to remove the weapons. The United States agreed not to invade Cuba. -
Vietnam War
President Richard Nixon ordered US troops to go to Cambodia. -
Iranian hostage crisis ended
A group of Iranian students and militants stormed the American embassy and took 53 Americans hostage to show their support for the Iranian Revolution. The Iranian hostage crisis ended 444 days after it began -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was torn down -
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution, also known as the Gentle Revolution, was a series of peaceful protests in Czechoslovakia that led to the overthrow of the Communist government. -
Malta Summit
This meeting between Mikhail Gorbachov and George H W Bush reversed much of the provisions of the Yalta Conference 1945. It is seen by some as the beginning of the end of the cold war. -
German reunification
East and West Germany were reunited as one country. -
End of Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact which allied Communist countries was ended -
End of the Soviet Union
End of the Soviet Union
