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Major Events of The Cold War: 1945-1991
This timeline lists many of the major events throughout the duration of the Cold War. -
World War II Ends
Japan accepted and signed the Potsdam Declaration officially bringing World War II to an end. -
Iron Curtain Speech
On March 5, 1946 Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, delivers a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri declaring an "iron curtain has descended across the continet". By continent he refers to Europe.This speech is sometimes regarded as the opening gate to the Cold War. -
Berlin Blockade Begins
After the war ended, Germany was split up into four sections, these sections were controlled by Great Britian, Soviet Union, France, and the United States. Relations between the United States/Great Britian and the Soviet Union were already breaking down so after alleged charges that the Allies were not following the Potsdam Declaration, the Soviet Union slowed traffic into their portion of Berlin. On June 24, 1948 the Soviet Union blocked all traffic into their portion of Berlin. -
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The Berlin Airlift
As a result of the blockade, west Berlin was unable to provide itself with the necessary food and materials needed to survive. Over the next 321 days after the highways into West Berlin were closed the former Allied forces including the United States and Great Britian flew planes over West Berlin dropping thousands of tons of supplies each day for West Berlin citizens. -
West Germany
On May 23, 1949 the Federal Republic of Germany was officially formed. The event was not a happy one as many members of the West Germany Parlimentary Council still hoped for a reunification of East and West Germany. The image shows the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in blue as well as West Berlin in yellow. -
Atomic bomb announced
In a speech to the nation President Harry S. Truman announced that the Soviet Union officially detonated an nuclear bomb. With this revelation the United States no longer had the upperhand in the Cold War in terms of nuclear/atomic bombs. This led to an increase in military development leading to the hydrogen bomb. -
East Germany
Only five months after the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Soviet Union formed the Democratic Republic of Germany. The Democratic Republic of Germany was about half of the size of East Germany and included the still divided former capital of Berlin. -
McCartyhism and the Second Red Scare are Born
Joseph McCarthy, a little known first time senator from Wisconsin gave a speech at a womens Republican club in Ohio, and held a piece a paper in which he claimed were the names of 205 communist party members who worked within the state department. Although the threat of communist spies within the government were very real, McCarthy caused fear in many Americans and he led to what is now called the Second Red Scare. -
Stalin Dies
On March 5, 1953 Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin dies from a heart attack in Moscow. Stalin had been leader of the Soviet Union since 1924 and ruled with an iron fist, although it is less known Stalin oversaw the deaths of 8 million to 10 million of his own people. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Pact which was an agreement between the Soviet Union and seven of its satellite countries that gave the Soviet Union command of all of the armed forces. The pact was formed in large part due to the formation of NATO as West Germany was allowed to remiliterize which the USSR saw as a direct threat. -
Peaceful Coexistence
After coming into power, Nikita Khrushchev claimed that there could be a peaceful coexistence between the Soviet Union and the West, which was a far cry from the former leader, Jospeh Stalin. Khrushchev's time as leader brought about many reformers as he attempted to raise living standards and diminish the secret Russian police. The image depicts Khrushchev with his wife and President Eisenhower. -
Sputnik launch
At 10:29 Moscow time the space satellite, Sputnik, is succesfully launched into space. The launch of Sputnik marks the beginning of the space race era of the Cold War. Over the next several years the USSR would go on to achieve many other 'firsts' such as first spacewalk and first dog in space. Although with the United States' moon landing and first man on the moon the space race took a very different turn. -
Fidel Castro Takes Power
On January 1, 1959 Fidel Castro a cuban revolutionary steps into power over the country of Cuba making it a communist country. He is still alive today however he handed power over to his brother Raul Castro a few years ago. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion included 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles attempting to ovethrow Fidel Castro. This was ultimately a failure. -
The Berlin Wall
On August 13, 1961 the communist government of the German Democratic Republic begin construction on an eighty mile long wall separating Western and Eastern Berlin. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
During the height of the Cold War the Soviet Union had nuclear-armed missiles on Cuba just 90 miles away from the United States shore. This led to a thirteen day standoff resulting in the Khrushchev removing the missiles so long as the United States does not invade Cuba. -
Nixon Visits the Soviet Union
President Nixon met with several Soviet Leaders which resulted in the creation and signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treat (SALT) which significantly decreased the amount of missiles both countries had -
Summer Olympics Boycott
On this day President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would be boycotting the 1980 summer olympics in Moscow. This is because the Soviet Union failed to pull troops from Afghanistan. -
Berlin Wall Falls
The Berlin Wall officially "falls" and citizens on both sides of the wall are free to cross. -
The Soviet Union Falls
The Soviet Union offically collapsed after several satellite countries began to leave Soviet Rule. The collapse of the Soviet Union signaled the end of the Cold War.
