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Period: to
Yalta Conference
At Yalta, the Allies decided that they would accept nothing less than unconditional surrender from Germany, that Germany would be partitioned after the war, and that the USSR would join the war against Japan. -
"Trinity" Test
United States successfully detonates an atomic bomb near Alamogordo, NM. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/timeline/index.html Nuclear Bomb Time-lapse Map:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCF7vPanrY -
"Little Boy"
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan -
"Fat Man"
United States drops a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan -
George Kennan issues the "Long Telegram"
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"Marshall Plan" aid announced
George Marshall delivers a speech at Harvard that officially introduces the European Recovery Program, which came to be known as the "Marshall Plan." http://www.marshallfoundation.org/TheMarshallPlan.htm -
Period: to
Berlin Blockade & Airlift
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Mao Comes to Power
The Chinese Civil War comes to an end with a Communist victory. Mao Zedong becomes leader of China. http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/chinese-rev -
The Korean War Begins
Early on the morning of June 25, the army of North Korea stormed across the 38th Parallel and invaded South Korea, quickly capturing the capitol city of Seoul and pushing the South Korean/UN Army back to the Pusan Perimeter. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/maps/koreatxt.html -
Period: to
Korean War
20th Century Battlefields: Korean War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8pCXezIGI4 -
Khrushchev comes to power
Shortly after the death of Josef Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev becomes Secretary of the Communist Party. http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/bios/all_bio_nikita_khrushchev.htm -
Korean War Ends
The Korean War comes to an end with the signing of an armistice at Panmunjom, -
Fall of Dien Bien Phu
The isolated French outpost at Dien Bien Phu falls to the Vietnamese Communists, marking the unofficial beginning of America's war in Vietnam. -
Fidel Castro comes to power in Cuba
Soon after overthrowing US-friendly dictator Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro takes power as the Prime Minister and, later, President of Cuba. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/castro/ -
Bay of Pigs Invason
US-backed Cuban exiles invade Cuba in hopes of toppling Castro's regime. The mission failed and proved to be a major source of embarrassment for the Kennedy Administration. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Bay-of-Pigs.aspx -
Erection of the Berlin Wall
The Soviets began constructing a wall to prevent citizens from crossing between East and West Berlin. Short Documentary "The Wall"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Bi6tiWNCk http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Cold-War-in-Berlin.aspx -
Kennedy authorizes Operation Mongoose
Kennedy secretly authorizes covert action to destabilize Castro's regime. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rfk/peopleevents/e_mongoose.html -
Missiles spotted in Cuba
Film from a U-2 spy plane shows what appear to be SS-4 medium range nuclear missiles. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx Documents:
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis1962.pdf -
Period: to
Cuban Missile Crisis
The US and the USSR came to the brink of war when the US discovered the presence of offensive ballistic missiles in Cuba. Kennedy's Speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgdUgzAWcrw Thirteen Days:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tho5ZYLiuoc
http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx -
"Ich bin ein Berliner"
President Kennedy delivered his famous speech to a large audience in Berlin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYEdRiBPDXQ -
Kennedy Assassination
President Kennedy was shot and killed as his motorcade went through Dallas, TX