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The Yalta Conference
Franklin D Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill (know as the big 3) meet up at Yalta and agree to divide Germany into zones controlled by Allied forces. The Cold War begins. -
Period: to
The Cold War - 1945-1991
This timeline represents the events of the Cold War from the 1945 defeat of Germany up to the SALT I meeting in 1972. This does not cover the full events of the cold war. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe day - A day that marks Germanys surrender to the Allied forces in Berlin. This day marks the end of WWII. -
Creation of the United Nations
The US and the Soviet Union joined 48 other countries in forming an international organization to protect the members against aggression. (This was known as the UN ) -
Stalin Delivers a Speech
Stalin declares in his speech that communists and capitalism couldn't exsist in the same world. -
"The Iron Curtain"
"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." -Winston Churchill
Churchill's phrase represented Europes division into democratic Western Europe and communist Eastern Europe. -
US-Soviet relations worsen & Containment
As US and Soviet relations continued to worsen, the US tried to offset the growing threat to Eastern Europe. President Truman created a foreign policy called containment that focused on blocking Soviet influence and stopping the expansion of communism. -
The Truman Doctrine
Truman's support for countries that rejected communism. -
The Marshall Plan
US Secretary of State, George Marshall, proposed that the United States give aid to needy European countries, providing food, machinery, and other materials to rebuild Western Europe. -
The Berlin Airlift
The Soviet Union held West Berlin hostage to show their opposition to France, Britain, and the United States decision to withdraw their forces from Germany and allow it to unify. To help out and prevent starvation, American and British officials flew food and supplies into West Berlin for 11 months leading the Soviet Union to surrender. -
Threat of Nuclear War - An Arms Race
The Soviet Union exploded its own atomic weapon in 1945 causing President Truman to want to develop a more deadly weapon before the Soviets did. This lead to the US creation of the H-bomb -- leading to the Soviets creation. . etc. -
NATO Forms
In 1949 - Ten western European nations joined along with Canada and the United States to form a defenstive military alliance known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (NATO) -
Communism Takes Over China
Mae Zedong gained control of the country, proclaiming it the "People's Republic of China." This greatly fueled the United States anti-communist feelings. -
The Korean War Begins
The Korean War starts due to North Korea crossing the 38th Parallel into South Koreas territory, attacking them. North Korea was ruled by communist at the time and the Soviet Unions ally during the war. -
The Korean War Ends
Nearly five million people died -- Most were civilians. On July 27, 1953, an armistice was signed where it officially ended the war. Korea remained divided and North Korea stayed communist. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union saw NATO as a threat and formed It's own alliance which included the Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. -
The Vietnam War Begins
US feared communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia so the United States and allies join South Vietnamese to fight against North Vietnamese Communist group. -
Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro takes over Cuba as a dictator and aligns itself with the Soviet Union, who he grew dependent on for economic and military aid. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
An American spy plane spotted missiles in Cuba implanted by the Soviet Union that were just 90 miles North of Florida. (Can easily hit them.) People around the world feared a nuclear war , however, the Soviet Union and United States agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the US promise to not invade Cuba. --- Lasted 13 days--- -
SALT I Treaty
The United States and the Soviet Union agree to limit the number of nuclear missiles/weapons in their arsenal. -
The Vietnam War Ends
Nixon uses a strategy called "Vietnamization" where they let South Vietnamese forces to build up, as U.S. troops gradually withdrew. The long drawn out Vietnam War comes to an end in 1975 with 1.3 million deaths and no win for the U.S. (Lost to communism again.)
