The Cold War

Cold War at a Glimpse

Period: Jan 1, 1945 to Dec 26, 1991

15 major Cold War events

Yalta Conference

Feb 4, 1945

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During this conference, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin made important decisions about the current and future wars, as well as post-war issues.

WWII ends in Europe

May 1, 1945

Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima

Aug 1, 1945

U.S. drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Communists in Poland

Jan 1, 1947

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Communists seize power in Poland

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established

Apr 4, 1949

SourceC
reated by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide protection against the Soviet Union

Communists win Chinese Civil War

Oct 1, 1949

Warsaw Pact formed

May 1, 1955

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This treaty included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. It required that the member states "come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force and it set up a unified military command under Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union."

Premier Fidel Castro

Feb 1, 1959

Fidel Castro becomes premier of Cuba and installs Communist government.

Atomic Bombs in China

Oct 1, 1964

China explodes its first atomic bomb.

Nixon Visits China

Feb 1, 1972

President Richard Nixon visits China.

South Vietnam falls

Apr 1, 1975

South Vietnam falls to Communist forces.

U.S. in Grenada

Dec 1, 1983

U.S. invades Grenada. "Communism stops here."

Students Demand Reforms

May 1, 1989

Led by university students, over one million Chinese in Tiananmen Square demand reforms by the Chinese Communist government.

Berlin Wall demolished

Dec 1, 1989

Berlin Wall is demolished.

Soviet Union is abolished

Dec 1, 1991

The Soviet Union is abolished. Boris Yeltsin becomes President of Russia.