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Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
Shortly before the end of World War II, a meeting took place between the 'Big Three'- Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan and hold free elections in Eastern Europe in exchange for the lands previously lost in the Russo-Japanese War. However, Stalin did not keep his promises, and Roosevelt was later criticised for selling out to the USSR. -
Period: to
Cold War
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Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
At the Potsdam Conference, the 'Big Three' (Harry Truman, Clement Atlee and Joseph Stalin) came together again to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. Germany and its capital, Berlin, was divided into four parts. East and West Germany were formed. But Stalin had not kept the promises he made at Yalta, of free elections in his territory, and Truman was reluctant to allow Stalin's other demands. -
Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Britain, gave his now famous "Iron Curtain" speech in America, at the invitation of Westmister College. This speech was one of the first acknowledgements of the Cold War.
Churchill made it clear that there was a division between the Communist East and the democratic West, and said he hoped for a stronger alliance between Britain and the US. -
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
NATO Signing
NATO was formed to defend West Germany against the USSR.
After WWII, the nations of Europe were struggling to rebuild their economies and establish security, and the USA felt that an economically strong Europe was essential to prevent the spread of communism. In NATO, a program of large-scale economic aid was proposed to Europe. The Soviets refused to participate, and thus further widened rifts between East and West. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union's response to West Germany joining NATO. The Soviet Union feared the consequences of a newly strengthed West Germany, and formed the treaty in an attempt to counter it.
The purpose of the Warsaw Pact was to maintain the Soviet's control over Central and Eastern Europe, and to help continue the spread of communism. -
US Spy Plane Shot Down
U-2 Spy Plane Incident
A crisis erupted when the USSR shot down a US spy plane in Soviet territory and captured the pilot, Francis Gary Powers. US President Eisenhower was forced to admit that they had been flying spy missions over Soviet territory for years.
This incident raised tensions between the US and the USSR dramatically, and prevented an agreement between the two on the production of nuclear weapons. -
Berlin Wall Built
Berlin Wall
When Germany was divided into two, many citizens fled from East Berlin to the West. Knowing that if all their citizens left, the Eastern economy would collapse, the East German police began building the Berlin Wall. This wall was a perfect representation of the building enmity between East and West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
When the US discovered that the USSR had set up nuclear-armed missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from US shores, President John Kennedy established a naval blockade around Cuba, and warned that the US would not hesitate to use military force if necessary. Disaster was avoided when the two parties came to an agreement; USSR would remove their missiles if the US promised not to invade Cuba. -
SALT I Signed
SALT I
SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) was a series of treaties between the US and the USSR that would restrict the use of nuclear weapons. SALT 1 was signed by Leonid Brezhnev, secretary for the Soviet Communist Party and US President Richard Nixon. Whether or not this treaty made the world a safer place is hard to say. Both parties made agreements to limit efforts to defend themselves and destroy the other, but both still had enough weaponry to eradicate all life on Earth. -
SALT II Signed
SALT IIAfter the signing of SALT I, further negotiations were intended. An outline for the SALT II treaty was proposed in 1974, but the American Senate stalled the agreement. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter attemtped to renogotiate the terms for SALT II in order to reduce the number of Soviet missiles. Finally, in 1979, the precise figures were agreed on, and the treaty was signed by Breznhev and Carter. However, the American Senate was still wary of the Soviet's violation of previous agreements. -
Berlin Wall Demolished
Berlin Wall
When the East German Communist Party announced that citizens could now cross freely between East and West Berlin, the Berlin Wall was swarmed with citizens on both sides. Some crossed over to the other side, while some brought hammers and chisels, and began to chip away at the wall itself. For some, this date marks the end of the Cold War. Life began returning to normal. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
Fall of the Soviet Union
A few days before Christmas, 1991, the representatives from 11 countries announced that they were no longer a part of the Soviet Union. Before this, the three Baltic republics had declared their independance. Now only one of the 15 republics -Georgia- remained. The Soviet Union crumbled, and on Christmas Day, the president, Mikhail Gorbachev, resigned from his job. The Cold War had come to an end.
