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Yalta Conference
British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin met to discuss the reorganization and control of Europe post-WWII. The “Big Three” decided to demilitarize Nazi Germany and slip into four zones, one zone for each of the three and the forth zone for France. Roosevelt convinced Stalin to enter the Pacific war and fight against Japan. Stalin also agreed to join the newly formed United Nations. -
President Roosevelt dies
A couple months after his return to the U.S. following the Yalta Conference, Roosevelt suffered a massive stroke and died. Prior to his death, Roosevelt accused Stalin of breaking his agreements made at the Yalta Conference. -
Truman becomes president
Having been Roosevelt's vice president, Truman succeeded Roosevelt after his death. -
Potsdam Conference
The “Big Three,” now Truman instead of Roosevelt, met to discuss they should punish Nazi Germany, who was defeated prior to the conference. It was agreed that Nazi war criminals should be prosecuted, all German annexes in Europe were reversed, and the destruction of all German military potential. -
U.S. bombs Japan, Japan surrenders
Americans were never forgiving when fighting the Japanese, especially after years of war. Truman weighed the advantages of dropping an atomic bomb of Japan and insisted that is would save lives on both sides. An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, and another was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9. Japan surrendered August 14, 1945. -
Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech
Winston Churchill delivered a famous speech that warned of the threat that sat behind the “iron curtain,” the communists. This was the unofficial began the Cold War as the U.S. began to rally the West for allies against the Soviets. -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman addressed Congress in efforts to provide military and economic assistance to Greece, Turkey, and any other country threatened by Communism. Although the USSR was never mentioned by name, this doctrine was clear warning to them. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United States created NATO as the West’s major defense against the Soviet Union. -
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Korean War
The Korean War was the first conflict of the Cold War. North Korean military invaded South Korea, which was quickly seen as an act of aggression. American casualties of the war were estimated at about 54,000 deaths and 103,000 wounded, but the Chinese and Korean casualties were nearly ten times higher. -
CIA helps to overthrow communist Guatemala
The CIA helps the Western forces overthrow the communist influenced Guatemala. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact 8 communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe as a defense mechanism when West Germany entered into NATO. -
Creation of the Berlin Wall
The East German government created a border between East and West Berlin and along the border of East and West German. In 1989, the wall was finally slowly dismantled. -
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Vietnam War
U.S. forces aided South Vietnam in efforts to prevent communism from taking over. Peace agreements developed in 1973, but conflicts did not cease until 1975. South Vietnam collased, and North and South Vietnam were unified into one Vietnam. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Nuclear missiles were secretly being installed in Cuba, Kennedy created a naval blockade and warned the Soviet Union that any missile launched would cause a full blown attack. The crisis ended almost as quickly as it started. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Communist began to dismantle the wall in efforts to maintain power, but that backfired horribly. The Berlin Wall was totally demolished except for short pieces that were made into memorials. -
End of the Cold War
The Cold war ended when the Berlin wall was disembled. Germany was reunited into one country and the Soviet Union was broken up.
