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Indian Independence
India and Pakistan became independence. Pakistan became its own nation on August 14, and India on August 15. -
Creation of Israel
David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. All of the Islamic countries voted against partition, and the Palestinians rejected it outright because they argued that the UN did not have the right to partitiona country. -
Berlin Airlift
The Soviet Union cuts off all traffic and water to West Berlin. American and the British officials fly in supplies for 11 months. -
The Formation of NATO
12 nations, Including the U.S. and Canada, were in the NATO. Defensive alliance formed because of fears of the Soviet aggression. -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
An alliance formed by the Soviet Union and Eastern European nations in response to West Germany joining the NATO. A few countries remained non-aligned. -
Arab-Israeli Conflict of 1956
Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal. British made an agreement with France and Israel to retake the canal. -
Launch of Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first unmanned satellite, into space in 1957. It was used as an intercontinental ballistic missle (ICBM). -
Ara-Israeli Confict of 1967
Israelis struck airfields in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria because they were convinced that the Arabs were about to attack them.Israel defeated the Arab states in what became known as the Six-Day War. -
Arab-Israeli Conflict of 1973
Egyption president Anwar Sadat planned a joint Arab attack on the Israelis on the date of Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays.The Arabs recaptured some of theterritory lost in 1967. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Hungary allows vacationing East Germans to travel to Austria, so they travel to West Germany. East Germany closes its borders, and protests erupt. This results into the collapse of the Communist party.
