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German Re-Unification
The unification caused tension due to religious, linguistic, social, and cultural differences. If this didn't happen, modern Germany wouldn't be a thing. -
Yalta Conference
This was claimed to be the start of the war. At the conference, Churchill, Stalin, and FDR met as World War 2 was dying down. They discussed German terms of surrender and the post war occupation of Germany. Stalin agreed about free elections in Eastern Europe. Stalin broke his promise about free elections, thus leading into the start. -
Truman Doctrine
This meant USA would provide military and economic aid to countries threatened by communism. President Truman came up with this idea. This was an important event because he was trying to stop communism from spreading by freeing people and helping countries. -
Marshall Plan
George Marshall created the Marshall plan. It is U.S economic recovery for war-torn Europe. It was $13 billion dollars in loans from the U.S. This was to help rebuild Western Europe. It was also known as the European Recovery Program. This was important because we were trying to help Europe recover from war. -
Berlin Blockade
The soviets blocked entrances to Berlin and cut off allied supplies to West Berlin. Since supplies was cut off, starvation occurred, causing the population to go from 4.3 million to 2.8 million. The Berlin Airlift was then created to help fly in supplies. -
NATO was created
NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This was a collective security alliance involving USA, Britain, France, Canada, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Norway. This was good because if one of them got attacked or went to war they would have help from the other countries. -
Arms Race
The USA and USSR were competing in building nuclear bombs. The USSR exploded their first atomic bomb in 1949. The US exploded their first hydrogen bomb on an island on November 1, 1952. The US bomb killed all life on the surrounding islands. This was an important event because the USA and USSR were constantly competing and this just shows how far each of us would go to be better than one another. -
Korean War
The united nation forces were sent in to stop communist aggression and expansion. The USSR supplied war materials to North Korea. The Chinese forces entered the war on one side of North Korea. This war lasted for 3 years, it ended on July 27th, 1953. -
Stalin's Death
After Stalin died, Nikita Khrushchev took over. He created "de-stalinzation". This was the removal of Stalin's harsh policies and government. This was an important event because Stalin was harsh and there wasn't as much communism happening once Khrushchev took over. -
Khrushchev coming to power
Nikita came to power after Stalin's death. He was a better leader than Stalin because he wasn't so harsh. He created the idea of Glasnost which is openness. The soviet citizens finally had freedom of speech and he eased the harsh treatment. Also Perestrokia began which was reconstructing. The economy changed, private enterprise was allowed, and the dismantling of the national bureaucracy. -
Vietnam War
Vietnam divided into 2 states. North Vietnam were communists. South Vietnam were democrats. There was a theory that South Vietnam would fall to communism. -
Hungarian Revolution
The anit-Soviet demonstrations started in Hungary. Because these were happening, Khrushchev crushed the revolt and ordered the Soviet tanks to roll through Budapest. -
Space Race
On October 4, 1957, the first satellite to orbit earth and send radio signals back was released. It was called the Sputnik 1. On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut (Yuri Gagarin) was the first man to travel in space. He was in the Vostok 1 spaceship. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban dictator (Fulgencio Bastista) was over thrown. Fidel Castro's communist forces seized control of Cuba. The Soviet supported the governments set up in Cuba. -
Bay of Pigs Incident
The USA invaded Cuba and lead a revolt against Fidel Castro. President Kennedy gave orders for the invasion. The invasion failed. This was an important event because they were trying to stop Castro from continuing communism in Cuba. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The USSR places missiles in Cuba. There were ships carrying missiles headed to Cuba. President Kennedy ordered the USA to block the Cuban ports. Khrushchev agreed to turn the ships around and Kennedy agreed to not invade Cuba. -
Soviet Invasion in Afghanistan
The Soviet was involved in a 10 year war against the Afghan Rebels. It is said that this war was contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union failed and had to withdraw from Afghanistan. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was built to keep East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. But when the wall fell, East Germany was opened to West Germany. The fall of the wall was important because East Germany was finally free. -
Cold War Ends
Gorbachev and President Bush met declaring the end to the Cold War. This was an extremely important event because the war finally ended and I'm sure everyone was happy about that. -
USSR Breakup
The USSR split into 15 separate republics. But Lativia, Lithuania, and Estonia all declared independence. They became Baltic republics. This was an important event because it showed that Russia was close to giving up leading to the end of the Cold War.
