Download Cold War Events

(1) Yalta Conference (1945)
In February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, the leaders of the three Allied nations, met to continue their
discussions of postwar settlements in Europe. The agreed Germany would be divided into 4 zones of occupationgoverned by American, British, French, and Soviet forces. The leaders agreed that free elections should be held as
soon as possible in the countries that Germany had occupied during the war. Churchill was skeptical of Stalin’s
promises to hold free elections.
(2) The Formation of the United Nations (1945)
In June 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union temporarily set aside their differences. They joined 48 other
nations in forming the United Nations. This international organization was intended to protect the members against
aggression, or as the charter pledged to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” The charter created a
General Assembly where each member could cast votes on broad issues. The real power lay in the 11-member Security
Council. The five permanent members of the Security Council were Britain, China, France, the united States and the
Soviet Union.
(3) Iron Curtain Speech (1946)
Winston Churchill, prime minister of England during World War Two, visited the United States in the spring of 1946
and delivered his famous Iron Curtain speech. “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has
descended across the continent.” This “iron curtain” of Soviet-controlled countries in Eastern Europe ran along the
western border of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Albania, and along the southern border of
Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.
(4) Truman Doctrine (1947)
In 1947 President Truman asked for and received from the US Congress $400 million to provide assistance “to support
free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation [enslavement] by armed minorities [communists] or by outside
pressures.” Providing military and economic assistance to nations resisting communist takeovers became known as the
Truman doctrine. The first nations to receive aid under the Truman Doctrine were Greece and Turkey, both of which
then successfully defeated attempted communist takeovers.
(5) Marshall Plan (1947)
In 1947 US Secretary of State George Marshall created a plan to rebuild a Europe devastated by World War II. All
European nations, including the Soviet Union, could receive US dollars to rebuild their devastated economic as long as
the money was spent on products made in the United States. In 1948 the US Congress approved $17 billion in aid.
Nations receiving Marshall Plan aid were Great Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg, West Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.
(6) Molotov Plan (1947)
The Soviet Union rejected participation in the Marshall Plan in 1947 and decided to create an economic union of
Eastern European nations. This plan was calledProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 he Molotov
Plan after Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheshav Molotov. The nations of Eastern Europe would rebuild their postwar
economies according to a plan set forth by the Communist practices of each participating nation. The nations involved
in the Molotov Plan were the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania.
(7) Berlin Blockade (1948)
Following World War II, the Americans and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Germany into four occupation zones to
be controlled by the Americans, Soviets, British, and French. Berlin, the capital city of Germany that lay deep within
the Soviet occupation zone, would itself be divided into four occupation zones held by the same powers. In 1948, when
the western nations agreed to create a currency for their occupation zones as the first step in creating the new nation of
West Germany, the Soviet Union decided to close of all road and rail access to the western occupation zones in Berlin.
This action, known as the Berlin Blockade, created a crisis for the West because it seemed as if they would either have
to fight their way to Berlin to supply the people living there or give up their zones of occupation in the German capital.
(8) Berlin Airlift (1948)
The Berlin Blockade of 1948 left to million West Berliners without electricity, food, and fuel needed for survival.
Unwilling to give up West Berlin to the Soviet Union and unwilling to fight the Soviet army and risk starting World
War III, President Truman decided to launch the Berlin Airlift. For 10 months, starting in August 1948, the United
States sent two million tons of supplies to West Berlin on cargo planes. The planes had to land and take off 24 hours a
day to keep from having to give up the West’s occupation zones in the German capital. The Soviet Union lifted the
blockade in May 1949.
(9) NATO (1949)
Fearful that western European nations could not resist a Soviet attack from eastern Europe, President Truman signed a
treaty that created a military alliance (a pact between states in a common cause) known as the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). NATO linked the United States and western Europe in such a way that, as Truman said, “an
armed attack against one of more of the [nations] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against
them all.” Members of NATO in 1949 were Canada, the United States, Great Britain, France, Iceland, Portugal,
Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, and Italy. Greece and Turkey joined the
alliance in 1952, and West Germany was admitted in 1954.
(10) The Soviet Union Tests the Bomb (1949)
When the news became public that the Soviets had successfully completed their first test of an atomic bomb in 1949,
Soviet citizens felt pride while the Americans and Europeans felt fear and despair. The American monopoly (total
control by one group) of weapons of mass destruction, which had begun in August 1945, was over. Both sides now
competed in a race to build enough atomic power to defeat one another in the event of a war. Soon each superpower
was armed with enough destructive power to destroy an entire continent, and later, the world.
11-Chinese Civil War/Communists come to power 1949
12. Korean War 1950-1953
(11) Warsaw Pact (1955)
the leaders of the Eastern European nations met in 1955 in Warsaw, Poland and signed the Warsaw Pact, a military
alliance (a pact between states in a common cause) with the Soviet Union as the leading military power. Warsaw Pact
member nations pledged to defend one another in the event of an attack on any of the member states. The members of
the Warsaw Pact in 1955 were the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania,
and Bulgaria.
(12) The Invasion of Hungary (1956)
Rioting broke out in Hungary in 1956 as Hungarians took to the streets demanding more freedom from their communist
government and threatening to return to a parliamentary democracy if their demands were not met. The new Soviet
leader, Nikita Khrushchev, quickly dispatched the Soviet Army with tanks into the streets of Budapest, the Hungarian
capital, rounding up the protesters and executing their leaders. Within a few days, the uprising was brutally crushed,
and Hungary returned to a Soviet-style communist nation.
13. Suez Crisis 1956
In 1956, Gamal Nasser because president of Egypt. The U.S., who defended the existence of Israel, did not like the fact
that Nasser was opposed to the existence of Israel. As a result, the U.S. withdrew support for the construction of a dam
it had offered to build in Egypt. Nasser’s reaction was to seize control of the Suez Canal, which was important to many
western countries economically and militarily. Britain and France threatened military against, thinking the U.S. would
back them, but the U.S. refrained. In the midst of this crisis, Israel attacked Egypt. Britain and France joined in the
attack, claiming they ere protecting their interests in the Suez Canal. The Soviet Union announced it would support
Egypt economically and militarily. Fearing the conflict would break into war, the U.S. worked with the United Nations
to resolve the conflict peacefully.
14. Sputnik Launched 1957
In October 1957, the U.S.S.R. launched a satellite into space using a rocket. Within a few months, they send up a
satellite with a dog aboard! The U.S. tries to counter by launching the Vanguard Satellite…it wobbles on lift off and
explodes a few feet from the launch pad. The U.S.’s reaction is one of horror. In an attempt to keep the U.S. from
“falling behind” the Soviets, the U.S. pours money into developing “defense-related” study and research.
15. Castro comes to power/Bay of Pigs 1959-1961
In 1959, a Cuban revolutionary, Fidel Castro, leads a revolution in Cuba. The U.S. initially supports this leader who
they see as being better than the dictator, Batista, whom he overthrew. The U.S. takes its support back when it sees
Castro showing signs of support for Communism! In 1960, the U.S.S.R. promised to back Cuba against any aggression
from the U.S. At the end of the Eisenhower administration, the CIA was training anti-Castro exiles to overthrow the
government of Cuba. In 1961, President Kennedy was briefed on the plan and told that with U.S. air support, a
successful revolution was likely. What resulted was a disaster. The Cuban people did not support the overthrow of
Castro, the U.S. did not supply the air support, and news of the plan was leaked to Cuban officials…1200 attackers
were captured. President Kennedy had to admit the mistake.
16. The Congo 1960
The Democratic Republic of Congo was established in 1960 after gaining independence from Belgium. Immediately
there was political and economic instability (in large part because of Kantaga, a wealthy region within the Congo, was
pushing to break away) and the Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba sought help from the UN. He also asked for help
from the Soviet Union. A Seko Mobutu a military commander was urged with financial backing by the CIA to seize
power and arrest Lumumba, Years later it was revealed that the CIA was planning to kill Lumumba with a poisoned
toothbrush if Mobutu did not follow through. Lumumba, after his arrest, was handed over to the Kantaga rebel where
he was shot before a firing squad. Given the popularity of Lumumba there was a rising anti-Mobutu sentiment. The
US helped provide “resources” to Mobutu, which he used to eliminate dissent and keep himself in power.
17. Berlin Wall 1961
Because of strict laws preventing citizens of communist nations from leaving their countries for the West, West Berlin
was seen as an escape route out of otherwise tightly sealed borders between communist and non-communist nations.
After years of using propaganda to discourage people in East Berlin from defecting) abandoning their country) to West
Berlin, a wall was constructed in 1961 that sealed shut the entire border between East and West Berlin. The Berlin
Wall, 15 feet high and built of solid concrete masonry, stretched across the city, blocking streets, traversing the river,
and separating buildings. It was manned by armed East German soldiers in watchtowers with shoot-to-kill orders for
anyone attempting to scale the wall and enter West Berlin.
18. Vietnam War 1964-1973
The Vietnam War occurred in present-day Vietnam, Southeast Asia. It represented a successful attempt on the part of
the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam, DRV) and the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (Viet
Cong) to unite and impose a communist system over the entire nation. Opposing the DRV was the Republic of Vietnam
(South Vietnam, RVN), backed by the United States. The war in Vietnam occurred during the Cold War, and is
generally viewed as an indirect conflict between the United States and Soviet Union, with each nation and its allies
supporting one side.
(19) The Invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968)
In 1968 Czechoslovakia attempted to loosen itself from strict Soviet control. A new Czech leader, Alexander Dubcek,
emerged and restored freedoms to his people lost since the end of World War II. Czechoslovakians freely expressed
themselves and distributed and read previously banned literature. Alarmed that Czechoslovakia would be wrested from
their control, the Soviet Union quickly sent in Warsaw Pact troops and tanks and, with little resistance, restored
Czechoslovakia as a hard-line communist nation.
20. Chile 1973
Chile was another hot spot in the American vs. Soviet Cold War. On 11 September 1973, the government of President
Salvador Allende (Communist) was overthrown by the military in a coup d’état. U.S. intervention in Chilean internal
politics and support of right-wing opponents of President Allende (including presidential assassination) are documented
in declassified (1998) documents. The Soviet Union was sympathetic to Allende, but did not assist him because they
believed he was "weak" for refusing to use force against the opposition. General Augusto Pinochet assumed power
after deposing President Salvador Allende, establishing an anti-communist military dictatorship that ruled until 1990.
21. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan 1979-1986