Cold War Timeline

  • As World War II Ends

    As World War II Ends
    The German capital city falls after the Soviet army marches into Berlin. At the Yalta conference, The United States, Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain made a decision into dividing Berlin and Germany into four zones of occupation.
  • Iron Curtain

    Iron Curtain
    British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives a speech that marks the beginning of the Cold War. The subject was the "Iron Curtain".
  • Berlin Airlift

    Berlin Airlift
    The Soviets blocks railroads and water supplies. Then Berlin airlift then supplies West Berlin with basic necessities.
  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization

    North Atlantic Treaty Organization
    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization forms up to strengthen the Western allies and to defend Europe against Soviet aggression. However, communist forces in China under Mao Zedong takes over mainland China.
  • Communism and Democracy

    Communism and Democracy
    The United States senator Joseph McCarthy begins hunting down communists in the U.S. while the Korean started. This led to global conflict between communism and democracy.
  • The Warsaw Pact

    The Warsaw Pact
    The Soviet Union and communist countries in Eastern Europe forms the Warsaw Pact. This was to counter NATO as a military defense organization.
  • The Vietnam War

    The Vietnam War
    After Vietnam was divided into communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam, the Vietnam War begins. This was the longest war the U.S. was involved in that spanned since 1961-1973.
  • Cuban Missile Crisis

    Cuban Missile Crisis
    The Cuban Missile Crisis made conflict between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The Soviet missile installations in Cuba was discovered by the U.S.
  • Berlin Wall Falls

    Berlin Wall Falls
    After the spokesman for East Berlin's Communist Party negotiated with the West, he stated that citizens of GDR were free to cross the Berlin borders starting at midnight. Thus, the Berlin wall falls. East and West Germany also reunited a year later.
  • Cold War Ends

    Cold War Ends
    U.S. president George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev both signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Talk (START). Gorbachev made an agreement for the U.S. and Soviet to disarm nuclear weapons. Shortly after, the Soviet Union has fallen and broke up into independent republics. The Cold War has officially ended.