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Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference convened at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea -
End of World War II
World War II ended when the Japanese foreign affairs minister boarded the USS Missouri to sign official documents of surrender. -
Joe McCarthy begins Communist witch hunt
Senator Joseph McCarthy began an era of paranoia by announcing that he had a list of 205 Communists. McCarthyism became synonymous with the witch hunts that marked the second Red Scare in US history. -
Korean War begins
Korea had been divided at the 38th parallel after WWII. Soviet forces had occupied North Korea and American forces had occupied South Korea. When North Korea invaded South Korea, the UN requested world forces to help. The US entered the Korean Conflict. -
Soviet Union reveals that U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory
An American U-2 spy plane was shot down while conducting espionage surveillance over the Soviet Union. Immediately after the incident, the United States denied that it was a spy plane, but the Soviets had the wreckage and the live pilot. Francis Gary Powers, the pilot, was released in 1962 as part of a prisoner exchange. -
Apollo 11 lands on the moon
The world watched as American astronaut, Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon. Apollo 11’s moon landing put the United States ahead in the space race. -
SALT I signed
The first series of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) take place between Nixon and Brezhnev. Under the SALT I agreements, the existing number of ballistic missile launchers was frozen. -
Berlin Wall falls
After months of East Berlin authorities tolerating greater movement across the Berlin border, they finally ordered the opening of several gates. The wall was breached and excited Berliners climbed the wall and chopped out chunks of it. -
Germany reunited
East and West Germany were reunited under one government. -
Cold War Ends
Hardline Communists within the Soviet Union staged a botched coup against Gorbachev. The result was that the Communist Party was weakened and the Soviet Union crumbled. The Cold War was over.