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Communists take power in and control of Poland
– Used political prowess through using Communist political power to overrule their government. The Communists suppress their leading oppositional party, Mikolajczyk’s Polish Peasant Party. Once isolated enough, the Communists took the entirety of Poland through these political means, and gained more land. They kept power by eliminating and suppressing revolutionary acts. This was one in several lands that Communists took to expand their power. It allows the Communists to have one more foothold. -
The Truman Doctrine is Told to the World - http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history/videos/the-truman-doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was It's a speech made by President Harriot Truman before Congress. He describes how the world has a choice. They can choose one that is more for liberty and the majority, whereas the other stands for the minority forcing the majority to act out its will. The Truman Doctrine is important, for it officially declares the beginning of the Cold War, and the United State’s stance against the USSR. -
The Berlin Airlift Starts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ30Rgc5Prc
Berlin was split into two parts, West and East. West belonged to the Allies, while East was part of Russia. Russia feared Germany becoming a country once more and separated the Berlins. They quickly set up a blockade, not letting anyone go through. However, the Allies devised a plan to send supplies through the skies. About 300,000 flights were made in total. The Airlift allowed the Allies to gain more support with democracy, and the Berlin Airlift showed that the Allies can outsmart Russia. -
NATO is Created - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTr9iTyUSFs
NATO was a treaty made for several reasons. The European countries that participated in WW2 were devastated economically. They needed help, and the U.S. decided that to prevent Communism, the U.S. could use support from these nations. So the Marshall Plan was made. NATO acted as more of a wartime treaty to help each other and to provide security from the Communistic way of Soviet Union. NATO showed the division in Europe. It made a group of nations that were against USSR and the Communist ideas. -
Soviet Union drops its first atomic bomb - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu36SD7CBz0
The dropping of the bomb was an incredible achievement for the Soviets. They used structures to see the effects it had on buildings. They also placed other mammals in the zone to see the effects. This discovery was due to a physicist from the U.S who had given the U.S atomic bomb’s blueprints and data to the Soviets. The development is significant since it removed America’s prestige of being the only country with this powerful weapon. It also made Truman order creation of the hydrogen bomb. -
The Korean War begins - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fO-OZN5n1c
Korea was split into two parts, the northern part belonged to the Russians, whereas, the southern went to the U.S. The northern army crossed the border and attacked the South. This led to America joining in to help South Korea. It was though of as a fight against the Communists as a whole. The war was feared to possibly become WWIII. This war was the first physical fighting in the Cold War. -
The Korean War Ends - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmM2Y275TR0
The end of the Korean War was due to peace talks. It was a short war, yet it killed 5 million people. The end of the war was a tremendous feat since people feared that it could escalate into a huge war. -
Warsaw Pact was Created - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJxj26sC54Y
The Warsaw Pact was made between the Soviets and other nations joining the Communist cause. It made sure that each of these nations would help one another in the case of attack. It’s introduction states that they are clearly against the re-militarization of the Western Germany and see it as a threat to them. It also declares the fault in NATO for allowing Western Germany to join it and re-militarize. -
Red Army eliminates the Hungarian Revolution - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihS_D0Btaz8
Thousands of protesters demands more rights. They wanted a more democratic way of government. They did not want to oppressed by the Soviets any more. Imre Nagy, a popular premier was made the premier once more. However, he tried to help the Revolution. Finally, the Soviet Union brutally put an end to the Revolution through brute force. The brutal ending showed that the Soviet Union had no limits to what it would do to keep its power. -
Premier of Cuba Switches Power to Fidel Castro who Creates a Communist Government - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ24jmIHIUk
Fidel Castro took power through an overthrowing of the last prime minister, Fulgencio Batista. He quickly made Cuba into a completely Communist state. He made antagonistic relations with the U.S. His rise and rule shows how power-hungry communist leaders are. It just illustrates the corruption in Communism. -
Cuban Missile Crisis - http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis/videos/cuban-missile-crisis
The U.S. saw photographs of a missile being readied and created for installation. America saw this a threat to its security. There was a standoff between America and the Soviet Union. Each was unsure but ready to fire at the other if it was necessary. The Crises almost escalated escalated to a Nuclear War between US and the Soviet Union. The deployment of missiles this close to US mainland probably was a shocker to the US and escalated the cold war tensions between the two nations. -
China detonates its first atomic bomb - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGhWB2px99g
US was very weary of China because of its hostile stance against capitalism. However, they had early reports that told them of China’s nuclear development. The testing of the atomic bomb meant that US may get into a nuclear confrontation with China when US tried to defend against communist aggression in Vietnam. The successful test also strained relations with the Soviet Union since they separated earlier. -
Communist forces take South Vietnam
The Communist forces of Northern Vietnam attacked South Vietnam. South Vietnam put up resistance, but it was not enough. They asked for help, but America did nothing. They did not help Vietnam at all. Vietnam did not have the air force, and amount of weaponry to fight against North Vietnam and its allies. Maybe if America had provided South Vietnam with at least supplies, South Vietnam could have won the battle. This conflict was a devastation to democratic forces due to America doing nothing. -
U.S. and China make diplomatic relations
The U.S. and China had several secret negotiations for relations. The U.S. decided that they would see the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the only government of China. China and America had never made formal political relations before. The establishment of diplomatic relationship between the 2 countries was a significant step in the Cold War. Although they had significant difference of opinions they were able to align on some common areas. -
The Red Army attacks Afghanistan - http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/12/24
The invasion was said to uphold the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978. They wanted to keep Afghanistan under their influence. There was much resistance to the invasion and guerilla tactics were used to fight back. This invasion by Soviet Union was significant because it was the first time that Soviet troops invaded a country outside of the Easter Bloc. The idea was to impose the Brezhnev doctrine by claiming that the country was socialist and that they could not be capitalist. -
the U.S. attacks Grenada - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJEI4yeVSY
Grenada worried the U.S. Another Marxist, Bernard Coard murdered Bishop to take control of the government. Much protest and violence resulted. The Reagan government decided to invade Grenada under the pretext that the American nationals were being threatened by the Marxist government. The U.S. government was going in without much information, about was able to win out the battle. There were a substantial amount of casualties by the end of it. -
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union -
Gorbachev was selected to be leader of the Soviet Union after Konstantin Chernenko. Gorbachev’s ascension as President started the beginning of the end of the Cold War. He relaxed he political oppression the Soviet Union was enforcing. His reformist attitude resulted in a better relationship with US, reunification of Germany and the signing of the ICBM treaty. -
– Berlin Wall is taken down - http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall/videos/deconstructing-history-berlin-wall
The spokesperson of the East Berlin Communist Party announced that people could cross the border at midnight. The gate was opened and people rushed through. There was a grand party thrown to deconstruct the wall as people chipped away pieces of it. The destruction of the Berlin wall and the reaction of the Soviet Union was another significant milestone in the end of the Cold War. US more than ever believed that Gorbachev wanted to improve relations with the West. -
George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev agree to reunify Germany in 1994
George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev met thrice to decide how German should be reunified. Finally, they came to an agreement to reunify it in 1994. They also decided to add it to NATO. The agreement to reunify Germany and let them be part of NATO was a momentous shift in direction of the Soviet Union. After all NATO was established to stop Soviet Union’s expansion into Europe. -
the Soviet union is abolished; Cold War ends - http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/fall-of-soviet-union/videos/the-fall-of-the-soviet-union
Gorbachev wanted better relations with the rest of the world, so he decided to end the Soviet Union. He made sure to pull out the troops in Afghanistan, and he made the Soviet military presence in Warsaw nations smaller. The announcement that the 11 soviet republics that they no longer will be part of the Soviet Union, became the final step in the end of the cold war. Soviet union was disbanded and the republics became independent nations. It finally ended the Cold War.
