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Formation of the Eastern Bloc
The Soviet Army, under the leadership of Joseph Stalin occupied Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland, portions of Czechoslovakia and Eastern Germany. These countries, which all came under Communist control largely due to the influence of the Soviet Union, were referred to as the Eastern Bloc. -
Overthrow of the Guatemalan Government
The Guatemalan Government was overthrown by a group of dissident military officers, students, and professionals. -
Division of Germany
After being defeated in World War II, Germany divided into four different zones under control of Britain, France, the United States and the former Soviet Union. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. The act was commonly known as the Marshall Plan, named for Secretary of State George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
An international crisis that emerged from an attempt by the Soviet Union to force the Western Allied powers to abandon their post-World War II jurisdictions in West Berlin. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China, also known as PRC. -
Korean War
Was also known as the Korean conflict, fought between the United Nations, supported by the United States, and the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The war when North Korea invaded South Korea. Neither sides won the war and it is technically going on still today. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed rebellion against the military regime of Fulgencio Batista. After a protracted guerrilla war, rebels led by Fidel Castro successfully seized power in 1959, ending U.S. dominance over Cuba's economy. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a conflict pitting the U.S. and the remnants of the French colonial government in South Vietnam against the communist Vietnamese independence movement. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
1400 Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a fortified concrete and wire barrier that separated East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It was built by the government of what was then East Germany to keep East Berliners from defecting to the West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the presence of missile sites in Cuba. This was considered the 'climax' in the Cold War. -
Overthrow of Allende Government in Chile
The United States had an intervention in Chile which influenced economic and political views causing the overthrow of the government. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Massacre was a student-led demonstration in Beijing. It refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period, sometimes referred to as the '89 Democracy Movement. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The economic policies and the military power of the United States and NATO countries during the Cold War effectively bankrupted the countries behind the Iron Curtain and forced the Soviets to back down. The reform policies of Mikhail Gorbachev to stimulate the Soviet economy inadvertently led to the Fall of the Berlin Wall. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his post as president of the Soviet Union, leaving Boris Yeltsin as president of the newly independent Russian state.
