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Example of Soviet Propaganda #1
Soviet propaganda poster from around 1940. -
Truman is Inaugurated
Harry Truman was a Democratic president, who was elected president in January of 1945. He was the 33rd president, and was elected after Roosevelt's death. One of his most notable actions was calling to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus ending WWII. He ran a campaign detailing to be more stern with the Russians than Roosevelt had been. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference occurs, deciding the post-war status of Germany. The Allies of World War II (the USA, the USSR, Great Britain and France) divide Germany into four occupation zones. The Allied nations agree that free elections are to be held in all countries occupied by Nazi Germany. In addition, the new United Nations are to replace the failed League of Nations. -
End of WWII in Europe
Hitler had already committed suicide, and Germany's defeat was imminent. In Hitler''s last will, he told the German army to surrender. This happened slowly but surely, with the last forces surrendering on May 8, 1945. -
Truman's Biography
Harry S. Truman was born in Missouri on May 8, 1884. When he was old enough, he enlisted in the National Guard during WWI. He was Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s vice president for just 82 days before Roosevelt died and Truman became the 33rd president. In his first months in office he dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, ending World War II. His policy of communist containment started the Cold War, and he initiated U.S. involvement in the Korean War. Truman left office in 1953 and died in 1972. -
Potsdam Conference
Conference held in Potsdam, Germany between the U.S., the U.K, and Russia. Russia wanted harsh reparations from Germany, but Truman didn't want a repeat of the Treaty of Versailles. They settled on 4 zones of a demilitarized Germany, and trials of war criminals had been decided upon. The 4 major countries would run Germany while it rebuilt itself. They also created a body to deal with peace treaties with Germany's former allies. Truman informs Stalin that the U.S had detonated its first nuke. -
Gouzenko Incident
Igor Gouzenko, a clerk working in the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, Canada, defects and provides proof to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of a Soviet spy ring operating in Canada and other western countries. The Gouzenko affair helps change perceptions of the Soviet Union from an ally to a foe. -
Truman Doctrine
Doctrine stating that the U.S would support any nation in danger from any authoritarian forces. Truman asked Congress to assist Turkey and Greece in fighting their battles against Communists in their country. Basically Truman reoriented U.S foreign policy to help any nation resist Communism, because he didn't want it to spread. -
Example #1 of American Propaganda
This picture shows a burning flag and people in ruin, saying that this is what Communism would do to the United States. -
Berlin Airlift
Russia cuts off all supply routes to the American, French, and British zones in Berlin. America and its allies start a campaign to supply people of Berlin, by air. This lasted for more than a year, and more than 2.3 million tons of cargo was dropped to civilians. This was seen as defiance against the USSR and increased tensions. -
NATO Established
Treaty signed between 12 western nations to prevent further Soviet aggression through self defense, and increased American presence in Europe. Members included the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Canada, and Portugal. Greece, Turkey, and West Germany later joined later. France withdrew in 1966. -
Soviets Test First Atomic Bomb
Soviets test first atomic bomb, code named "First Lightning" in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. It was a 20 kiloton bomb, which was roughly equal to the first U.S atom bomb test. This showed that that the Russians were closer to us than we thought in technological gains. -
Cold War Tech: The Hydrogen Bomb
After the USSR conducted a successful test of an atomic bomb, the U.S wanted something even better. They settled on a hydrogen bomb. There was fierce debate as to wether development of a hydrogen bomb would prove to be "too dangerous to humanity". They decided that to beat the Russians, they had to go forward with development of the hydrogen bomb. An American scientist named Lewis Strauss spearheaded the development of the hydrogen bomb, and the first H-Bomb was tested November 1, 1952. -
Nikita Khruschev's Biography
Born on April 15, 1894 in Kalinovka, Russia, Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin's death in 1953. In a 1956 "secret speech," he discussed Stalin's crimes for the first time, starting a process called "de-Stalinization." Khrushchev was one of the primary players in the Cuban Missile Crisis and oversaw the building of the Berlin Wall. After being pushed from power and retiring, he died several years later on September 11, 1971 in Moscow. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. The Warsaw Pact, so named because the treaty was signed in Warsaw, included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. Basically it was Russia's equivalent to NATO. -
Geneva Convention
Geneva Summit, was a meeting in Geneva of the leaders of the U.S., France, Britain, and the Soviet Union that sought to end the Cold War. Such issues as disarmament, unification of Germany, and increased economic ties were discussed. Though no agreements were reached, the conference was considered an important first step toward easing Cold War tension. -
Fidel Castro's Biography
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was born near Birán, Cuba, in 1926. Beginning in 1958 Castro and his forces began a campaign of guerrilla warfare to successfully overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, and Castro became the country's new leader. His communist domestic policies and military and economic relations with the Soviet Union led to strained relations with the United States that culminated in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. He made major improvements to healthcare and education. -
Russia Launches First Man Made Satellite- Sputnik I
Soviets launched the first satellite, the Sputnik I. This then launched the "Space Race" between America and Russia to be the first to have a manned mission to space. It circled the Earth once every hour and 36 minutes. It traveled at 18,000 mph above Earth. It transmitted radio signals back to Earth strong enough to be picked up by amateur radio centers. It burned up in the atmosphere in 1958. -
Bay of Pigs
in April 1961, the CIA launched what its leaders believed would be the definitive strike: a full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over. However, the invasion did not go well: The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. -
Map of the Bay of Pigs
This is a map of where the CIA trained fighters were supposed to enter Cuba. They were to invade from the shore and parachute in, but the plan was a complete failure. -
Map Berlin in 1961
This is a map showing how Berlin was divided when the Berlin Wall was built in August of 1961. -
East Germany Builds Berlin Wall
German Democratic Republic began to build a barbed wire and concrete between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West. The Berlin Wall stood until November 9, 1989, when the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens could cross the border whenever they pleased. -
Example of American Propaganda #2
American indoctrination of the concept that if the American public is strong, then they will prevent communism from spreading to America. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. This was the closest that the U.S and the USSR were to coming to a war, and would have blown Cuba away in the process. -
Example of Soviet Propaganda #2
This is an example of an anti-Polish propaganda poster made in 1965. -
U.S and China Begin to Establish Relations
In February 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China at the invitation of Premier Zhou Enlai, starting the process of normalization of China-U.S. relations. -
Statistics Chart #2
This is a chart showing the Soviet National Income Growth from 1928-1987. One should note the general decline in the economy over the years. -
Statistics Chart #1
This chart shows the number of missile warheads that Russia and The United States had during the Cold War. -
Document #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI9UrckM-B0
Above is a link to a fifty minute long documentary that is the first part of a series on the Cold War done by CNN. -
Documentary #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJzKrLPXl74
This is a link to a BBC documentary that is an hour and thirty minutes long. -
U.S and China Establish Ambassadorial Level Relations
On January 1, 1979, the two counties officially established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. The United States announced that it would sever its “diplomatic relations” with Taiwan, withdraw U.S. military forces from Taiwan, and terminate the Mutual Defense Treaty. -
Cold War Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI2fRPmEZ6A
This is a link to the song "1999" by Prince. Despite its name, the song was written in 1982, right in the middle of the Cold War. The lyrics that show this songs true meaning, are "Yeah, everybody's got a bomb, We could all die any day" - referring to nuclear proliferation. These words show what Prince and many Americans were feeling like at the time, which was fear and panic over if they were going to go to war with Russia or not.
