Cold War by Annika Clarke

The Atomic Bomb - The Potsdam Conference

ac1282 — 2025-01-21 17:07:05 UTC

President Harry Truman of the U.S.A learned of the atomic bomb at the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany. Truman told Stalin of the bomb but he had already known of it due to the Soviet spies. Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan which caused mass death and negative consequences. This event was important to the 20th century as it is essentially what kick-started the use of atomic weapons and the arms race between the U.S.A and the Soviet Union. The effect of the bomb spread wide throughout Japan and many people who did not die suffered the long term effects of radiation. This event was the beginning of the long battle between the "third world" and the "second world".

The Berlin Wall

ac1282 — 2025-01-21 17:16:25 UTC

In 1961, when John. F. Kennedy came to power in the U.S.A, he and Kruschev of the U.S.S.R met at Vienna to discuss important matters, this is where Berlin became a crisis. Due to many trained and well educated people escaping the U.S.S.R through west Germany, Kruschev decided to build a guarded wall that was 100 miles long and 12 ft high to prevent people from escaping. This was mainly done due to the fact that if a nation does not have well educated people, it would crumble. This was significant because the Berlin Wall was a huge symbol of the hold that communism had over the satellite states, primarily east Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall was regarded a massive symbolic movement that marked the end of communism.

The Korean War

ac1282 — 2025-01-21 17:27:46 UTC

The Korean War lasted from 1950-1953. Korea was divided at the 38th parallel after World War II, it was divided into communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea. In January of 1950 Stalin approved the invasion of South Korea. The United Nations task force was sent in to support South Korea. The war did not move far, a stalemate lasted for three years and the borders remained the same. This event was significant to the 20th century because the two powers, communist and the west fought against each other and strained relationships further, this war caused a long lasting tension between North and South Korea. The results of this war have remained the same to this day.

The Suez Crisis

ac1282 — 2025-01-21 17:30:25 UTC

The U.S had helped fund the Suez Canal while Egypt worked with the USSR. This situation found Egypt playing both sides, the communist side and the side of the west which angered Israel, Great Britain, and France who invaded Egypt over it. The invasion was condemned by the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R who never typically agreed on things. The condemnation forced Great Britain and France to withdraw from the invasion which was a huge embarrassment and led to the end of their roles as major world powers. The U.S.A started to increase their involvement in the middle east. This event was significant in the 20th century because it led to Great Britain and France who had been major world powers for years to become less major. It also had a long lasting impact on the U.S.A's involvement in the middle east.

The Berlin Blockade

ac1282 — 2025-01-22 16:13:35 UTC

The "Cominform" had given Stalin more power over the satellite states, it was created with the intent to repel the expansion of anti-communism, primarily from the western nations. With the power, Stalin had begun to use force to control the "Eastern Block" of Berlin. This blockade had the Soviet Union stopping all ground entry into Berlin for fifteen months. During these fifteen months, the west had airlifted supplies to the people stuck in Berlin. The NATO alliance was set up to oppose the threat of communism. This event was significant because it led to many people in Berlin feeling hopeless but as soon as the west had started helping out, it would have led to many people developing hope that there was a possibility of a better country.

Cuban Missile Crisis

ac1282 — 2025-01-22 16:21:59 UTC

In 1959, Cuba became a communist country under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Over the course of many years, the C.I.A had attempted to assassinate Castro which led to the attempted invasion of Cuba known as the "Bay of Pigs". The invasion failed terribly and caused the USA to look terrible. After the USSR found western missiles in Turkey and Italy, they sent missiles to Cuba. Due to the missiles being close to the U.S.A, John. F. Kennedy issued a naval blockade of Cuba rather than declaring nuclear war. The crisis was when a USSR submarine almost launched nukes due to the brushing of the blockade. The world came extremely close to nuclear war so a hotline was created between the Kremlin and the White House and both sides agreed to mutually assured destruction. This event was important because it has been the closest the world has ever came to nuclear war and it strained relations between the two nations for years.

The Vietnam War

ac1282 — 2025-01-22 16:28:49 UTC

Vietnam was surrendered by France in 1954. Soon after, the C.I.A had killed the puppet leader of South Vietnam. Three weeks after the assassination of the Vietnamese leader, president John. F. Kennedy was assassinated. After the president's death, the US had increased military involvement in Vietnam. Even with the support for the war being low in the US, they fought with brutal strategies such as ambushes, civilian attacks, "Project Orange" and the eventual bombing of Cambodia. When president Nixon came to power, the US increased involvement before withdrawing. This was important as the war made the US government face the wrath of angry people and the effects of some tools used in the war were terrible for everyone involved, causing birth defects in Vietnamese people and soldiers.

Cambodian Genocide

ac1282 — 2025-01-22 16:38:37 UTC

The Cambodian genocide was an event caused by the bombing of Cambodia by the US to suppress communism. After the bombing, the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia and had started to destroy all evidence of western intervention. The people of Cambodia were forced to leave the cities and instead go to the countryside and go back to the traditional ways of life. The genocide by the Khmer Rouge sought to murder any intellectuals- anybody who was a threat of the traditional way of life. This genocide resulted in the loss of millions of lives. This event is significant to the 20th century because it is the biggest genocide that affected the lives of many Cambodians and it was detrimental to the country and the people living in it.

The Cold War in Asia

ac1282 — 2025-01-23 16:09:55 UTC

Japan became a parliamentary democracy that focused on social reforms and education, this caused prosperity for Japan's economy. In China in 1949, Mao took power. Mao's rule was strongly inspired by Stalin's. Mao had a communist pact with the USSR. The USA had granted the Philippines independence in 1946 which triggered a domino effect and the UK granted India and Burma independence. France tried desperately to hang onto Vietnam. These events in Asia were significant because it led to events such as the Great Famine and the Vietnam war. These also affected the way that power was distributed in these nations. For example, Japan became a democracy and a better nation for the citizens overall while China remained under Mao and many people starved.

Mao's China

ac1282 — 2025-01-23 16:15:31 UTC

After Mao gained power, he induced purges and fear against the population of China. Mao had modelled his rule after Stalin of the USSR and just like what happened in Ukraine, the Great Famine happened in China where it is estimated around 30-50 million people starved to death between 1958 and 1962. Mao did not help the famine, in fact, he made it worse. Mao started to put in place grain requisitions which furthermore stripped people of their food, the Tibetans were especially targeted. Mao ended up conflicting with Kruschev of the USSR due to his want to "De-stalinize" the USSR and Mao looked up to Stalin. The US decided to take the chance and improve relations with China. This event was significant because it left many people dead in China and it affected the relationships of major world powers such as the US, USSR, and China.

The Space Race

ac1282 — 2025-01-23 16:25:37 UTC

The space race began on October 4th, 1957 with the launch of "Sputnik" by the USSR. The Sputnik was the first satellite to be put into orbit. The launching of the Sputnik created a fear of a technological gap between the US and the USSR. Two months later, the USSR launched "Sputnik 2" which carried a female dog named Laika. Laika was the first living thing in space but unfortunately she did not survive. Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, he was from the USSR and he became a hero. Under Eisenhower, the USA created NASA. On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person on the moon which led to the USSR cancelling their mission to the moon which also led to the end of the space race. The space race caused cooperation between the USSR and the US, it was like a friendly competition. This event was significant because the US and the USSR have not cooperated until this moment and it also marked huge moments in the field of astrophysics.

The Red Scare

ac1282 — 2025-01-23 16:34:38 UTC

As a result of the widespread communist beliefs spreading around the world, president Truman of the US felt uneasy and developed a doctrine that would be based around containing communism. Due to the Truman doctrine, the height of fear of communism reached its peak in the US. The anti-communist fear was called the "Red Scare" which was a hunt for communists. People began suspecting everyone else of being a communist spy for the slightest reasons. Anyone who was hinted at being communist or accused were tried in court and blacklisted. Many people in the US lost their jobs and friends due to the accusations. This event was significant because it affected the lives of many Americans, causing widespread paranoia. As a result of the red scare, the Central Intelligence Agency was created which was an agency made to prevent communism across the world, it often carried out assassinations as well as putting puppet leaders in place.

The Rise of Communism

ac1282 — 2025-01-27 19:08:12 UTC

Communism started to rise in Russia after the Russian Revolution, the fall of the Romanov family in 1917. After the revolution, Joseph Stalin came to power which caused a tyrannical reign that induced fear and death among the USSR. This event was significant as it lead to many deaths and many events revolving around communism to arise.

Holodomor

ac1282 — 2025-01-27 19:10:47 UTC

Due to the rise of communism, many Ukrainians starved due to a famine caused by Joseph Stalin of the USSR. This famine had millions of Ukrainians starving due to the USSR taking away their grains. This genocide was significant because it lead to loss of trust in the USSR along with the Ukrainians feeling deeply wronged.

Reagan

ac1282 — 2025-01-27 19:12:55 UTC

The President, Reagan got elected in the USA and this lead to many peace making negotiations between the US and the USSR. Reagan's presidency lead to a detente between the two nations and relieved the strain tensions between the two. This is significant because it conflicted greatly from the previous bad blood.