Cold War in Europe Timeline: From Iron Curtain to Fall of Communism by Aaron Kelter

Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:25:44 UTC

On March 5, 1946, Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill performed his famous speech addressing Communism in Europe and coining the term "Iron Curtain" for describing the separation of Capitalist West and Communist East. - "From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent"

Marshall Plan Announced

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:25:44 UTC

In December 1947, US president Harry Truman encouraged congress to provide aid to rebuild postwar Europe as per Secretary of State George Marshall's plan. In April 1948, Truman signed the Economic Cooperation Act of 1948, aka the Marshall Plan. Over a period of 4 years, congress sent $13.3 billion to aid European recovery. This boosted western European economies, rebuilt European infrastructure, created markets for American goods, and created reliable trading partners for the US.

Berlin Blockade Begins

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:25:44 UTC

(1948-1949)

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union blocked land and water access to West Berlin (occupied by the Western Allies). This forced the Western Allies out of the city in an attempt to gain control over all of Berlin. The Western Allies responded with a massive airlift, which delivered essential supplies to West Berlin, overwhelming the Soviet blockade. This exemplified and solidified the growing tensions between the East and West.

NATO Formation

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:25:44 UTC

In April of 1949, the US and eleven Western states including the United Kingdom, France, and Canada created a security alliance due to growing fears of communist expansions in the developing Eastern Bloc of Europe. Article 5 of the Treaty guaranteed that if any of the signatories experienced a military attack, all other members would come to their aid. The various members disagreed on who should be signed on, with the UK advocating for a small, strong alliance removed from entanglements, while the US pushed for the inclusion of any state under potential threat from communism.

Berlin Wall Construction

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:25:44 UTC

Prague Spring Crushed

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:25:44 UTC

August 20, 1968: The Soviet Union (and Warsaw Pact allies) invaded Czechoslovakia. Which crushed the "Prague Spring" (a period of reform and liberalization under Alexander Dubček). Dubček's reforms aimed to create "socialism with a human face." Reforms included loosening restrictions on travel and allowing greater freedom for farmers and trade unionists. The Prague Spring was a time of optimism for many Czechs. It also alarmed the Soviet leadership and other communist regimes in Eastern Europe.

Occupation & Division of Germany

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:34:29 UTC

After World War 2 Europe was left in shambles. Not wanting a repeat of previous events in the US and the USSR stepped up to lead reconstruction in Europe. Pushing countries to their ideology for their help. The US took charge of Western Europe and the USSR took eastern Europe. Eventually this would lead to a dispute over Germany and who will have control. Eventually after the Yalta Conference of 1945, they came to a decision that they would split Germany into East and West Germany. The allies would manage the west and the soviets would control the east.

Warsaw Pact Formation

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:36:12 UTC

Warsaw pact was officially the treaty of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance, was a military formed 1955 between the soviets and seven Eastern European communist states.

Purpose: It was created in response to West Germany joining NATO and was intended to counter NATO's influence in Europe. The Pact lasted until the end of the Cold War in 1991.

War in Korea

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:37:31 UTC

The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to unify the peninsula under communism. The conflict saw significant interactions from The UN, in support of South Korea. The war ended but no peace treaty was signed so Korea is still divided.

War in Vietnam

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:41:18 UTC

The War in Vietnam was a proxy conflict between the North Vietnamese Government lead by Ho Chi Min and the South Vietnamese forces who were aided by a mass of American forces. The conflict began in 1954 and did not come to an official end until 1975 with the with evacuation the US embassy in Saigon. The North Vietnamese claimed the war as a victory as they achieved their goal of conquering all of the South, but the American claimed a draw as their forces were withdrawn at their discression.

Arms Race begins (1st hydrogen bomb tested)

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:42:35 UTC

(1945-1961) The US created an atomic bomb and used it on Japan to end WWII, which Stalin was unaware of. In response, Stalin had the USSR create their own, bigger atomic bomb. This created a positive feedback loop of bigger atomic bombs being created from both sides, ultimately raising the tensions between both sides of the Cold War

War in Afghanistan

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:44:36 UTC

(Oct 7, 2001 – Aug 30, 2021) The war in Afghanistan was part of a larger “war on terror”; The war was sparked following 9/11 and Afghanistan’s, Taliban led, government refusing to turn in members of Al-Qaeda. In the face of refusal, America and other allied nations declared an armed conflict. With limited success over the 20 year period, America eventually pulled out of Afghanistan, and the Taliban quickly took over control again in 2021

Formation of the United Nations

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:45:14 UTC

Objective: Following WWII the plan was to establish a cooperative society to promote peace and to maintain economic security and peace The UN was established in 1945

Hungarian Revolution

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:50:50 UTC

The Hungarian Revolution was an uprising in 1956. It started when protesters took to the streets and demanded a more democratic political system and freedom from Soviet oppression. Imre Nagy (Hungarian communist official) tried to restore peace and asked the Soviets to withdraw their troops (from killing the protesters), once the Soviets did, Nagy pushed the Hungarian revolt by abolishing a one-party rule and that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet Union ordered its Red Army to crush the uprising which led to thousands of deaths and imprisonment of many Hungarians. Later Imre Nagy and other leaders were executed. This revolution highlighted the brutality of Soviet rule.

Stalin out, Khruschev in (de-stalinization)

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:53:52 UTC

On May 5th 1953, Stalin dies. Nikita Khruschev becomes the first secretary of the central committee of the communist party. In efforts to deescalate the cold war, Khruschev allowed for foreign media's into the Soviet Union, he also lessened the grip on censorship policies. However, he did in fact send Nuclear missiles to Cuba to threaten America during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Gorbachev's Rise to Power

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 03:58:18 UTC

Collapse of the Soviet Union

aaronkelter — 2025-04-11 04:00:06 UTC

The USSR fell in 1991 as a result of the greater presence of democracy in the government. Though this problem was apparent, the bigger reason for the collapse was the economic struggle which came as a result of the Cold War. In order to combat republics declaring independence, Gorbachev deployed military towards outside nations, leading to over-militarization outside of Russia, weakening the USSR as a whole and leading to its collapse.

@JFKTheBaddie

2025-04-14 13:49:02 UTC

Blows my mind how attractive i am and yall still shot me