Cold War Timeline by Phoebe Krowitz

Truman Doctrine: 1947

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-19 22:38:12 UTC

The Truman Doctrine was an important start to The Cold War. The doctrine hoped to prevent the spread of the influence of the Soviet Union by restraining communism to areas where the soviet army was already occupied. This image shows the president at the time, President Harry S. Truman, addressing congress. President Truman requested economic and military assistance for governments being threatened by Communist control and in addition asked for specific military aid to Greece and Turkey.

Formation of NATO: 1949

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-19 23:57:23 UTC

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949 and is an anti-Soviet military alliance between Western Governments. Their goal was to prevent the spread the spread of communism. This image shows President Truman signing the Nato Treaty which established the alliance between Belgium, the United States, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The idea for this alliance, is that an attack on one of the allied nations is to be considered an attack on all of the nations.

Creation of the Warsaw Pact: 1955

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-20 00:15:42 UTC

In response to the formation of Nato, Stalin created the Warsaw Pact. This image shows the Prime Minister of Poland, Jozef Cyrankiewicz, signing it and establishing an alliance made up of communist countries. These nations included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Eastern Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania. In contrary to NATO, the Warsaw Pact had opposing views which formed a defined division between countries in Europe.

Berlin Airlift: 1948

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-21 01:48:39 UTC

At this time, Berlin was divided into East and West Berlin. Since Germany was split between The Soviet Union, The United States, and Great Britain, the U.S. controlled West Berlin and The Soviet Union controlled the East. In retaliation to the Marshall Plan (a plan to rebuild Europe that was proposed by George C. Marshall) and the Allies, Stalin blocked roads leading into Berlin. In response, the United States and its allies airlifted millions of tons of resources to West Berlin. This image shows the people of West Berlin watching the planes land that are filled with supplies.

Establishment of the People's Republic of China: 1949

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-21 02:10:46 UTC

Due to opposing views, a civil war occurred in China between the China Nationalist and Communist armies. Although the U.S. provided military aid to the to Nationalist Army, the Communist party eventually won. This image shows Mao Zedong announcing the establishment of China's ruling political party, the People's Republic of China as a result of the Communist party's victory.

Korean War: 1950

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-21 03:51:50 UTC

The Korean war was between North and South Korea. The conflict escalated when North Korea, advised by the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea. Continuous fighting occurred until 1953 and both North and South were still very much divided. As a result of this war, many casualties occurred from both sides. This image shows the 38th parallel, also known as the Korean Demilitarized zone, where South Korean soldiers were. This serves as a neutral area between North and South Korea. Connecting this to the Cold War, North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union while Great Britain and the U.S. supported South Korea. This furthered the conflict and competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Vietnam War: 1955

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-21 15:08:26 UTC

At the time, North Vietnam was a communist government and had allies, the Viet Cong, in South Vietnam. Together, they were against the government of South Vietnam and the United States (they were allied together). After defeating the French, North Vietnam wanted the country to be unified under one communist government. While in contrast, South Vietnam was not as passionate about the North's views and were unsure about what the government should be. During this war, the United States supported South Vietnam, while the Soviet Union and China provided resources for North Vietnam. This image shows the different bases and supply routes that existed in the war. The United States had air bases, headquarters and aircraft carrier groups, while North Vietnam had air bases and communist supply routes. In 1975, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam, ending the war.

USSR Launches Sputnik: 1957

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-22 00:53:01 UTC

The launching of Sputnik was the first artificial satellite to orbit earth. Due to this, this was a major technological advancement for the Soviet Union. To continue this, Sergei Korolev founded the space effort for the Soviet Union. In response to this, the U.S. created NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). This spawned more competitiveness between the U.S. and USSR, creating the "Space Race". This image shows the satellite, Sputnik, being launched and orbiting the earth.

Cuba becomes a Communist State: 1956

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-22 01:22:56 UTC

Following the Cuban Revolution, Fulgencio Batista was overthrown. In replacement, Fidel Castro became the prime minister of Cuba. The United States did not support Castro due to his reforms, nationalizing the U.S. assets on the island and establishing a communist government. The Soviet Union continued to support Castro while the United States wanted to overthrow him. This image shows when Castro had his inauguration and became the Prime Minister.

Berlin Wall is Built: 1961

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-22 01:55:36 UTC

East Germany started to build the Berlin wall, as recommended by the Soviet Union, to create stop access to and create a permanent division between East and West Germany. This symbolized the division of communism and capitalism in Europe. Prior to the wall many Germans fled to West Berlin, as they were unhappy with the communist government in the East. This caused East Germany to lose many skilled workers which was negatively affecting their economy and building the wall would eliminate any further decreases in their population. Once free access to East and West Germany was no longer possible, people were no longer able to migrate. This image shows people from East and West Germany gathering at the Berlin wall once it was built. Many people protested as well as put graffiti on the wall to show their opposition of it.

Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-22 02:31:30 UTC

Over the course of 13 days, the U.S. and the Soviet Union battled over the idea of the installment of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba. This was a concern to the U.S. given their close proximity to Cuba. The president at the time, John F. Kennedy, planned to be ready for any attacks from Cuba. In exchange for the promise of the U.S. not invading Cuba, the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles. In addition, the U.S. removed their missiles from Turkey. This image shows President Kennedy discussing the possible outcomes that could occur from this situation and how the United States will combat it.

Apollo 11: 1969

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-22 02:40:00 UTC

Apollo 11, executed by the U.S. was the first spaceflight that landed a man on the moon. On the spaceflight was Neil Armstrong, who became the first man to have been on the moon. This was crucial for the U.S., as they had beaten in the "Space Race" Russia in putting people on the moon. This spaceflight was very popular and televised with hundreds of millions of people all over the world. This image shows the American flag that was placed on the moon after Apollo 11 had landed.

Sino-Soviet Border Disputes: 1960

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-22 02:57:42 UTC

While the Soviet Union and China seemed to share the same ideologies, a rift began to occur between the two nations in the 1950s. Later in the 60s, the countries started publicly criticizing each other which prompted the Soviet Union to stop sending economic and military aid to China. Sino-Soviet continued to become weakened and unfriendly. After their invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the Soviets were now able to step into other communist governments to help "protect" them from anti-communists. In 1969, violence broke out on the border of the two nations resulting in damage and deaths. This image shows the Soviet army preparing to fight against the Chinese army.

U.S. Improves Relations with China: 1970

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-22 03:13:50 UTC

Due to China and the Soviet Union not having close relations, China and the United States began to have improved relations. This would help support China and keep their nation secure. The United States president at the time, Richard Nixon, saw this as an opportunity to improve relations with the Soviet Union as well. In 1978, the U.S. and China declared that they would acknowledge one another and establish official diplomatic relations. This image shows President Nixon and China's Premier Chou En-Lai shaking hands and ending the President's visit to China on good terms.

The Fall of The Berlin Wall: 1989

krowitzp26 — 2024-02-22 04:24:54 UTC

In 1989, East Berlin announced that the Berlin Wall would cease to exist. The following year, Germany was announced to be officially one united country. The unification of the East and West side of Germany shows the unity between two different government ideologies. Currently, Germany is a capitalist society. This image shows Germans gathering and celebrating over the fall of the wall and more than 2 million East Berlin Germans visited West Berlin to celebrate this together.