1. The Cold War
Timeline of Events

2. What is a cold war?
The United States and the Soviet Union never declared war on each other.
They built up their nuclear weapons and military and became the two most powerful countries in the world.
During this time period the two countries had a period of distrust and misunderstanding.

3. February 4-11, 1945 The Yalta Conference Met to discuss:
USA, France, Soviet Union
Met to discuss:
The dividing up of Germany
The formation of the United Nations
German war reparations
Who would control Poland

5. West Germany is democratic and East Germany is communist.

6. Friends No More
Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the United States began to decline after World War II.
Conflict brings change and change brings conflict.
The United States wanted to spread democracy and the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism.

7. March 1946 Winston Churchill delivers ‘Iron Curtain’ speech

9. 1948 USSR creates a blockade on Berlin USA airlifts supplies to Berlin
The Berlin blockade lasted 320 days as Great Britain and the United States supplied up to 13,000 tons of food, fuel, and other items daily in an airlift codenamed "Operation Vittles" to the West Berlin. A total of 200,000 flights were made and a total of 1.5 million tons in supplies were delivered. Finally, the blockade ended on May 12, 1949 and the Soviet Union gave in to Western plans.

10. 1949 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Warsaw Pact
12 nations, including USA
Opposed USSR and communism
Warsaw Pact
Communist military alliance of Eastern European countries led
by the Soviet Union.

11. October 4, 1957: The Space Race
Russia launches Sputnik (first orbiting satellite)
USA follows three years later with the launch of Ham the chimpanzee
July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon

12. 1960’s
1961: Construction of the Berlin Wall begins and the Berlin border is closed

13. Conflicts and Communism
The United States and the Soviet Union supported opposite sides in several conflicts.
Korean War
Vietnam War
Cuban Missile Crisis

14. 1980’s 1985: -- Mikhail Gorbachev ascends to power in Soviet Union
1989: November -- Berlin Wall falls and Germany is reunified
1989: December -- Communist governments fall in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania; Soviet empire ends