KEY EVENTS 1945 - 1965

1945 - United Nations is created

The United Nations, replacing the League of Nations, was created to promote peace and international cooperation. It was adopted after World War II to prevent another conflict.

1946 - The Nuremberg Trials

Twenty-one members of the Nazi party were put on trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace after WWII and the Holocaust. Many critics claimed the trial was an example of victor's justice, because no Soviets were persecuted, even though the USSR had initially started WWII in a coordinated effort. Only 21 individuals were tried in Nuremberg, and many of those who were involved in WWII as members of the Nazi party ended up becoming part of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany.

1947 - Resolution 181

Also known as the Partition Resolution, the UN adopted Resolution 181 to divide Great Britain's former Palestinian mandate into two Jewish and Arab states. This establishes Israel as a nation.

The Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan was officially put to action in April of 1948. The United States planned to help rebuild the nations of the European allies and to prevent the spread of communism after World War II. Different reactions to the Marshall Plan are exhibited in the following cartoons. The West saw the Marshall Plan as a life-line for Europe, whereas Soviet Russia saw the Marshall Plan as an attempt to bribe Europe into following the capitalist system.

1948 - Berlin Airlift

Berlin was partitioned in 1947. The Soviet Union blocked West Berlin (occupied by the United States, Britain, and France) from the rest of Berlin in an attempt to gain control of the whole city. The Berlin Airlift was a project organized by the United States to deliver supplies to West Berlin, as a response to Soviet Russia cutting off the land traffic and supplies.

1947 - British leave India

The British government leaves British India, which is partitioned into the secular Republic of India and the Muslim state of Pakistan. This is part of the mass decolonization that followed WWII.

1949 - NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established as an alliance made between the US, England, Canada, France, and other countries of Western Europe. The involved nations vowed to defend one another in the event of an attack from another country. 

1951 - Libya becomes independent from Italy

1951 - Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Paris is signed by France, West Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Italy. The treaty established the European Coal and Steel community would create a common market for coal and steel, serving to unify European countries after WWII.

1954 - Death of Stalin

Stalin made great contributions to communism including the KGB. The KGB was a state security committee that actively suppressed "ideological subversion" - meaning unorthodox political and religious ideas and the dissidents. When Stalin died, Khrushchev took over as the new dictator, but not to the effect that Stalin was. The party would not allow him to have as much power as Stalin had. Khrushchev worked at "de-stalinizing" Russia until he was thrown out of office in 1964.

1955 - Warsaw Pact

The Soviets believed that NATO was directed against the USSR, so in 1955, they founded the Warsaw Pact which forced the Eastern European countries into a military alliance with the Soviet Union. This allowed the USSR to counter NATO and to station its troops in Eastern European countries, tightening its hold on its satellites.

1956 - Hungarian Revolution

Hungarian nationalists staged huge demonstrations demanding the legalization of non-communist parties. The uprising turned into an armed rebellion and spread throughout the country. The US refused to help out and many civilians died.

1956 - Suez Crisis

Egypt (headed at this point by a man named Nasser) wanted to build a dam on the Nile. They turned to the U.S. for money, who refused, and the to the USSR. The U.S. stated in response that they would not associate with those who associated with Soviet Russia (proxy war). As a result, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal as a source of income. This put a monopoly on travel through the Suez Canal, threatening the stability of Britain's and France's oil supply. Britain and France responded militarily without telling President Eisenhower, marking the last significant attempt Britain ever made to impose its military abroad without U.S. support or approval.

1957 - launch of Sputnik

The launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union sparked a new era of modern technology and science. It also instigated the Space Race, the battle between the US and the USSR as part of the Cold War to be the first in space. 

1958 - Charles de Gaulle, French Fifth Republic formed

The Fifth Republic of France was quasi-presidential, as opposed to a parliamentary republic, which means the president had more power this time around. De Gaulle was a "classic French jerk. The Fifth Republic and its republican constitution were established after the fall of the Fourth Republic as a result of the Algiers Crisis of 1958. During World War II, Vichy France existed, which was a puppet government of Germany. Headed by Marshal Pétain, the Vichy government (a satellite state of Germany) controlled Souther France, and the German army controlled Northern France. 

1960 - U-2 Incident

An American U2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960. The US was forced to admit the purpose of the flight (to spy on Soviet Russia) when the USSR produced the living pilot and the largely intact plane. The incident added tension to the East-West relations during the Cold War and was an embarrassing defeat for the US.

1961 - The Beatles perform for the first time

The Beatles were more than a band - they created a pop-culture movement that swept majorly the United States and Britain, along with the rest of the world. Lennon even made an innocent yet controversial remark that to the people of the time, the Beatles were more important than Jesus Christ.

1961 - Berlin Wall is built

The Soviet Union constructs the Berlin Wall to stop citizens of East Germany from fleeing West. This signified the tight grip of Soviet communism and the division of the free West and the entrapped East.

1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis marked the climax of the Cold War and the closest the US and the USSR came to engaging in a Nuclear War. The US discovered Soviet nuclear missile sites being built in Cuba and aimed at the United States. The US had sites in Turkey aimed at the USSR at the time as well. At this point, JFK and Khrushchev were essentially hovering over the button to launch Nuclear war - which would essentially obliterate both the United States and Soviet Russia. The conflict came to an end when Khrushchev agreed to US demands to leave Cuba after JFK announced he would employ a naval blockade of the island, so long as the US promised never to attack Cuba (as the Soviets wanted to keep Cuba as a communist state). Following the Cuban Missile Crisis was the Détente, an period of eased relations between the USSR and the US. 

1964 - Khrushchev resigns

After a growth of opposition from the Communist Party, Khrushchev was essentially forced by opposition and conspirators to resign from his office. Brezhnev was elected First Secretary and Kosygin succeeded Khrushchev as premier, creating a more Red USSR and initiating a phase of re-Stalinization.