Timeline: 1945-1947 | 1948-1949 | 1961-1999

Introduction

Teacher Resources

Timeline

Major Events

Maps

Classroom Activities

Glossary

Cold War I

Citizen Kurchatov

Bay of Pigs

Yalta

Timeline: 1945-1947

1945

February 1945: The Big Three - Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill - meet at Yalta Conference to plan policies for dealing with Germany after the end of World War II.

May 2, 1945: Soviet soldiers occupy Berlin.

May 7, 1945: Germany surrenders, ending World War II in Europe.

June 5, 1945: Allied Supreme Command signs agreement to divide Germany into four zones, each to be occupied by one of the Allies. The USSR occupies the eastern zone, Great Britain the northwestern zone, France the western zone, and the U.S. the southwestern zone.

June 21, 1945: Stalin establishes new communist-controlled government in Poland.

June 26, 1945: United Nations charter is established.

July 26, 1945: Potsdam Conference of Big Three disputes how to handle post-war Europe.

November 18, 1945: Bulgaria votes in a Communist Fatherland Front.

1946

January 11, 1946: A pro-Communist People's Republic is proclaimed in Albania.

January 31, 1946: A new Yugoslavian constitution is patterned after the Soviet Union's.

March 5, 1946: Churchill warns that an "Iron Curtain" is being built across Europe, dividing communist and non-communist nations.

May 26, 1946: Communists win elections in Czechoslovakia.

June 30, 1946: Poland votes in a one-party government and nationalizes industries.

December 2, 1946: The U.S. and Great Britain combine their occupation zones in Germany.

1947

February 21, 1947: Truman asks Congress for $350 million for relief of destitute in liberated countries abroad.

March 12, 1947: Truman asks for $400 million to help Greece and Turkey hold firm against Communists. The Truman Doctrine promises to help any nation threatened by Communism.

May 31, 1947: Pro-Communist government is installed in Budapest, Hungary.

June 5, 1947: The Marshall Plan provides economic aid to help rebuild Europe. The U.S. spends $13 billion in aid from 1948-1952.

October 5, 1947: Communists from nine nations join COMINTERN to defend themselves against what they see as U.S. imperialism.

December 31, 1947: Soviet-backed Communists take over in Romania.