The Cold War began after World War 2 and lasted from 1945 to 1991. It involved tensions between capitalist Western countries led by the US and communist Eastern countries led by the Soviet Union. Key events included the formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact in 1949, the Berlin Blockade and airlift from 1948 to 1949, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and the Space Race that peaked with the US moon landing in 1969. Economic and political reforms under Soviet leader Gorbachev in the 1980s reduced Cold War tensions and led to the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe in 1989.

1. The Cold War
NATO/Warsaw pact
Kaija Lazda
1945-1991
Crowder 3rd

2. Timeline of Events
August 6, 1945- United States dropped bomb on Hiroshima
August 14, 1945- End of World War II
June 24, 1948- The Berlin blockade begins
April 4, 1949- NATO is formed
May 12 1949- Berlin blockade ends
June 1950-July 1953- Korean war begins and ends
May 1955- Warsaw Pact formed
May 1960- U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory
November 1960- John F. Kennedy became president
April 1961- Bay of Pigs
August 13,17- The border or Berlin is closed off;construction begins of the Berlin Wall
October 1962- Cuban Missile Crisis
November 1963- President Kennedy assassinated
July 20, 1969- Apollo 11 wins space race by landing on the moon
November 1989- Fall of the Berlin Wall
December 1989- Soviet empire along with the communist governments of Czechoslovakia,Rumania,
and Bulgaria fall.
August 1991- End of Soviet Union The cold war comes to an end.

3. Overview
 The Cold War began to form after World War II. The
disagreements started between 1947-1951. The
world split into two large organizations NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Warsaw pact.
Many people believed at that time that a nuclear
war would start. The main tensions were between
The Soviet Union (“Russia”) and The United States.
Both sides and their allies were building up their
weapons but did not use them. It was a fight
between political systems for power.

4. Important People
 Nikita Kruschev (1894-1971)
 John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
 Ronald Reagan(1911-2004)
 Mikhail Gorbachev(1931- )

5. Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971)
 After Joseph Stalin died Nikita
Khrushchev became chief director
of the Soviet Union. He was a
strong believer in the communist
party, and he became the First
Secretary from September 7, 1953
to October 14, 1964. Khrushchev
was Premier of the Soviet Union
from March 27, 1958 to October
14, 1964. He was born on April 17,
1894 and died on September 11,
1971 when he was 77 years old. He
was notorious for his rudeness of
interrupting speeches and
removing his shoe to bang it on the
podium during debates at the
United Nations.
Nikita Khrushchev

6. John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
 John F. Kennedy was the 35th
President of the United States.
He was in office from January
20, 1961 until November 22,
1963. Kennedy was the
president during the Bay of
Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, the
building of the Berlin Wall, the
Vietnam war and the American
Civil rights movement. On
November 22,1963 Kennedy was
in Dallas, Texas and was
assassinated. John F. Kennedy

7. Ronald Reagan(1911-2004)
 Ronald Reagan became the
40th president of the United
States on January 20, 1981
and left office on January 20,
1989. He was the governor of
California from 1967 to 1975.
Regan served two terms also
partly during the cold war.
He ordered a massive military
buildup while racing against
the Soviet Union. He later
spoke with Mikhail Gorbachev
and they shrunk the US and
Russia's nuclear weaponry.
Ronald Reagan

8. Mikhail Gorbachev(1931- )
 Mikhail Gorbachev is the
leader of the Union of Social-
Democrats. He used to be
the General Secretary of the
Communist Party of the
Soviet Union, he was also
head of the USSR. Gorbachev
was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1990. He had
helped end the Cold War and
the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union. Mikhail
Gorbachev was born March 2,
1931 and he is still alive. Mikhail Gorbachev

9. The US vs. the Soviet Union
NATO- Blue
Warsaw Pact- RED
Russia became communist
and also captured many
countries:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Estonia, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
Together with the Russian
Federation these fifteen
republics formed the USSR.The United States also was
affected by the Cold War
because of the Bay of Pigs
an the Cuban Missile crisis.
Lots of the conflict
happened in Germany
because it had borders with
allies of the Warsaw Pact
and NATO.

10. How it started
 Capitalists and Communists had been clashing
since the Russian revolution but the
disagreements got worse after World War II.
Germany had been split up into many parts when
World War II ended. The Soviet Union had the east
bit which also had Berlin. The United States,
France, Britain, and The Soviet Union all had a
part of Berlin. The Soviet Union wanted the rest
of Berlin and that’s how the Berlin Blockade got
started.

11. Primary Source
 Khrushchev wrote to Kennedy twice about the Cuban missile crisis.
The first letter was sent on October 26, 1962 and contained the
statement that if the United States agreed not to attack Cuba then
the Soviet Union would take the weapons out.Below is part of the
first letter.
 “Why have we proceeded to assist Cuba with military and
economic aid? The answer is: We have proceeded to do so
only for reasons of humanitarianism. At one time, our
people itself had a revolution, when Russia was still a
backwards country. We were attacked then. We were the
target of attack by many countries. The USA participated in
that adventure. This had been recorded by our participants
in the aggression against our country. A whole book has
been written about this by General Graves, who, at that
time, commanded the US Expeditionary Corps. Graves called
it ‘The American Adventure in Siberia.”
 Kruschev wrote a second letter to Kennedy which was more
aggressive and asking him about the missiles stationed in Turkey
pointing at Russia.
Letters from Khrushchev to Kennedy

12. Berlin Blockade
The Soviet Union wanted all of Berlin. At that time
the United States,the Soviet Union, France, and
Great Britain all occupied some part of Berlin. On
June 24, 1948 the Soviet Union blocked off all roads
and rail roads entering and leaving East Germany.
The other countries were not able to access their
part of Berlin. The people in Berlin were starving so
the United States and Britain started sending airlifts
of food. They ultimately lasted 321 days. A plane
took off every three minutes to bring the food and
medicine. The blockade ended May 11, 1949.

13. The Forming of NATO
 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization include
twelve nations that have an alliance. These
include The United States and The United
Kingdome. NATO was officially formed on April 4,
1949. They all signed the North Atlantic Treaty.
After the fall of communism NATO has become a
political force rather than a military force.
The NATO flag.

14. The Formation of the
Warsaw Pact
 Warsaw Treaty of Friendship,
Cooperation, and mutual
assistance was formed on May
14, 1955 in Warsaw, Poland.
The Warsaw Pact was formed
the same year that NATO was
announced and is thought to
have been created due to
NATO’s formation. There
were eight members of this
pact. This pact is ,since 1991,
extinct or “nonexistent”. Warsaw poster

15. Bay of Pigs
 On April 15, 1961 aircrafts flew over
Cuba attempting to wipe out Castro’s
air force. It was supposed to look like
it was only Cuban exiles. The attack
might have worked if the second and
third air strikes had not been
cancelled. The mission was overall
unsuccessful.

16. Berlin Wall
 The Berlin Wall was
constructed on August 13,
1961. The wall divided East
and West Berlin, the people
on the East were not allowed
to leave. Over 125 people
were killed attempting to
escape East Berlin.East Berlin
was controlled by the Soviet
Union and was communist.
The wall stayed up for 28
years until June 13, 1990
when the wall was officially
taken down.
The Berlin Wall

17. Space Race
 The Space Race was race
between the United States
and the Soviet Union to see
who could explore outer
space first. When the Soviets
launched Sputnik the whole
race slowly began. The
Apollo 11 mission by the
United States was very
successful and was watched
by 500million people around
the world. Landing on the moon

18. How it Ended
 Economic reforms were made by Mikhail
Gorbachev when he became head of the
Soviet Union. His new policies were called
perestroika. Gorbachev and Reagan worked
together to eliminate nuclear weapons.
Demonstration started in East Germany and
the Soviet republics began rebelling.

19. Citations
 Hillstrom, Kevin. The Cold War. Detroit: Primary Sourcebook
Series, 2006. 253-263.
 "Timeline of the Cold War." Think Quest. 29 Nov. 2007
<http://library.thinkquest.org/10826/timeline.htm>.
 "NATO." Audifaz. 29 Nov. 2007
<http://www.audifaz.com/coldwar/nato.htm>.
 "Nikita Khrushchev." Spartacus Educational. 29 Nov. 2007
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSkhrushchev.htm>.
 "Mikhail Gorbachev." Britannica. 29 Nov. 2007
<http://www.Britannica.com/eb/article-9037405>.
 Sewell, Mike. The Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University
P, 2002.