HISTORY OF EUROPE1945-1968

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9 th May 1945 VICTORY DAY

On that day, Moscow time, the German military surrender became effective. It meant the end of 2nd World War.

Picadilly Circus in London on 9th May 1945

Russia on 9th May 1945

1947-1991THE COLD WAR

It was a state of political and military tension after World War

II between powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others) and powers in

the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw

Pact).

Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but

1947–91 is common.

The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were

major regional wars, known as proxy wars, in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan supported by the two sides.

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12nd March 1947The announcement of Truman

doctrineThe American president, Harry Truman announced the doctrine which was an American foreign policy to stop

Soviet imperialism during the Cold War.No American military force was involved.

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4th April 1949NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded.

The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in

response to an attack by any external party.

Member states of NATO

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14th May 1955The Warsaw Pact

The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put

the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states.The Warsaw Pact, so named because the treaty was signed in Warsaw, included

the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. The treaty called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force.

The Warsaw Pact conference, May 1955

WARSAW PACT NATIONSIn March 1991, the military alliance component of the pact was dissolved and in July 1991, the last meeting of the political consultative body took

place.

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4th October 1957Launch of Sputnik I

The beginning of Space AgeIt was the world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58

cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in

new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the

U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.

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13th August 1961The beginning of construction

of Berlin Wall

It was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989 built by the German Democratic Republic

The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a

socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked East Germany and the

communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period.

Building of Berlin Wall

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6th June 1962The Beatles first record

"Love Me Do" is the Beatles' first single. The song was written several years before it was recorded, and prior to the

existence of the group named the Beatles.

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5th January 1968Prague Spring

It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), and continued until 21

August when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to halt the reforms.

The Prague Spring had proved that the Soviet Union was not willing to even contemplate any member of the Warsaw Pact leaving it. The tanks that rolled through the streets of Prague reaffirmed to the West that the

people of Eastern Europe were oppressed and denied the democracy that existed in Western Europe.

TO BE CONTINUED