The Cold War
1947-1991
The Cold War was a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union for dominance over the world. It lasted from 1945 to 1991 and was mainly a contest between Communism and Anti-Communism. It's called the "Cold War" because America and Soviet Union didn't actually fight like you think in a war. They fought through other countries such as Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.
What were the root causes of the Cold War?
The Cold War was caused by the Soviet Union's blockade of the Berlin airlift stopping the U.S. supplies to East Berlin. Although the Soviet Union was an essential member of the Allied Powers, there was strong mistrust between the USSR and the rest of the Allies which also had a huge part in the start of the Cold War.
Cold War Perspective A group of Germans stare across the iron curtain at Hoheheiss in the Harz Mountains. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
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John Kennedy meeting with Nikita Khrushchev in Vinenna, June, 1961
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Berlin Wall August 1962: A section of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz maintained by the German Democratic Republic between 1961 and 1989. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)
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The Berlin Blockade was an attempt in 1948 by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of France, Britain and the United States to get to their sections of land located throughout Berlin. Those areas of land laid within East Germany which Russia ruled.
"Since the end of the blockade in 1949, both German and Allied access have been subjected to intermittent but frequent harassment."
What was the general process of decolonization?
Decolonization began because European countries no longer had the money to support their colonizes and their own countries which led to great poverty which then created third world countries.
One of the specially decorated arches set up in Kigali, Rwanda to mark that nation's independence on 1 July 1962. (UN Photo)
Great Britain, the greatest colonial empire, lost all of its colonies due to its finical instability after World War II.