1. Communist Ascendance: The 1950’s and Early 60’s
EQ: How did the Communists gain the Upper-Hand in the Cold War during the 1950’s and Early 1960’s???

2. The People’s Republic of China
In 1945, after the Japanese were expelled from China, the Civil War resumed
The Communists, led by their charismatic leader, Mao Zedong triumphed in 1949
A pro-Soviet communist regime was established with Mao as the dictator

3. Formation of NATO: 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization
USA, Canada, and Western European Democracies
Mutual defense against Soviet and communist aggression
Dominated by the USA

4. Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet Premier: 1953
Began “Destalinization” which allowed more freedom of speech and press and allowed some freedom within the economy
Cut drastically back on the gulags within the Soviet Union
Publicly criticized the brutality of Stalin and his minions
Much more charismatic and likeable than Stalin.

5. The Warsaw Pact: 1955
The Warsaw Pact was formed with member states East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union.
Countered the formation of NATO
Dominated by the Soviet Union

6. Hungarian Revolution: 1956
Began as a Hungarian protest against Communist rule in Budapest.
On 24th October Soviet tanks entered Budapest
The tanks withdrew on 28th October and a new government was formed which quickly moved to introduce democracy and freedom.
The Soviet tanks returned on 4th November encircling Budapest.
Prime Minister Imre Nagy made a World broadcast that Hungary was under attack from the Soviet Union and calling for aid.
Hungary fell to Russia on 10th November 1956.

7. Space Race: 1957
The Space Race begins when the Soviets launched Sputnik in to space
This showed that the United States was far behind the Soviets in terms of rocket technology
The Soviets might be able to attack us!!!

8. Fall of Cuba: 1959
Fidel Castro, a Cuban lawyer led the revolution that ousted the corrupt president Fulgencio Batista
He initially reached out to the USA for support, but when that failed, he created a Communist dictatorship
He repatriated land owned by foreign interests and booted out American businesses
His rule was fairly harsh and he would support Latin American revolutions throughout the Cold War

9. U-2 Incident: 1960
On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union
The pilot, Francis Gary Powers was taken prisoner
This severely strained US-Soviet relations, because days before this President Eisenhower had told Nikita Khrushchev that we were not spying on the Soviet Union
It also showed that Soviet missile technology was ahead of ours

10. The First Man in Space: 1961
On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space
He went around the Earth several times before he landed safely in the ocean
This further showed how far ahead of the United States Soviet technology was
Shortly afterwards, NASA announced the plan to send a man to the Moon

11. Bay of Pigs Invasion: 1961
On April 17, 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion was launched
The plan called for Cuban immigrants to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro
The plan failed due to the Cubans being tipped off
President Kennedy also refused to use the American Airforce to assist in the plan

12. Berlin Wall: 1961
In August, the Soviet and East German military began the construction of “The Wall”
This would cut off the last method for East Germans and other Eastern Europeans to leave the Soviet Bloc
The Berlin Wall became the physical manifestation of the “Iron Curtain” that was described by Churchill