The Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991 as an extended period of large-scale nuclear warfare threat. Although no real battles were fought, there was intense geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States (Norwich University Online). The documented timelines can help historians determine the most critical events of the extensive conflict. The launching of Sputnik I in 1957, the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, and the start of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in November 1969 were the most significant Cold War events.
The U.S.S.R’s launching of Sputnik I in October 1957 was a significant Cold War event that ushered in space exploration as a competition front between the United States and the Soviets. An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was used to launch the Soviet satellite into the orbit, indicating the U.S.S.R’s technological power (Norwich University Online). The incident indicated that the United States was falling behind in the tech-driven space race. The Soviet Union also demonstrated capability to deliver a nuclear weapon onto the American soil using an ICBM. The move prompted the United States Army to launch Explorer I into space on January 1, 1958. Wernher von Braun, a pioneer in modern rocket science, designed the American satellite, which resulted in the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States’ space agency leading in space exploration.
The construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 was a crucial Cold War event symbolizing the ideological differences between democratic and communist societies. The Communist government of the German Democratic Republic designed the wall with an intention to curtail East German migrants’ entry into the democratic West Germany (Gasparini 173). The barrier was approximately 100 miles of concrete barricades, watchtowers, and trenches splitting Berlin into two (Norwich University Online). The wall symbolized the iron curtain or the physical and ideological divide separating the Community East from the democratic West during the Cold War (Sivers et al. 114). The Communist power weakened towards the end of the 1960s as the United States accelerated towards becoming the world’s first unmatched superpower. The wall fell on November 9, 1989 after mass protests
The start of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in November 1969 in Helsinki, Finland, was a significant Cold War event. The talks led to the signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1972 and 1979, limiting the manufacturing of nuclear weapons between the two powers (Norwich University Online). The move minimized the perceived threat of global thermonuclear warfare that had escalated in the Cold War era. President Ronald Reagan fought Communism in Central America and other regions (Malet 33). At the same time, economic problems diminished Communist influence in Europe (Madsen et al. 605). By 1989, most Communist nations transitioned to non-Communist government forms. East and West Germany reunified in October 1990, neutralizing the Cold War significantly (Archambault et al. 337). The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked the end of the Cold War.
In summary, the launch of Sputnik I, the construction of the Berlin Wall, and SALT were the most crucial Cold War events. The launch of the satellite marked the start of space exploration competition between the Soviet Union and the United States. The barrier between East and West Germany symbolized the ideological differences between the democratic and Communist societies. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks restricted the production of nuclear weapons.
Works Cited
Archambault, Antoine, et al. “On the Effects of the Reunification on German Researchers’ Publication Patterns.” Scientometrics, vol. 111, no. 1, 2017, pp. 337–347.
Gasparini, Alberto. The Walls between Conflict and Peace. BRILL, 2016.
Madsen, Jakob B, et al. “Inequality, Financial Development and Economic Growth in the OECD, 1870–2011.” European Economic Review, vol. 101, no. 1, 2018, pp. 605-624.
Malet, David. “Workers of the World, Unite! Communist Foreign Fighters 1917–91.” European Review of History: Revue Européenne d’Histoire, vol. 27, no. 1-2, 2020, pp. 33-53.
Norwich University Online. “5 Key Cold War Events.” Norwich University, 2017, Web.
Sivers, Peter Von, et al. Patterns of World History. Oxford University Press, 2012.