In the first part of the article of top events of the Cold War, we focused on sport and cosmic events. However, the second part of our list of the Cold War’s top events is more brutal and written with blood all over it. Some of these events shocked the world, while others affected millions of people all over the world. So, our next countdown begins.
Top 5 Events Of Cold War
The Cuban Missile Crisis
It would have been at the top of any military list ever created if the tension between the two superpowers just broke. The world would never be the same. And the Cold War we are talking about would turn into a nuclear war. Millions of people would die immediately. But they did not. So, what happened?
In 1962, in response to American deployments of missiles in Turkey and Italy, the Soviet Union created their deployments of missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles away from the US. It was an immediate shock to the Americans who learned about constructing these missiles just under their nose. Till then, the USA dominated the nuclear tension all over the world and the USSR. During one month, the tension reached a peak. So the US was forced to compromise. They agreed not to attack and invade Cuba so that Russians would withdraw their missiles from Cuba. In a secret agreement, Kennedy agreed to remove the US missiles from Italy.
However, it was one of the most horrific and nail-biting months in history, ending without actual nuclear war, fortunately.
The Invasion of Hungary
It goes without saying that when superpowers are face-to-face, the third parts always suffer the most. During the Cold War, Hungary was one of them. In 1956, Hungarian people demanded independence from the Soviet Union by taking to the street in thousands. To stop the revolt, Soviets appointed Nagy to become the premier. But he turned out to be the “wrong man” for them as he tried to free Hungary from the Warsaw pact.
It made the USSR furious as they sent tanks to Budapest (as they did later in Baku, 1990). Three thousand people were killed in one day. Even though the US announced they would help any nation worldwide that wanted independence from the communism, they did not help Hungary.
Korean and Vietnam War
To the end of our list, there comes the bloodshed. Although some historians may underrate the effects of this war, it is even worse than ll World War and the Vietnam war regarding the proportion of civilians who were killed. Overall, 5 million people died between 1950 and 1953. The interests of superpowers collapsed in both South and North Korea. Near the end of the war, the US nearly got itself trapped in a war with China, so they compromised. The border between the North and South Korea was determined to be the 38th parallel.
Vietnam war lasted more than the Korean war, nearly 20 years. And the number of civilians that died in that war is equal to 2 million. Another nation was divided into two parts because of the interests of the superpowers. And the US belief was that if one of the Asian countries turned to communism, the others would. They set more than 200000 troops in Vietnam to prevent the attacks on South Vietnam from the North. In January 1973, the peace was made, and three years later, Vietnam unified. What remained from that war was destruction, poverty, and damaged psychologies from all the three nations, including the US.
The Fall of Berlin Wall – The Result of Perestroika
The Berlin Wall was built to prevent fleeing citizens of West Berlin from going to East. The West was under the control of the US, and the East under the USSR’s control. It was the symbol of the border between democracy and communism. When it fell in 1989, it was obvious that the end of the Soviets is near.
After Mikhail Gorbachev declared the Perestroika, the next six years of existence of the USSR was just a nightmare for the Soviet nation. They did not understand what their leader aimed to do, and some experts even suspected that he was an American spy or was controlled by Americans. The fall of the Berlin Wall was shockingly positive news for the West, and it was the main reason for the end of the communism. The USSR only lasted two years after this event and Gorbachev resigned as a result.
JFK Assassination
One of the most famous conspiracies in world history was the President of America’s assassination, in front of everyone. He was assassinated as he was in a car beside his wife. Who killed him? Was that Lee Harvey Oswald as reported? Was he a Soviet spy? Or are these just conspiracies?
We may never know the answers as there are thousands of different sources opposing to each other. And the only way we may have found out was killed too. Oswald was assassinated before he had a chance to talk and took every answer he had with him.
The only thing we have in our hands is the colorized videos and different conspiracies. Of course, the “11/22/63” was written by Stephen King in over 22 years.
All these contribute to the importance of the event, the unsolved questions and the fact that it is still discussed make the JFK assassination the top event on our list.
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