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Course 8 of 9 · 1945 to c. 1975

The Cold War

Two superpowers, one fragile peace

A world divided between two superpowers, from 1945 to about 1975. The rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union, the nuclear arms race, the wars in Korea and Vietnam, the space race, decolonization, the postwar boom and the civil rights movement.

8 modules · 54 lessons · a certificate of completion

See Inside the Course
The cover of The Cold War, with Mylo in costume

The period

1945 to c. 1975, in a few lines

After 1945 the United States and the Soviet Union, allies against Germany, became rivals who never fought each other directly but competed everywhere else: in arms, in space and in the wars of other countries.

This course covers the Iron Curtain, Korea and Vietnam, the crises over Berlin and Cuba, the space race, the end of empires in Asia and Africa and life in the postwar West.

Moments that shaped it

Key events and turning points

  1. 1948 to 1949

    The Berlin Blockade

    The Soviet Union cuts land access to West Berlin, and the Western Allies supply the city by air for almost a year.

  2. 1949

    NATO is founded

    Western countries form a military alliance against the Soviet bloc.

  3. 1950 to 1953

    The Korean War

    The first big armed conflict of the Cold War ends with Korea still divided.

  4. 1957

    Sputnik

    The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite and starts the space race.

  5. 1961

    The Berlin Wall

    East Germany builds a wall through the city to stop people leaving for the West.

  6. 1962

    The Cuban Missile Crisis

    For thirteen days the superpowers come closer to nuclear war than at any other time.

  7. 1969

    The Moon landing

    Apollo 11 puts the first people on the Moon.

What you will discover

What the course covers

For three decades after 1945 the world lived under the shadow of two superpowers. This course follows the Cold War from its start to the middle 1970s.

  • 1See how wartime allies became rivals, from the Iron Curtain to the Marshall Plan, NATO and the Berlin blockade.
  • 2Follow the wars in Korea and Vietnam and the crises over Berlin and Cuba, and learn how close the world came to nuclear war.
  • 3Race into space and the arms race, from Sputnik to the Moon landing.
  • 4Watch Asia and Africa win independence as the old empires withdrew.
  • 5Look at life in the West: the postwar boom, the civil rights movement and the turbulent 1960s.

Who it is for

  • Readers who lived through parts of this era or grew up hearing about it and want the full story.
  • Fans of spy stories, space history and political thrillers who want to know what was real.
  • Students who need a clear thread through the events from 1945 to the 1970s.

Why it matters

  • The Cold War shaped today's alliances, borders and many conflicts that still continue.
  • The arms race and the Cuban missile crisis show how close the world came to disaster and how leaders pulled back.
  • Decolonization created most of the countries in Asia and Africa that appear on a world map today.
  • The booms, protests and reforms of these years shaped the societies of the United States, Europe and Japan.

No prior knowledge needed. If you have ever heard of the Berlin Wall or the space race, you already have a start.

Inside the course

8 modules and 54 lessons

This is the course exactly as it is in the app, module by module.

1From Allies to Rivals6 lessons
  1. Yalta and Potsdam
  2. The Iron Curtain
  3. The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
  4. The Berlin Blockade
  5. NATO and the Warsaw Pact
  6. Let's Review
2Korea and the Divided World8 lessons
  1. Germany Divided
  2. The Chinese Communist Revolution
  3. Korea Before the War
  4. The Korean War
  5. A Divided World
  6. Revolts Behind the Iron Curtain
  7. The Cold War in Latin America
  8. Let's Review
3The Arms and Space Races7 lessons
  1. The Atomic Bomb and Its Rivals
  2. The Hydrogen Bomb
  3. Mutual Assured Destruction
  4. Sputnik and the Space Race
  5. Gagarin and Early Spaceflight
  6. Landing on the Moon
  7. Let's Review
4Crises: Berlin and Cuba7 lessons
  1. A Divided Berlin
  2. The Berlin Wall
  3. The Cuban Revolution
  4. The Missile Crisis Begins
  5. Thirteen Days
  6. The Aftermath and the Hotline
  7. Let's Review
5The Vietnam War7 lessons
  1. French Indochina
  2. Division and Early American Involvement
  3. Escalation of the War
  4. The Tet Offensive
  5. Protests at Home
  6. The Fall of Saigon
  7. Let's Review
6Decolonization in Asia and Africa7 lessons
  1. The End of European Empires
  2. India's Independence
  3. Algeria's War of Independence
  4. Independence in Africa
  5. The Suez Crisis
  6. The Non-Aligned Movement
  7. Let's Review
7The Postwar Boom4 lessons
  1. Rebuilding Europe and the German Miracle
  2. Japan's Recovery
  3. The Consumer Society
  4. Let's Review
8Civil Rights and the Sixties8 lessons
  1. Segregation in America
  2. Brown v. Board and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
  3. Martin Luther King and the March on Washington
  4. The Civil Rights Laws and Black Power
  5. The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
  6. Protest and Counterculture
  7. 1968: The Killings of King and Robert Kennedy
  8. Let's Review

Certificate

A certificate when you finish

Finish every module of The Cold War and you can issue its certificate of completion in the app, as a PDF with your name to keep and to share. Certificates are part of the Premium plan.

Chronos

Certificate of Completion

This certifies that

Alex Morgan

has completed the course

The Cold War

World history learning
An example certificate with a made-up name
Before thisThe World Wars1914 to 1945Next in timeThe End of the Millennium1970s to 2000

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