This is a collection of primary source documents covering the collapse of the Soviet Union during the late 1980's. The collection contains documents from archives in most of the former Soviet bloc countries. They discuss the changes...

A Cold War strategy game where you must make critical decisions about how much the United States should support the burgeoning democratic movement in Eastern Europe at the risk of provoking the ire of the Soviet Union. Has three levels...

This extensive site from the National Portrait Gallery explores presidential actions in relation to the Cold War from the Yalta Conference to the presidency of George H.W. Bush. Click on Franklin Roosevelt to find out about the decisions...

World War II ended in 1945 and the Cold War began immediately. Read about the mistrust Western Europe and the United States felt towards the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin. Learn how the Soviets expanded their realm of influence and...

As the Cold War evolved over four decades, the end of the world seemed imminent as the nuclear arms race continued to escalate. Popular music, especially in the 1980s, reflected this growing pessimism. By 1989 and 1990, as the Berlin...

Excellent online resource that through the use of primary sources and scholar interviews, focuses on the historical events of 1989 that deal with the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Great teacher resource with lesson plans...

This timeline of East Germany from 1945 to 1990 chronicles key events from communist domination to political and economic freedom with the end of the Cold War and the dismantling of the Berlin Wall.

Biographical account of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, reformer of the Soviet Union. Includes information regarding Gorbachev's ascension to power with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and his role in reducing the Cold War...

Political dissent as practiced in East Germany is surveyed during the Cold War period.

This site gives a great overview of the early Cold War under President Truman. Describes relations with the Soviet Union, the atomic bomb, actions in western Europe, and the Korean War. A great piece that gives the reader a fantastic...

This primary document is a copy of the Helsinki Agreements of 1975 which recognized the borders in central and Eastern Europe that were set up since the end of WWII. They show the acceptance of the Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. and...

This is a copy of a speech given in 1947 that describes US intent in stopping the spread of communism. It outlines threats to communist expansion into Greece and Turkey, and the US response to such a threat. This is a great primary...

Contains a wealth of information about the Warsaw Pact. Includes information about the Soviet Alliance System, the organization of East European National units, the development of Socialist Armies in Eastern Europe, East-West diplomacy...

Extensive information about the collapse of the USSR. Includes an interactive timeline from 1985 through 1991, an interactive map of the countries of the USSR with country profiles and timelines, eyewitness accounts of the collapse of...

1991 was a tumultuous year for the Soviet Union, filled with reform, an attempted coup, and eventual collapse of the empire. In this series of articles, explore the final days of the ailing Soviet Union.

Documents from the years 1968 to 1976 on the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), which concluded with the signing of the Helsinki Final Act on August 1, 1975.

Many of the Cold War presidents used the Domino Theory as the main justification for their involvement and intervention in the affairs of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, Korea, Cuba, and Vietnam as it related to the spread of...

Read about President Truman's two-pronged foreign policy for Europe. Find out about his containment policy and the Truman Doctrine, which was manifested in the Marshall Plan.