The Cold War world, 1945–1991
History20th Century & TodayAges 14–15
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in 20th Century & Today
A self-drawn world map paired with a draggable timeline from 1945 to 1991 shows the Soviet–US bipolar order clash during the Cold War, decolonisation movements sweep across Asia, Africa and Latin America, then the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe collapse. Students drag the timeline to watch the two blocs appear and fade, and click an event dot to read a short description. Four extra screens show the 1945–1949 occupation zones of Germany and Berlin with the founding of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, a Berlin airlift supply model, the Berlin Wall (1961–1989) and missile ranges from Cuba in 1962.
Lesson: The Cold War (1947–1989); the USSR and Eastern Europe; Latin America and Asia, 1945–1991
What it shows
After 1945 the world divided into two opposing systems led by the United States and the Soviet Union. Their rivalry, the Cold War, ran through alliances such as NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955), an arms race and crises, but never a direct war between the superpowers. Germany and Berlin, split into four occupation zones, became the front line: the 1948–49 blockade was answered by an airlift, and the Berlin Wall divided the city from 1961 to 1989. In 1962 Soviet missiles in Cuba brought the world close to nuclear war. Decolonisation freed most of Asia and Africa, and the bipolar order ended in 1989–1991.
How to use
Press Run or drag Year and pause at 1949, 1955, 1962 and 1991; the group buttons filter the events. Then change Screen: in Zones & alliances drag Year from 1945 to 1955; in Berlin airlift adjust Aircraft in service, Aircraft type and Round trips per aircraft per day until the stocks last to May 1949; in Berlin Wall compare migration before and after 1961; in Cuba 1962 drag the launch site and compare the MRBM and IRBM rings.
Parameters you can change
- Year shown on the timeline 1945–1991 year
- Filter by content group All, Socialist bloc, Capitalist bloc, Decolonisation, Crisis and collapse
- Timeline playback speed 1–12 years/s
- Show event labels on the map
- Screen shown World map, Occupation zones and alliances, Berlin airlift, Berlin Wall, Cuban missiles, 1962
- Aircraft in service (airlift) 20–400 aircraft
- Aircraft type (airlift) C-47 (about 3 t), Mixed fleet (about 6 t), C-54 (about 9 t)
- Round trips per aircraft per day 1–4 trips/day
- Airfields in West Berlin 2–3 airfields
- MRBM range (Cuba screen) 1000–2500 km
- IRBM range (Cuba screen) 2500–5000 km
Questions to explore
- Why is the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union called a cold war?
- How did decolonisation change the political map of Africa and Asia?
- Which events on the timeline mark the end of the bipolar world order?
