Contemporary
Gouzenko Affair (1945): The Defection That Exposed Soviet Spies
Gouzenko's documents exposed a Soviet military intelligence network in Canada, leading to a royal commission, arrests and convictions in 1946.
Era · 1945 – present
Contemporary
From the Cold War and the Space Race to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world we live in today.
Contemporary
ENIAC (1945): The First General-Purpose Electronic Computer
ENIAC proved that large-scale electronic computation was practical and launched the American computer industry.
Contemporary
Indonesian National Revolution 1945-1949: Freedom from the Dutch
The Netherlands transferred sovereignty over the former Netherlands East Indies, except Western New Guinea, to Indonesia on 27 December 1949.
Contemporary
Operation Paperclip: German Scientists Brought to the US
More than 1,600 German and Austrian specialists were brought to the United States, boosting its rocket and aerospace programmes but sheltering some with Nazi pasts.
Contemporary
King David Hotel Bombing 1946: Attack in Mandate Jerusalem
The southern wing of the hotel collapsed, killing 91 people; the attack hardened British opinion and helped push Britain to refer Palestine to the United Nations.
Contemporary
Greek Civil War (1946–1949): Communists Against the Government
Government victory; the Democratic Army was defeated in 1949, Greece stayed in the Western camp and the Communist Party remained banned until 1974.
Contemporary
Philippine Independence 1946: The End of American Colonial Rule
The United States relinquished sovereignty over the Philippines, which became the independent Republic of the Philippines with Manuel Roxas as president.
Contemporary
Iron Curtain Speech (1946): Churchill at Fulton, Missouri
Churchill's warning of an iron curtain across Europe was widely criticised at first but became the defining image of the Cold War division of the continent.
Contemporary
Chinese Civil War 1946-1949: Mao's Communists Defeat Chiang
Communist victory on the mainland; the People's Republic of China was proclaimed and the Nationalist government withdrew to Taiwan.
Contemporary
February 28 Incident 1947: Uprising and Massacre in Taiwan
The uprising was suppressed by troops sent from mainland China; thousands were killed and decades of political repression followed.
Contemporary
First Kashmir War 1947-1948: India and Pakistan's First Conflict
A UN-brokered ceasefire on 1 January 1949 left India holding about two-thirds of the state and Pakistan about one-third, along a line that became the Line of Control.
Contemporary
UN Partition Plan for Palestine 1947: Resolution 181 Explained
The General Assembly recommended partition by 33 votes to 13 with 10 abstentions; the Jewish Agency accepted, Arab leaders rejected it, and civil war broke out in Palestine.