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The Cold War to today

The Cold War to today: a chapter of the Turning Points of History Book, with the moments, people and dates that shaped the world.

12 cards · History

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Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the chapter a few at a time.

Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 27 Oct 2026

Sources: World history (Encyclopaedia Britannica), World History Encyclopedia

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  • The two superpowers of the Cold War

    Show answer: The two superpowers of the Cold War

    The US and the Soviet Union

    Learn more: From 1947 to 1991 they competed through arms, space, spies and wars fought by others.

  • Year India and Pakistan became independent

    Show answer: Year India and Pakistan became independent

    1947

    Learn more: Partition split British India in two and forced millions from their homes.

  • Year the People's Republic of China was founded

    Show answer: Year the People's Republic of China was founded

    1949

    Learn more: Mao Zedong proclaimed it on 1 October after the Communists won the civil war.

  • Year 17 African countries became independent

    Show answer: Year 17 African countries became independent

    1960

    Learn more: Most were French colonies, joined by Nigeria and Congo; empires across Africa ended within a generation.

  • Year the Berlin Wall went up

    Show answer: Year the Berlin Wall went up

    1961

    Learn more: Built overnight in August, it stood for 28 years until crowds opened it in 1989.

About this topic

After 1945 the world split between two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, who never fought each other directly. Berlin was walled in two, and in 1962 missiles in Cuba brought the world close to nuclear war. Empires ended, from India in 1947 to the Year of Africa in 1960. Then the Soviet Union broke up, Europe built its union, and the world faced new turning points: terrorism, the smartphone, a pandemic and a changing climate.

This is a chapter of the Turning Points of History Book. Each card asks one question, with a hint before you answer and a short reason after. Once you know most of this chapter, the next one starts arriving in your Daily Zap.

All 12 cards

  1. The two superpowers of the Cold War

    The US and the Soviet Union

    Learn more: From 1947 to 1991 they competed through arms, space, spies and wars fought by others.

  2. Year India and Pakistan became independent

    1947

    Learn more: Partition split British India in two and forced millions from their homes.

  3. Year the People's Republic of China was founded

    1949

    Learn more: Mao Zedong proclaimed it on 1 October after the Communists won the civil war.

  4. Year 17 African countries became independent

    1960

    Learn more: Most were French colonies, joined by Nigeria and Congo; empires across Africa ended within a generation.

  5. Year the Berlin Wall went up

    1961

    Learn more: Built overnight in August, it stood for 28 years until crowds opened it in 1989.

  6. 1962 standoff over Soviet missiles near Florida

    The Cuban Missile Crisis

    Learn more: The world came close to nuclear war until the Soviets agreed to take their missiles out of Cuba.

  7. Year the Soviet Union broke up

    1991

    Learn more: Its 15 republics became independent countries, from Russia and Ukraine to Kazakhstan and the Baltic states.

  8. Treaty that created the European Union in 1993

    Maastricht Treaty

    Learn more: Signed in 1992 and in force from 1993, it created the EU and paved the way for the euro.

  9. Year of the 11 September attacks in the US

    2001

    Learn more: Nearly 3,000 people died; the attacks led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

  10. Year the first iPhone went on sale

    2007

    Learn more: It put the internet, a camera and apps in one pocket device, and changed how billions of people live.

  11. Year the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic

    2020

    Learn more: The virus spread worldwide within months; vaccines were ready within a year, a record.

  12. 2015 deal to limit global warming

    The Paris Agreement

    Learn more: Almost every country signed, each setting its own targets to cut greenhouse gases.

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