May 23, 1949 – October 7, 1949
The Federal Republic of Germany is founded in the Western occupation zones, followed by the German Democratic Republic in the Soviet zone.
France establishes the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with former emperor Bảo Đại as head of state.
Twelve North American and Western European countries sign the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, creating the NATO collective defence alliance.
The United States enacts a large-scale economic aid programme to rebuild Western European economies after the Second World War.
The Soviet Union blocks road and rail access to West Berlin; the Western Allies respond by supplying the city through an airlift for almost a year.
At Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill declares that an "iron curtain" has descended across Europe, a symbolic marker of the early Cold War.
War between the Việt Minh and France breaks out in Hanoi and lasts until the Geneva Accords of 1954.