At the end of World War II, the main Allied powers (the United States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union) divided Germany into two zones.
The Soviet Union occupied East Germany and installed a communist state while the three others Allies shared the West Germany. Berlin, which is located 200 miles inside East Germany, was also divided in two parts. The other half of the city was part of West Germany. The life in East Germany was very hard because of the Communist Party so a lot of people crossed the wall to pass into West Berlin.
Kennedy and Khrushchev
Kennedy and Khrushchev
In 1961, Kennedy met Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. But the meeting was unsuccessful and it increased tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. During the meeting, Khrushchev threatened to cut off the access to West Berlin to the Allies. After that, Kennedy announced that the United States might need to defend its rights in Berlin. He ordered substantial increases in American intercontinental ballistic missile forces, he also added five new army divisions and he increased the nation's air power and military reserves.
Kennedy in Berlin
In 1963, Kennedy visited Berlin. He gave one of his most memorable
spitch : "There are many people in the World who really don't
understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free
world and the Communist World. Let them come to Berlin. There are some
who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to
Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work
with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few
who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits
us to make economic progress. Lass'sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them
come to Berlin."
During the presidential campaign of 1960, the Cold War was the main subject ot the debates. Kennedy and his opponent Nixon both pledged to stenghten American military forces and promised a tough stance against the Soviet Union and communism. Kennedy warmed people against the Soviet's growing arming. He wanted to revitalize American nuclear forces and he criticized Eisenhower who permitted the establishment of a pro-Soviet government in Cuba.
There were two big international issues during his political career : the Cold War and the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.
Kennedy wanted to preserve liberty, as we can hear in his first speech : "American people would pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty."
In Europe, the dividing line between East and West remained essentially frozen during the next decades. But conflict spread to Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The struggle to overthrow colonial regimes frequently became entangled in Cold War tensions, and the superpowers competed to influence anti-colonial movements.
In 1949, the communists triumphed in the Chinese civil war, and the world's most populous nation joined the Soviet Union as a Cold War adversary. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, and the United Nations and the United States sent troops and military aid. Communist China intervened to support North Korea, and bloody campaigns stretched on for three years until a truce was signed in 1953.
In 1954, the colonial French regime fell in Vietnam. The United States supported a military government in South Vietnam and worked to prevent free elections that might have unified the country under the control of communist North Vietnam. In response to the threat, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was formed in 1955 to prevent communist expansion, and President Eisenhower sent some 700 military personnel as well as military and economic aid to the government of South Vietnam. The effort was foundering when John F. Kennedy took office.
Closer to home, the Cuban resistance movement led by Fidel Castro deposed the pro-American military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Castro's Cuba quickly became militarily and economically dependent on the Soviet Union. The United States' main rival in the Cold War had established a foothold just ninety miles off the coast of Florida.
Call of duty is a war video game published by Activision in 2010. This game was the best sale of the year 2010/2011.
Story : The hero of the game undergone an interrogation and remembers itself its former missions. He tried to murder Castro during the landing of the Bay of Pigs; his meeting with JFK who entrusts him the murder of Dragovitch; the destruction of Soyuz 2; the missions in Vietnam; etc.
Battlefield Vietnam
It is a war video game published by Electronic Arts in 2004. A new version of the game goes out in 2005: "Battlefield Viêt nam: Redux". In 2010, an extension of the game "Battlefield Bad Company 2" goes out with the Vietnam War as subject.
This book written by John Lewis Gaddis was published in 2005. This book explain the history of the USSR at the end the Cold War. From the the dissolution of Soviet Union, the end of the east-west conflicts, to the end of the arms race.
One Minute to Midnight : Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War (Vintage)
A book written by Michael Dobbs in 2009. It explains the Cuban missile crisis, the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. It's a hour-by-hour chronicle of those tense days thanks to the testimony of a former reporter of the Washington Post, Michael Dobbs. This book is written like a thriller and is very fascinating.
High Noon in the Cold War : Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Cuban Missile Crisis
A book written by Max Frankel in 2004. This book captures the Cuban Missile Crisis in a new light, from the inside the hearts and minds of the famous men who provoked and resolved the confrontation. Max Frankel used his personal memories of covering the conflict, and gathering evidence from recent records and new scholarship and testimony to make this book.
He was born in 1917 in Boston, the USA. He is the second of a family of 9 children. He is a child of fragile health. He receives a very good education and joins the best schools. He will study in Harvard on the steps of his elderbrother.
His father being an ambassador in London, he has the opportunity to visit Europe and Nazi Germany.
John wants to become a journalist while his elder brother intends himself for the politics.
During the war, he makes a commitment and serves on several ships where he will obtain the rank of commander. The Kennedy family will undergo big losses during the war. The elder son of the family dies and John will deteriorate his back injuries due to an attack.
After the Second World War, Kennedy begins a political career being elected to the House of Representatives in a district with democratic majority. He is twice reelected. In 1952, he is candidate in the office of senator with the slogan: " Kennedy will make it more for the Massachusetts ". He manages to beat his republican competitor.
In 1953, he married Jacqueline Bouvier. They will have two children: a son and a girl.
Kennedy declares himself candidate in the presidential elections to succeed Eisenhower on January 2nd, 1960. In its statement of candidacy, Kennedy insists on the necessity of a world disarmament, qualifying the arms race of "burden". On November 8th, 1960, he wins the elections. He is the youngest president elected in the USA.
Before his inauguration, JFK was briefed on a plan drafted during the Eisenhower administration to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The plan anticipated that support from the Cuban people and perhaps even elements of the Cuban military would lead to the overthrow of Castro. The aim was the establishment of a non-communist government. Kennedy approved the operation and some 1,400 exiles landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs on April 17. The entire force was either killed or captured. Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure of the operation.
For more information about the Bay of Pigs : click here
The arms race
In June 1961, Kennedy met with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. Kennedy was surprised by Khrushchev's combative tone. Khrushchev threatened to cut off Allied access to Berlin. The Soviet leader pointed out the Lenin Peace Medals he was wearing, and Kennedy answered, "I hope you keep them.". Two months later, Khrushchev ordered the construction of the Berlin Wall to stop the flood of East Germans into West Germany. As a result of these threatening developments, Kennedy ordered substantial increases in American intercontinental ballistic missile forces. He also added five new army divisions and increased the nation's air power and military reserves. The Soviets meanwhile resumed nuclear testing and President Kennedy responded by reluctantly reactivating American tests in 1962.
For more information about the arms race : click here
The cuban missile crisis
In the summer of 1962, Khrushchev reached a secret agreement with the Cuban government to supply nuclear missiles capable of protecting the island against another U.S.-sponsored invasion. In mid-October, American spy planes photographed the missile sites under construction. Kennedy responded by placing a naval blockade, which he referred to as a "quarantine," around Cuba. He also demanded the removal of the missiles and the destruction of the sites. Recognizing that the crisis could easily escalate into nuclear war, Khrushchev finally agreed to remove the missiles in return for an American pledge not to reinvade Cuba. But the end of Cuban Missile Crisis did little to ease the tensions of the Cold War. The Soviet leader decided to commit whatever resources were required for upgrading the Soviet nuclear strike force. His decision led to a major escalation of the nuclear arms race.
In June 1963, President Kennedy spoke at the American University commencement in Washington, D.C. He urged Americans to critically reexamine Cold War stereotypes and myths and called for a strategy of peace that would make the world safe for diversity. In the final months of the Kennedy presidency, Cold War tensions seemed to soften as the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was negotiated and signed. In addition, Washington and Moscow established a direct line of communication known as the "Hotline" to help reduce the possibility of war by miscalculation.
For more information about the Cuban missile crisis : click here
Vietnam
In May 1961, JFK had authorized sending 500 Special Forces troops and military advisers to assist the government of South Vietnam. They joined 700 Americans already sent by the Eisenhower administration. In February 1962, the president sent an additional 12,000 military advisers to support the South Vietnamese army. By early November 1963, the number of U.S. military advisers had reached 16,000.
Even as the military commitment in Vietnam grew, JFK told an interviewer, "In the final analysis, it is their war. They are the ones who have to win it or lose it. We can help them, we can give them equipment, we can send our men out there as advisers, but they have to win it—the people of Vietnam against the Communists. . . . But I don't agree with those who say we should withdraw. That would be a great mistake. . . . [The United States] made this effort to defend Europe. Now Europe is quite secure. We also have to participate—we may not like it—in the defense of Asia." In the final weeks of his life, JFK wrestled with the need to decide the future of the United States commitment in Vietnam—and very likely had not made a final decision before his death.
For more information about the Vietnam war :click here
The cold war owes its name to the fact that the American and Soviet armies didn't battle directly. This war consisted mainly of political confrontations, military coalitions, espionage, propaganda, and proxy wars between other nations.
From Allies to Adversaries
The Soviet Union and the United States had fought as allies against Nazi Germany during World War II. But the alliance began to crumble as soon as the war in Europe ended in May 1945. The first tensions appeared during in July, 1945 during the conference of Postdam.
The Soviet Union was determined to were determined to spread their communist regime in other countries, in particular in the Eastern Europe.They set up pro-communist regimes in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania, and eventually in East Germany.
As the Soviets tightened their grip on Eastern Europe, the United States embarked on a policy of containment to prevent the spread of Soviet and communist influence in Western European nations such as France, Italy, and Greece.
During the 1940s, the United States reversed its traditional reluctance to become involved in European affairs. The Truman Doctrine (1947) pledged aid to governments threatened by communist subversion. The Marshall Plan (1947) provided billions of dollars in economic assistance to eliminate the political instability that could open the way for communist takeovers of democratically elected governments.
France, England, and the United States administered sectors of the city of Berlin, deep inside communist East Germany. When the Soviets cut off all road and rail traffic to the city in 1948, the United States and Great Britain responded with a massive airlift that supplied the besieged city for 231 days until the blockade was lifted. In 1949, the United States joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the first mutual security and military alliance in American history. The establishment of NATO also spurred the Soviet Union to create an alliance with the communist governments of Eastern Europe that was formalized in 1955 by the Warsaw Pact.
There are a lot of movies about the Cold War. So to help you to chose some good movies, here is a small list of some popular and good movies :
The Hunt for Red October
Summary : The action takes place in 1984, in the USSR. The Soviet Union has invented a revolutionary submarine and the Americans are worried. A Soviet captain executes the political officer respponsible for the surveillance of the ship and goes to the United States. The marine of both major powers are in his pursuit, and nobody knows his intentions : revenge, provocation, gesture of insanity or peace?
Casting : Sean Connery Alec Baldwin Scott Glenn Sam Neill
Directed by John Mc Tiernan in 1990.
From Russia with Love
Summary : From Russia with Love is a spy movie, the second in the James Bond series.The story begins when a Russian secretary of the consulate of Istanbul suggests in the MI6 bringing them a machine of top secret decoding. For that purpose, they have to help her to flee the East.
In reality, she was hired without knowing it by Rosa Klebb, important member of the SPECTRE and the former colonel of the KGB, to eliminate James Bond, who is the cause of the fall of one of their best elements, the doctor No.
Casting : Sean Connery Daniela Bianchi Pedro Armendariz Lotte Lenya Robert Shaw Bernard Lee Directed by Terence Young in 1963 in Great-Britain.
Good Bye, Lenin!
Summary : Alex is a young German. He lives east of the Berlin Wall. One day, his mother is victim of an infarct and is in the coma. She wakes up after the fall of the wall, while the life which she knew doesn't exist anymore. To avoid the shock of all these changes to his mother, Alex decide to hide her the truth. Alex takes advantage of her confinement to bed to reconstitute an environment which is familiar to her and to restore the former GDR.
Casting : Daniel Brühl Katrin Sass Chulpan Khamatova Directed by Wilfgang Becker in Germany in 2003.
In the summer of 1962, Khrushchev reached a secret agreement with the Cuban government to supply nuclear missiles capable of protecting the island against another U.S.-sponsored invasion. In mid-October, American spy planes photographed the missile sites under construction. Kennedy responded by placing a naval blockade, which he referred to as a "quarantine," around Cuba. He also demanded the removal of the missiles and the destruction of the sites. Recognizing that the crisis could easily escalate into nuclear war, Khrushchev finally agreed to remove the missiles in return for an American pledge not to reinvade Cuba. But the end of Cuban Missile Crisis did little to ease the tensions of the Cold War. The Soviet leader decided to commit whatever resources were required for upgrading the Soviet nuclear strike force. His decision led to a major escalation of the nuclear arms race.
