The Aliens Did it.

THE COLD WAR - PART 2: Containment (2 of 2)

E COLD WAR - PART 2: Containment (1 of 2)

Cuban Missle Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a period of intense and sudden confrontation started by the deployment of nuclear missiles in the Cuba and resolved by their removal. The Crisis was started by many things. By the time the Crisis came about (1960) the USA-USSR relationship was terrible each were on a hair trigger to kill the other. When Castro took over Cuba, he made trade agreements with Russia and nationalised American-owned companies. This provoked the americans into attempting to drive Castro out. This fail miserably and Castro asked for support from the Soviet Union. Russia publicly promised and used this as a chance go place nuclear missiles near USA as way to balance the advantage the USA has by having launching sites in Turkey. It is when U2 spy planes took pictures of missile bases in Cuba that the Crisis really started.
When President Kennedy was alerted, he mounted a Naval blockade around Cuba to stop supplies from entering Cuba. He also made sure that one eigth of the US's bombers were in the air all the time. The next day, Khrushchev sent 20 Russian ships to Cuba. Only one (an oil tanker) was let through. All the other ships were sent back or diverted. Also, secretly, the US offered to remove missile bases in Turkey in exchange for the removal in Cuba. However, construction of the bases in Cuba continued but Khruschuv offered to stop construction if the blockade was removed and USA agreed not to attack Cuba. Before kennedy could reply, Khruschev also demanded to remove the bases in Turkey. A U2 plane was shot down at this point and a war was about to start. Kennedy then gave in and just removed the blockade and agreed to nto attack Cuba. He also secretly agreed to remove the bases. Khruscheve agreed to the agreement and the crisis ended.

Reflection:
I really do think that this Crisis was the USA's fault. Their failed attempt to eliminate Castro caused him to ask for Soviet help and the fact that they had Missile bases in Turkey did not help.

Nikita Krushchev

Nikita Krushchev was the man who took over Stalin when he died. Nikita seemed to prefer a more peaceful co-existence with the other powers, ending feuds, and closing down Cominform. He relaxed his grip over east Europe, and many feel that this led to a ‘thaw’ in the Cold War. He too, trying to stamp his own authority, attacked Stalin for being a dictator, and accused him of being a murderer. This had shown he had more flexibility than Stalin.

However, when Hungary wanted to the Soviet army to withdraw from Hungary, and wanted to be neutral, troops were called in to crush the rebellion, and the leader, Imre Nagy, was tried by the USSR and later executed.

In this way, Nikita Krushchev was more similar to Roosevelt than Stalin. He wanted to show that he was a different leader than Stalin, and that he did not want war. All he wanted was to co-exist peacefully with the western powers. This is indeed shown through his actions, such as loosening his grip over the Soviet bloc. In contrast, Stalin had set up blockades and Cominform, to fight against the western powers.

The picture shows Krushchev and Kennedy working together, trying to contain the nuclear war. This shows the effort he was willing to put in, to prevent a full scale war from happening. However, he wasn’t willing to back down when people tried to take advantage of it, such as the cash of Hungary. He put down the rebellion, and showed that he could control them. I feel that this is more effective than the way Stalin did things, as he wanted peace.

Krushchev could be seen as the softer side of the USSR. During Stalin’s rule, he was a dictator with an iron grip. He used violence and threats to secure his rule while being aggressive to the Allies. This portrayed him as an evil dictator and it led to the souring of relationships. Krushchev on the other hand was willing to compromise and co-exist peacefully with the USA. He lightened control helped ease tensions. However, this did not mean that he was soft and allowed the US to run all over him. From this, we can conclude that although USSR was aggressive at the beginning, they can not be blamed totally for the cold war as they did try to build back relations.

Movies and television during the Cold War

During the Cold War, the government needed to control what was being shown in the media. As such, there was the Hollywood blacklist, a list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, that were denied employment due to their affiliations.

Part of the list:

• Orson Bean - Actor and humorist known more for his TV appearances.

• Walter Bernstein - Nominated for an Oscar for writing The Front, the Woody Allen/Martin Ritt film about the blacklist.

• Peter Brocco - The late character actor appeared in 90 films between 1932 and 1991.

It seemed that people hated hot wars, especially nuclear wars. This gave quite a lot pressure to governments of super powers to prevent them from starting hot wars. As a result the citizens’ attitudes could have indirectly caused the Cold War. Besides, there are not only conflicts between great powers, but also contradictions between media and governments. Media wanted to show the disadvantages and the seamy side of the Cold War while leaders tried to use media to show their authority. In general, everyone should be blamed for the Cold War.

Music during the Cold War

During the period of the Cold War, many artists were influenced by the prospect that a nuclear war might break out anytime. A great example during the 1960s is Bob Dylan. He made many hits during that time, including but not limited to Masters of War and A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall. His songs were instant chart toppers in the US and other major parts of the world.
Later on during the 1980s, many protest songs were released. This reflected the general population dissatisfaction that tension was rising between the US and Soviet union that was brought about by Ronald Reagan’s hard line tactics against USSR. An example of this is various artists wearing military uniform like costumes for their album covers and shows. This reflects the US’s militaristic stand in the 1980s. In Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s song “Two Tribes”, its shown that the US president and USSR president were having a wrestling match.
There were other songs during this period of time that reflects the general populace’s fear for the breakout of a third World War. An extremely good example is “99 Luftballons” which portrays the various events that could lead to a global nuclear war. Other notable examples are Sly Fox’s “Let’s go all the way” and Escape Club’s “Wild Wild West”.

Comments:
As well as art, music became another way for super powers to show their advantages. However, the songs made by musicians seemed not to be as good as governments’ wish. Most of songs during that time were affected by the shadow of nuclear war. The escalating tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States made people’s wish of peace stronger. However, governments were still trying to win the race through controlling the media, some policies, such as Hollywood blacklist, came out. In my opinion, the governments of super powers were the prime culprits of the Cold War due to their arrogance.

Art during the Cold War

The United States and the Soviet Union competed in the arts, too, especially in ballet. The two countries would send ballet performances to each other, to show their superiority. In America, too, as a result, ballet received government funding, turning into a propaganda outlet.

Besides ballet, the two countires fought over a multitude of things, such as theatre, chess, and of course, the Space Race. Also, both participated in the Olympics, creating conflicts. Looking at each country, it is hard to decide a victor, but as David Caute, author of 'The Dancer Defects' mentions, it is more about the strengths of each nation.

Russia had great plays, and wonderful ballet, while the West was strong in technology. The two nations were not fighting their cultures against each other, but more on their own citizens. Along with many things during the Cold War, this was done with an intent to create fear.
In my opinion, the art competition between these two super powers is an important part of the Cold War. First of all, both of them wanted to show their superior, so they had to win the other in some aspects although both of them did not want to start a hot war. As a result, art, especially ballet, was turned into powerful political propaganda. This could be an excellent non-violent way to show which super power was better. In conclusion, the art competition was the product of both the West and the USSR’s attitudes towards each other. Both of them should be blamed for the Cold War.

We Didnt Start The Cold War

Chester, Martin, Spencer

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