We Didnt Start The Cold War

Chester, Martin, Spencer

3 Chubbies
1 Blog
5 Posts


Bold Italic Underlined Link

Tagboard

Kormrades

Edwin, Nicky and Shahid Don, Jonathan, Kang Raye and Shao Hao Beveryl, Dillon and Siong Gim Link Link

History

February 2010
March 2010

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.

korean War

The next event in the Cold War we will focus on is the Korean War. After WWII, USSR and USA split the Korean peninsula into 2 at the 38th parallel. This division was supposed to be temporary untill free elections could be made. However, the USA-USSR relationship soured and both sides started setting up a system that is favourable to them. Then the USSR started to build up military might in North Korea. As such, when USA and USSR left, South Korea had a poorly trained and equipped army while the North had had a well armed and well trained army. When the South threatened to attack the North, North Korea used it as a reason to have a full scale invasion of South Korea. The North Koreans captured most of South Korea. USA became alarmed and sent tropps to reinforce the South Koreans while leading an amphibious attack from Inchon. The US troops managed to push the frontier all the way to the Chinese border. The chinese then became alarmed and sent troops to support the North Koreans. The south started losing and was pushed all the way past Seoul. This is when the US landed more troops and used bombers. They even threatened the use of the atomic bomb. When the the fighting came to a stalemate, the frontier was back at the 38th parallel.

Reflections:
Personally, I think that the Korean War was no ones fault. Both the USA and USSR had to leave the Korean Penisula and neither actively tried to change events. In fact, it was the South Korean president Syngman Rhee for provoking the North Koreans.

Berlin Blockade and Airlifts

Berlin Blockade and Airlifts

At the end of World War II, the Allies divided Germany into zones of occupation. The place we want to focus on is Berlin. Berlin is the capital of Germany and at that point of time, was divided into 4 zones of occupation. One for the US, one for Britain, one for France and one for USSR. After the war, Germany's economy and government had been obliverated and there was a question of whether the Allies should rebuild Germany or continue occupying it. USA and Britain wanted to help rebuild Germany and establish Germany as a trading partner.

France lost quite significantly in the war and was indecisive about helping to rebuild or make Germany's defeat absolute. USSR, on the other hand wanted to use Germany as a buffer for further attacks. This is understandable as USSR lost alot of people in the war.
As wartime relationships started breaking down, the world begun to split into two, the Communit bloc and Capitalist bloc. Because of this, France, USA and Britain merged their zones of occupation together to form West Germany while USSR formed East Germany. As time went by, West Germany flourished while East Germany detoriated. Stalin saw this as the West's way of building up power to attack him. When West Germany introduced the Deutschmark, Stalin decided that that was enough and closed off all roads and rail ways into West Berlin. By doing so, Stalin hoped that he could force the Allies out of Berlin and put communist control over Berlin. At that point, the allies had only two choices, withdraw from West Berlin and make Stalin think that he could invade West Germany OR airlif supplies in. After much delibration, the allies decided to airlift supplies. The airlift was extremely successful despite the fact that there was a contsant danger of being shotdown. After one year of airlifts, USSR gave up and lifted the blockade.
The Berlin blockade part of the Cold War was the USSR's fault. After all, all the allies wanted was to help rebuild Germany so that she could get back up and be a potential trading partner instead of a enemy. If Stalin was not so suspicious of the West, this crisis could have been averted.

Harry Truman

Harry Truman was the successor of Roosevelt, the 33rd President of the United States. He served as artillery officer in World War I, making him the only president to have seen combat in World War I. He too has had his share of events, such as the decision to use nuclear weapons on Japan, founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine.

In contrast to Roosevelt, who was more of a patrician, he was a more folksy, unassuming president, popularizing the phrases ‘"the buck stops here" and "If you can't stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen." During his tenure as president, he was not that popular. But after his retirement from politics, he has gained more favourable assessments, many American historians ranking considering him one of the greatest US presidents.

However, his actions during the Cold War were more aggressive towards the Soviets, compared to that of Roosevelt’s. While Roosevelt believed in Stalin, he was concerned about communism, and containing it. Communist advances in Greece and Turkey led him to policies against them.

However, even so, he managed to get support for both his policies, the Marshall Plan, and the Truman Doctrine.

One event was the letters about the missile bases in Turkey, in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

While deciding to respond to the first letter sent out, and ignoring the second, more aggressive one, Harry Truman was more aggressive about it.

Truman could have been a little less aggressive when handling the Cold war, as his abrasiveness had caused a lot of problems. If he was maybe a little more amiable like Roosevelt, a lot of things could have been averted.

If Roosevelt is considered the peaceful negotiatable side of the US, then Harry Truman is the aggressive hard line side. Truman was very concerned about the spread of communism and came up with many policies to help contain the spread. However, his policies were really aggressive and might have further soured USA-USSR relations. From this, we can say that although Russian aggression might have started the Cold War, the US had a part to play in the worsening of the situation and progression of the Cold War.

Culture during the Cold War

Outline:

The Cold War was reflected in culture through music, movies, books, and other media. One element of the Cold War often seen relates directly or indirectly to the threat of nuclear war. Another is the conflict between the superpowers in terms of espionage. Many works use the Cold War as a backdrop, or directly take part in fictional conflict between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The period 1953-1962 saw Cold War themes first enter mainstream culture as a public preoccupation.

The Cold War was also reflected in the attitudes of people in their everyday lives. In the United States, the Hollywood blacklist determined who would create, work on, and star in motion pictures; in politics the House Un-American Activities Committee questioned those thought to be communist sympathizers.

Hollywood blacklist:


The Hollywood blacklist—more precisely the entertainment industry blacklist, into which it expanded—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or associations, real or suspected.

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.

· Phil Brown - Actor who moved to England in 1953 to escape the blacklist and didn't return for 40 years.

· Howard Da Silva - Stage actor who was named by Robert Taylor before HUAC.

· Jules Dassin - Director (Topkapi) who went to France to work (he was born in Connecticut).

· Paul Draper - Tap dancer known as The Aristocrat of Tap.

· Jerry Fielding - Composer, blacklisted in Hollywood from 1953 until 1961. Nominated for three academy awards for Best Music.

· Will Geer - Actor, folksinger, and political activist who toured with Woody Guthrie. Best known for his TV role as Grandpa Zeb on The Waltons.

· Lee Grant - Actress blacklisted in 1951 after standing by her then-husband, playwright/screenwriter Arnold Manoff. Nominated for four Supporting Actress Oscars, winning one for Shampoo in 1975.

· Judy Holliday - Though not blacklisted, just being called to testify because of her socialist background was enough to damage her career.

· Marsha Hunt - Actress who was blacklisted along with her husband, writer Robert Presnell, Jr.

· Paul Jarrico - Screenwriter who wrote many screenplays under pseudonyms. See article below, plus PBS interview.

· Victor Kilian - Actor who turned to the stage after being blacklisted in Hollywood. Best known as Mary Hartman's grandfather on the TV show.

· Charles Korvin - Hungarian-born actor who appeared in several films and TV shows during the 50s, despite the blacklist.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

© Layout designed by BeautiifulMistakee