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The Berlin Airlift
The Soviet Union blocked others out of Berlin on June 24, 1948. Until May 1949, the blockade remained while British and US planes flew out 1.5 million tons of supplies to their Western people there. It finally ended and the Soviet Union lifted up their blockade after 200,000 flights were made. This represented the economic and social gaspire themes because many supplies were flown out for their own citizens. It impacted the Cold War because the USSR tried to take Berlin but couldn't. -
Hydrogen-Bomb Testing
As the Soviet Union started testing their atomic bombs on the Marshall Islands, the United States responded by creating and testing their own atomic bombs. As a result, toxic nuclear gas was sent into the atmosphere by the US and the USSR. This is the political and economic gaspire theme because as one country starts testing nuclear weapons, the other country feels the need to respond to prove themselves as more powerful than the other. This impacted the Cold War because high tension was made. -
NATO
The United States created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which was a military alliance between countries that wanted to join. It included the US, Great Britain, Canada, France and eight others in the West. This was the political gaspire theme because it created a huge alliance between many Western countries which was good for the US. It affected the Cold War because if the Soviet Union attacked any one of those countries, the US would be obliged to attack back at the USSR. -
The Korean War
North Korea tried to become one big communist nation with South Korea but the United States came to South Korea's aid. The Communist nations of the Soviet Union and China came to North Korea's aid by sending them weapons and military support. Eventually, the war ended in a stalemate in which both sides of Korea re-established their border along the 38th Parallel. This is a political gaspire theme because NK wanted to be one nation again with SK. It allowed Communist allies to be created. -
The Marshall Plan
The United States Secretary of State George Marshall created an aid program to help Europe. They sent almost $13 billion to Europe from 1948 to 1952 but the Soviet Union did not accept their help. This was a political gaspire theme because the USSR did not accept the US money because they felt that they would be indebted by the US and would owe them money, which they did not want to do. This impacted the war because the US provided aid to EU countries to ensure they didn't turn to Communism. -
The Warsaw Pact
It was the Soviet Union's version of the US's NATO. It was a military alliance in which the USSR forced seven other Eastern European countries to join. There was no choice in joining the Warsaw Pact, unlike in NATO. This was the social and political gaspire theme because it was a military alliance between countries but the USSR also forced their power over the countries to make them join which was their social power shown. It impacted the war because the USSR tried to get stronger through this. -
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Soviet Union supported a man named Fidel Castro who overthrew the Cuban Government and implemented a Communist regime. The United States invaded Cuba in the spring of 1961 with over 1000 exiles. The invasion failed and all diplomatic relations with the United States and Cuba were cut. This is a political gaspire theme because the US cut off all ties with Cuba because their views became different from their Capitalistic views. This impacted the war because Cuba was lost to the Soviet Union. -
The First Man in Space
The Soviet Union launched into space in 1961 and their astronaut, Yuri Gagarin, was the first man to be in space. This was considered a victory for the USSR. This was a cultural gaspire theme because it showed how the USSR and the US were rivals even in the Great Space Race. It impacted the Cold War because the US felt like they had to beat the Soviet Union and have the first man on the moon be one of theirs. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
It was an invasion of Cuba in which the Soviet Union placed one of their nuclear missiles on Cuba and the US threatened to bomb the USSR if they did not remove the missile. Eventually, the missile was removed from Cuba. This was an economic gaspire theme because Cuba was being used for the storage of USSR nuclear missiles. This impacted the Cold War because the Soviet Union got very close to the US and thus forced the US to intervene due to the closeness of Cuba to the United States. -
The First Man on the Moon
The United States responded to the USSR in the early 1960's by claiming that they will put the first man on the moon. Later, they actually succeeded in 1969 on Apollo 11. This was a social and intellectual win for the United States as they could say they put the first man on the Moon, before the Soviet Union did, and thus show that their technology was better than the Soviet Union's. It impacted the Cold War because tensions ran even higher as the US bragged about making it to the moon first. -
SALT I
A Soviet premier named Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT document (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) which confirmed that both sides of the war would stop creating nuclear missiles. Later on, tensions rose again under Reagan's presidency. This represents the political gaspire theme because a document was signed to make sure that the war does not progress with nuclear weapons. This impacted the Cold War because the war was slowed down for a bit and some tensions went away until some years later. -
The Reagan Doctrine
During the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan, like many others, shared the belief that the spread of Communism was fatal to the world. Thus, he came up with a doctrine which was used for donating military and financial aid to anticommunist governments and countries around the world. This was a political gaspire theme because it was an actual paper that was legally signed and allowed the US to support their 'allies'. It impacted the war because the US was in other countries to stop Communism. -
The Soviet Union falls
Premier Mikhail Gorbachev was integrated into the USSR office in 1985. He created two new policies for the Soviet Union, "Glasnost", political openness, and "Perestroika" or economic reform. The USSR was being crushed under severe economic troubles and political issues. He reduced the Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. It was an economic, political, and cultural change for the USSR as Communism was starting to fail. It impacted the war because the USSR was losing to Capitalism. -
The Berlin Wall
As the Soviet Union was collapsing, the Berlin Wall was considered a long-lasting symbol of the Soviet Union. In November of 1989, the Berlin Wall was destroyed. Just before, President Reagan had said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." This was a cultural and social event because the wall represented the last of Communism and it being broken down. It impacted the Cold War because it was the final event to fully end the Cold War and the Soviet Union. -
The End of the Cold War
By 1991, the Cold War had been stopped due to economic and political turmoil. The collapse of the Berlin Wall was the last straw for the Soviet Union. This was a political gaspire theme because it was the final end of the Cold War with the USSR collapsing. It impacted the Cold War because it was the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union had too many problems outside and within their Communist government to last any longer. -
The Lowering of the Last Soviet Flag
For the last time, the Soviet flag flew over Moscow on Christmas day. Many Soviet republics (Ukraine, Russian Federation, etc.) declared themselves to no longer be part of the Soviet Union. They instead decided to become a Commonwealth of Independent States. This was the political and economic gaspire themes because it was the last of the Soviet Union and countries branched out to have their own independence for once. It impacted the war because the USSR was fully gone and would never be back. -
Interview notes
My take-aways from this interview assignment is that people who weren’t in America or the Soviet Union did not think about the Cold War as often. My parents were in Serbia, so in Eastern Europe, but they did not tend to think about the Cold War and Communism as often as Americans might have done. One thing that is common between my parents thinking and typical American thinking is that they both believed that the Soviet Union was archaic and bad due to its Communist ideals.
