Oral+History


 * __ORAL HISTORY__** **TOPIC:** Effects of the Cold War on the Soviet Homefront


 * INTERVIEW SUBJECT:** Mr. Leonard Bekker

The Cold War. Here in America, most people would think of it as a space race against the Soviet Union. In fact, that is part of what the Cold War was. Before, during WWII, the US and the Soviet Union had been Allies. However, as time progressed, the Soviet Union ended up breaking off from a political friendship with the United States. Why? Because the United States favored a democratic government while the Soviet Union favored a communist government. This was the beginning of non-military-based tension- "cold" tension, where the cold war gets it's name- between the US and the Soviet Union.

The Soviet government intended on spreading communism. They believed that they had that right, that it was justified. They did this through their "sphere of influence". The US, however, did not support this. They feared communism and wanted to stop the spread of it through "containment". One way the United States tried to contain communism was with the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. This gave economic aid to European countries, which would help them stabilize and be less vulnerable to communism spreading to their area. The US also formed NATO which was made in response to alarm over communist control in E. Europe.

Just as the US was trying to stabilize the spread of communism, the Soviet Union was trying to spread communism. For example, China was affected by this and it became a communist nation. Also, the events resulting in the Berlin Airlift are a good example of Stalin trying to take over as much land as he could. The Berlin Airlift, however, made this takeover of Germany stop after 11 months. Stalin also had a wall built between W. and E. Germany, now known as the Berlin wall. This had guns pointing out from it and people were not to cross it. It was built to prevent from people trying to escape to democratic W. Germany. This wall was eventually taken down many years afterward.

However, one of the most known parts of the Cold War is the space race. It started when the Soviets surprised the world by launching a satellite called //Sputnik// to orbirt around the earth. It was the first space satellite in all history and it was successful. This scared the United States because if they had the power to launch a satellite into space, that means they had a missle that was powerful enough to reach the US. The US raced to lauch a satellite into space, setting aside billions for space research and development.

The US believed it was at constant threat of a bomb attack because of this power and knowledge the Soviets had, which the US recently found out about (also because of the Cuban Missle Crisis which led the US to believe the Soviets were supplying the Cuban goverment with bombs and missles to launch at the US). Children were taught to hide under their desks at school. People were told to "duck and cover" anywhere they were in case an atomic bomb were to explode. Hollywood was also gaining money off of the Cold War. Movies made during the Cold War more than often portrayed the US as the protagonist and the Soviet Union as the antagonist. Though many of these movies do not have any historical references in them, the same character/plot arrangement can be found. These movies were also often quite stereotypical against the Soviet Union. For example, William Tynan explains about media during and about the Cold War: "The success of the series is even more remarkable when you consider that in many ways, the cold war is not a subject well suited to TV. As Turner says, "With World War II, you've got panzers, but the cold war was half cerebral." Yet the episodes on nuclear strategy, arms control and diplomacy have moments of great intensity and even humor. Interlocking his fingers to illustrate the mutual grip of terror, Robert McNamara explains deterrence and seems amazed himself at the doctrine's horrifying logic. In the episode on detente, Winston Lord, an aide to Henry Kissinger during the Nixon Administration, describes a summit at which Soviet leaders spend hours hectoring the Americans over Vietnam but then, having created a record to send to Hanoi, turn jovial and break out the vodka." The view of what was happening was clear in the US. However, what was happening on the Soviet homefront and how did their views differ? Find out in an interview with Mr. Leonard Bekker, a man living during the Cold War and it's aftermath, and a man living it on the Soviet homefront.

"Allies to Enemies: Origins of the Cold War (Overview)." __American History__. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 24 May 2009 [|http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com].

Garcia, Jesus, Donna Ogle, C. Frederick Risinger, Joyce Stevos, and Winthrop D. Jordan. //Creating America: A History of the United States//. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2002. Print.

Tynan, William. "The Cold War From Twilight To Dawn." //Time//. 21 Sep 1998. 24 May 2009 [].

A look at how people were often taught to "duck and cover" from the Soviet's a-bomb through propaganda. Find it at- [] media type="custom" key="3867917"
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