CNN: Cold War "Reports" - Quarter 3 - 2011

Brendan Boyle
China

This episode talks about the reform that took place after the Communists had secured china. It also talks about the issues between america and china like the korean war. It also covers issues related to WWII like the nuclear threat and the nazi invasions of the surrounding countries. The main people you should know are Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, and Harry Truman. I found that the Chinese were especially dangerous because Mao did a very good job at “brainwashing” his followers. I think this is a worthwile episode becasue it covers so many aspects of the war.

Star Wars
This episode was about Ronald Reagan's attempt to gain an advantage against the soviets in the arms race. He did this by starting a program called star wars that would destroy any missile from the USSR mid-flight. This was not popular around the US because of the amount of money it would use from the US budget. Soviet Union began to show signs of advancing in all aspects of its culture. Some of the important things people should know is the Korean airliner that was shot down, Gorbachov(bad spealling), modernization. I thought the US and Russia both made good calls to help the world move along together and not apart. I would recommend this episode because it is a big turning point in the Cold War.

Abigail Judge
I watched "The Wall Comes Down" episode. The important leaders in this episode are Mikhail Gorbachev (important Soviet member), Miklos Nemeth (Prime Minister of Hungary), Erich Honecker ( led the Germany Democratic Republic [East German]), and George Bush (United States President of the time). This episode is about countries under Communist control revolting. In Hungary, they dismantled the iron fence between their country and Austria. In Poland, Communists were defeated in government elections. In Germany, Germans finally destroyed the Berlin Wall and were reunited once again. The take down of the "Iron Curtain" was a symbol of the end of the Cold War and the presence of Communism in many countries disappearing. I personally feel it was brave of Hungary to take one of the first steps in moving away from Communist control. There was a very high risk in what they were doing and the government acted on it anyway because their people were not happy in the current situation. I believe this video/episode is very informative. I liked that it was a first hand account of people who were actually involved in the things happening during this time. I loved to here the stories of the Cold War from the different perspectives. The best part of the video, for me, is the video footage of the events taking place. It made it feel more real for me, to see the pain, the violence, and in the end overwhelming happiness. All in all, I think this episode is worthwhile to watch because it's interesting and shows a kind of turing point in the war.

The Marshall Plan 1947-1952
After the end of World War II, many countries were suffered economically and much of Western Europe was demolished. Life was hard and many were without jobs and food. Italy was falling to totalitarianism. Stalin was in control of the Soviet Union. The United States wanted to give aid to the countries in need, so General Marshall, the U.S. Secretary of State, created the Marshall Plan, which would provide food and other materials to help rebuild Western Europe. There was question as to whether the Soviet Union would participate. Stalin had spies in London throughout the cold war that sent documents to the Soviets about the Marshall Plan. Because of the information found in the documents, Stalin, not surprisingly, pulled out of the Marshall Plan. He viewed the plan as the U.S. trying to gain support and impose their influence on Europe, something he had was not willing to participate in. Czechoslovakia was threatened by Stalin to not take part in the Marshall Plan. As countries signed up to participate in the Marshall Plan or choose not to participate, the battle lines of the Cold War were being drawn. Due largely to Stalin's influence, Communists took power in Czechoslovakia. Greece was in a terrible state, but received aid through the Marshall Plan and was helped because of it. Other countries such as France and Yugoslavia also received aid through the Marshall Plan. In Italy, there was a separation between the communists and the Christian Democrats. With help from U.S. influence, the Democrats won over the Communists and they decided to stay in the western block. Because of this they received help from the Marshall Plan as well. So the Marshall Plan was a successful program that helped many countries after World War II, it was a way for the United States to gain support and impose their influence, and it was a major factor in the Cold War against the Soviet Union. I thought that even though part of the reasoning behind the Marshall Plan was to gain support, it was still a very effective and successful program. This video helped to understand the Marshall Plan and the way it connected multiple different countries and played a role in the Cold War, and I would recommend watching it.

I watched "Korea", which covered the split of the country into a North and South half divided by the 38th parallel. North Korea was taken over by Russia, giving communist Kim Il Sung power and beginning the People's Republic. In South Korea, the U.S. had control, which they handed off to Syngman Rhee to start the Republic of Korea, which was anti-communist. North Korea decided to invade South Korea, with the help of the Soviet Union and eventually China, and succeeded in chasing them far down to southeast Korea. The United Nations joined South Korea, and MacArthur returned to head a retaliation and lead battles in North Korea. Basically, North and South Korea fought a proxy war to end up signing an armistice and agreeing on keeping the borders they had before, at the cost of millions of lives, including those of citizens and soldiers from Korea, the Soviet Union, China, the United States and the United Nations. I found it interesting that the two halves of one formerly united country could be so different. This video was helpful and, being 45 minutes long, went further into depth on the rulers and the battles. However, I think that the rest of the class will be fine to just read the chapter in the textbook as it covers the main points, and I only recommend this if someone has extra time before the test or if they're simply interested in the Korean war.

I watched "Spies". This episode of the CNN special was about double-agents or moles that infiltrated the US and the Soviet. Each side had secret spies that worked to obtain information to send back to their country. The information that was passed along determined key events in the cold war. Ted Haul was only 19 when we worked on the Manhatten Project. While working on the project, he felt the need to share the information about the project and key factors on how to create and atom bomb to the soviets to prevent one country from having too much power and take over like the Nazis. This information helped save the Soviets about two years of work and soon after the americans, the soviets had created an atom bomb. This event with Ted led was the precedent to using double-agents to pass along information from the "enemy". At first the US' attempts to get a mole into the soviet failed because of how closed off the Soviets were and because agents would be betrayed by the KGB and the british intelligence agency. Kim Philby is a well known traitor. He told the Soviets how many people, where they were going to enter, and what they were planning on doing. Many spies were caught and interrogated. However, the US recieved some soviet information from Oleg Penkovksy. He informed us that the Soviet's nuclear powers or weapons were not as elaborate or plentiful as they had led us to believe. I very much enjoyed this episode because I have always been interested in spies and espionage. The episode started with a US spy caught by the KGB and being held in an arm lock to prevent him from swallowing poison and searching him. The episode also continues on about how spies that were caught were interrogated and the information that they would say would determine wether they would live or die. I was quite shocked at how serious the situation for the spies were because I often only think about soldiers on the front line in wars but these spies were fighting a war of their own. I would recommend this episode to anyone who is interested in spies and seeing the less known stories of the cold war.

1. Soldiers of God 1975-1988. This episode is about Soviet and U.S interference in Afghanistan. The U.S aided the Afghans in their fight against communism by supplying the Mujahideen, or "soldiers of God" with weaponry, most notably, the stinger missile.

2. Nur Mohammad Taraki- Came to power in Afghanstan. He attempted to modernize the country on Marxist-Leninist lines. For instance, he dealed out land to the peasants. Taraki's reforms angered many Islamic fundamentalists. "God has decided who is rich and who is poor."

Hafizullah Amin- Leader that succeeds Taraki. He is weaker than the soviets would like. When he comes to power, the Soviets finally decide to intervene militarily.

Mujahideen- These were the "soldiers of God" who fought the communists. They were mostly peasants, and were supplied by the U.S with weaponry.

Jihad- holy war.

Stinger missiles- Used against the soviet air helicopters and planes by the Mujahideen.

Geneva Accords- An agreement in 88' that barred further fighting. This ban, however, was ignored on both sides, and bloodshed continued.

3. A. There were many traditional Afghans who saw communism as a threat to old customs. They saw communism as against the law. And this provoked a rebellion
B. The Soviets eventually began to intervene after Hafizullah Amin takes power. The Soviets soon find themselves facing a hostile army on unfamiliar land.
C. The Soviets, fighting a useless war against the Mujahideens (who were supplied by the Americans) refused to withdraw their forces because the couldn't afford to lose prestige.

4. I thought the episode was very informative and interesting. I was amazed by the extent at which the Americans supplied the Mujahideens.
5. I think this is a worthwhile episode to watch. This is an important event in the Cold War and should not be overlooked.

Good Guys, Bad Guys -Mark Miller

The US, and the Soviet continue to fight non-violently. They try to create alliances with nations not yet allied with one of the powers. Egypt is allies with the USSR. The US demonstrates its power in the Middle East during the Yom Kippur War, by bringing Israel and Egypt to negotiate. Cuba defends Marxists in Somalia.

1. The US and USSR continue non-violent warfare.
2. Israel allies with the US and Egypt allies with the USSR
3. Communist Cuba defends Ethopia.
4. Interviewees were Saad El Shazly, Abba Eban, Simcha Dinitz, Holden Roberto, Pik Botha and Jimmy Carter. I didn't like how the USSR was going to intervene when Israel was about to destroy the Egyptian army.
5. It wasn't the most thrilling thing to watch, but if you're interested in the Cold War it could be worthwhile to watch.

• Key Terms or People
⁃ Ho Chi Minh
⁃ Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Seen as an instrument of the communist. (North Vietnamese leader)
⁃ Vietcong
⁃ Determined to unite the communist North Vietnam and Southern Vietnam.
⁃ Main enemy.
⁃ General William Westmoreland
⁃ General in charge of US troops in South Vietnam
⁃ Tonkin Gulf Resolution
⁃ Allowed the United States to go to war against North Vietnam.
⁃ President Johnson
⁃ President in office during the start of the Vietnam War.
⁃ North Vietnam
⁃ Communist
⁃ "Enemy" during the Vietnam War
⁃ Battle of la Drang
⁃ First major clash between Vietnamese and American troops
⁃ Search and destroy missions
⁃ Tactic used by the united states to combat vietcong.
⁃ Used in place of gaining land.
⁃ Operation Rolling Thunder
⁃ Title given to the bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic if Vietnam.
⁃ Ho Chi Minh trail
⁃ Central Vietcong supply line.
⁃ Ran through neutral Laos and Cambodia
⁃ Hanoi
⁃ Capital of Vietnam which received heavy bombing.
• Key main Conclusions
⁃ The Vietnam War, like many wars fought in the midst of the Cold War was based off of the struggle of the United States to suppress the expansion of the Communist party.
⁃ The Soviet Union and China, both communist backed North Vietnams struggle. Sending equipment to back their communist partner.
⁃ The war was widely protested and unsupported by civilians back home.
⁃ Fought between North Vietnam coupled with the Vietcong and the United States.
I thought that both nations acted irresponsibly. The United States entered the war with only the size of their ego to back them up. Without any real plan or goal in mind, the Vietnam war seemed to be a slow, agonizing defeat. Likewise, I viewed the tactics and strategies used by the Vietcong barbaric. They fought the war in a horrific way causing many unneeded civilian casualties.

I found this episode very interesting. Having never learnt about the Vietnam War before, I took a lot away from this episode. Anyone interested in learning a big chunk of history and american foreign policy should give this episode a view.

My episode was about the Vietnam War. Fought between the North Vietnamese and Vietcong against the United States, the war cost many American lives. Fought in the midst of the Cold War, Vietnam served as a battle ground between the United States and Communist China and Soviet Union. The United States were determined to stop the spread of Communism and annexation of Southern Vietnam by vietcong forces and used multiple search and destroy missions partnered with Operation Rolling Thunder to do so. Vietnam was fought under the presidency of President Johnson, extending into President Nixon's reign.

• Key Terms or People
⁃ Ho Chi Minh
⁃ Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Seen as an instrument of the communist. (North Vietnamese leader)
⁃ Vietcong
⁃ Determined to unite the communist North Vietnam and Southern Vietnam.
⁃ Main enemy.
⁃ General William Westmoreland
⁃ General in charge of US troops in South Vietnam
⁃ Tonkin Gulf Resolution
⁃ Allowed the United States to go to war against North Vietnam.
⁃ President Johnson
⁃ President in office during the start of the Vietnam War.
⁃ North Vietnam
⁃ Communist
⁃ "Enemy" during the Vietnam War
⁃ Battle of la Drang
⁃ First major clash between Vietnamese and American troops
⁃ Search and destroy missions
⁃ Tactic used by the united states to combat vietcong.
⁃ Used in place of gaining land.
⁃ Operation Rolling Thunder
⁃ Title given to the bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic if Vietnam.
⁃ Ho Chi Minh trail
⁃ Central Vietcong supply line.
⁃ Ran through neutral Laos and Cambodia
⁃ Hanoi
⁃ Capital of Vietnam which received heavy bombing.
• Key main Conclusions
⁃ The Vietnam War, like many wars fought in the midst of the Cold War was based off of the struggle of the United States to suppress the expansion of the Communist party.
⁃ The Soviet Union and China, both communist backed North Vietnams struggle. Sending equipment to back their communist partner.
⁃ The war was widely protested and unsupported by civilians back home.
⁃ Fought between North Vietnam coupled with the Vietcong and the United States.
I thought that both nations acted irresponsibly. The United States entered the war with only the size of their ego to back them up. Without any real plan or goal in mind, the Vietnam war seemed to be a slow, agonizing defeat. Likewise, I viewed the tactics and strategies used by the Vietcong barbaric. They fought the war in a horrific way causing many unneeded civilian casualties.

I found this episode very interesting. Having never learnt about the Vietnam War before, I took a lot away from this episode. Anyone interested in learning a big chunk of history and american foreign policy should give this episode a view.

I watched the “Spies” episode of CNN’s Cold War documentary series. Basically, the episode outlined various spy techniques and incidents from 1944 to 1994, specifically between the CIA (United States) and the KGB (Soviet Union). It highlighted the enormous lengths to which people would go to spy on the enemy and gain information, and the complexity of strategy during the Cold War. A prominent example would be the Berlin Tunnel, built by the US and Britain underground to try to gain information from the Soviet Army headquarters during the ‘50s. Because of George Blake, a British man spying for the Soviet Union, the KGB actually found out about the endeavor early on, but said nothing in order to keep Blake’s position as an informant in Britain safe. Likewise, Oleg Penkovsky, a Russian spying for the United States, informed the US about Soviet plans of missile launch sites on Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. (Many other spies were mentioned as well, I just found those two particularly interesting.) The main key term in this episode was a “mole,” or a spy who works in an enemy nation, gathering information for the country they are truly loyal to.

Three main ideas to take away from this episode… Spies played a huge role in the strategy of the Cold War. The networking of spies and the web of knowledge between the USSR and the US was extremely complex, tense, and confusing. Also, though there was technically no fighting in the traditional sense, spies during the Cold War were like soldiers in “normal” wars in the sense that many did risk their lives and were executed or imprisoned because of their actions.

While watching this episode, I was amazed by the level of complexity involved with espionage. It sounds kind of obvious that spying is a complicated business, but even so I hadn’t quite realized the extent of the spying network, and what people would do for their country. Another aspect of the episode talked about “everyday” spies, people who appeared to be normal citizens but were really undercover for one country or another. Some people spied simply for the thrill of adventure. One wife found out her husband had been spying on her for years during their marriage when she got access to her KGB file… it just brings to mind how strange the human mind is inherently, and how nothing is really as it seems most of the time. I found this episode really interesting and would recommend it to anyone interested in espionage. It gives a large overview with a lot of interesting tidbits and stories.

1. The episode “Berlin” was primarily about the conflict between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies taking place in Berlin. In 1947, while the Western allies, France, Britain, and the United States, wanted to limit their influence in Germany and allow the German economy to revive, the Soviet Union wanted both to keep Germany constrained and spread its communist influence. After several disputes between the two powers, the Soviet Union created a blockade on all rail, road, and canal transport to West Berlin. The Western allies provided for the Berliners with the Berlin Airlift operation.
2. Key Terms:
• Berlin, Germany: containing 3.5 million citizens, this city was the only place Soviet and Western allied troops came in contact, making it a battle zone. Berlin was subject to a Soviet blockade that kept imports from the city and civilians
• Ernest Bevin: British Foreign secretary that believed European recovery depended on Germany development
• General Lucius D. Clay: American military officer who implemented Western plans.
• Allied Control Council: exchanged information with Soviet counterparts
3. Firstly, it is important to know that Germany was split into four occupation zones after World War II inhabited by the Soviets, the French, the British, and the Americans. In addition, Berlin was split into four zones controlled by the previous groups. The Soviet Union and the Western allies wanted two separate things for Germany: the Soviets wanted to control and weaken German growth while spreading communist ideas while the Western allies wanted to limit their influence in Germany and allow the German economy to develop on its own. Secondly, Berlin was linked to its twelve thousand tons of imports by a rail and road connected to the U.S. military zone’s city, Hanover. The Soviet Union blockaded these paths and keep Berlin as a sort of hostage. The third conclusion is the counterattack of the Western Allies, the Berlin Airlift operation.
4. I extremely surprised by the hardship the Berliners had to endure during the blockade. Not only were the food sources eliminated, the Soviet Union cut electricity in Western Berlin, including the dismantling of the only power station. Even before the blockade, the struggle for currency between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies prevented the Berliners from building up their personal savings and led to confusion and fluctuation in the economy. During the blockade, the Western Allies counterattack involved blockading the Soviet zone of Berlin, leading to hardship and unemployment for all of Berlin. The people of Berlin were used as puppets in the scheme of a political struggle.
5. This episode was very information and gave me a better understanding of life in Berlin and the struggle between the Soviet Union and the Western allies. I would recommend this episode for others who are especially curios about the blockade.

Good Guys, Bad Guys
Isabel McKeown

1. The title of my episode was "Good Guys, Bad Guys." This episode focused on the major events of World War II that would lead up to the Cold War. The episode first mentions the Great Depression, Hitler's conquest on countries to its west, and the German invasion on the Soviet Union. After the German invasion of the SU, "the future outlines of the Cold War began to form." With the German declaration of war on the United States, Russia and the U.S. became allies. The tide of war soon turned at the defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad. Next was D-Day and other movements toward Germany's defeat. After the German defeat was the Yalta Conference with Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt. Later, the United Nations organization was created in San Francisco. As the Germans surrendered to the United Nations, the soviet front line cut Europe in two. Truman's statement that the decisions of the Yalta conference were not being carried out in some countries was made. This was a part of the Potsdam conference, which added to tensions between Russia and the United States. The episode ends with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Soon multiple countries would be able to produce atomic bombs and the human race would be able to destroy itself in a day.
2. Firstly, one should know the main representatives of the three major powers after WWII. This would be Stalin from Russia, Churchill from Britain, and Roosevelt and Truman from the United States. Some important conferences were the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference. The Yalta Conference was held to discuss Europe's post-war reorganization. The "Big Three" that were present were Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt. The Potsdam Conference's purpose was to discuss the punishment of Nazi Germany, establish post-war order, and resolve negative effects of the war. The three nations were represented by Stalin, Churchill, and Truman at this conference.
3. Firstly, major events and outcomes at the end of World War II not only led to the end of the war, but they also led to tension in the Cold War. Secondly, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman were the representatives of the three powers that would end World War II and soon be involved in the Cold War. Thirdly, the development of the atomic bomb by the Untied States was major since it led to the rest of the world developing atomic weapons. The human race would be able to destroy itself in one day.
4. In general, there was nothing surprising in this episode so I didn't have a major reaction. After studying all these events, I knew what to expect. However one thing that cause my attention was Stalin. To me, something about his behavior stood out to me. Maybe it was the way he was late to a conference, or how he was so persistent on hosting a conference even when others suggested it be in the west. He did nothing obvious, but something about him caught my attention and made his presence seem a little dangerous to me.
5. This episode was quite informative on many of the major events of World War II. For those who do not know much about the war, this episode would be interesting. However for students of my class, this episode covered events that we have already learned a lot about. To me it was more of a review, and there was nothing very shocking and entertaining that would make me suggest it to a classmate.

1. I watched the cold war episode about the Marshall Plan (1947-1952).
This episode is mainly about the Americans helping the Europeans finically. This plan was called the Marshall Plan. The Americans also offered money to the Soviets and their allies, but they did not accept. Stalin believed the Americans were trying to weaken the Soviets. He believed if he accepted the money, then he would be admitting they needed help. Overall, in the end, the Marshall plan brought European countries and America closer.

2. Marshall Plan= The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism.
Big Four at the Meeting of Moscow= Russia, US, France, Britain.
Isolationism= a policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, esp. the political affairs of other countries.

3. The Marshall Plan had the effect of modernizing Europe. The Marshall Plan helped stop communism. The Marshall Plan brought countries closer.

4. I found the United States praiseworthy. They gave billion dollars to Europe and help stop communism.

5. I would recommend this episode to any who is interested in how the Marshall Plan effected this world.

1. I watched the Berlin episode. It was basically the summary of Berlin being divided between Russia, United States, England and France. It showed the struggle and hardships the Berliners faced during the blockade. It also explained the political stance of the Allies and soviets.
2. Some key people:
- General Lucius Clay- American General posted in the West Side of Berlin.
- Stalin- Leader of Russia
- Harry Truman- President of United States.
- Winston Churchill- Prime minister of England.
- Ernest Bevin- Secretary of Britain, believed in democratic government.
- Vasily Sokolovsky- leader of the Russian Sector
Key Terms
- Deutsche Mark- currency of West Berlin.
- The East German Mark- currency of East Berlin
3. Three main points that people should take away from this episode was the lives of Berliners, political stances and how close we came to war. The lives of Berliners were very hard. Especially when the blockade was enacted. The West side had power for four hours at a time. There food source was very limited and jobs were very hard to find. The live of Berliners tried many times to protest but it would always be broken up by the russian troops. Second point they should take away is the politics in Berlin. The whole blockade was set up because the Allies held a meeting in London without the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union found out and asked about it. The Allies refused to share information so hence the blockade. We also came very close to war at this time. General Clay wanted to march with Arm Forces towards the Soviet Union. This situation had to be handled very delicately.
4. I was actually surprised because I disagreed with the Allies. I do not know why the Allies did not just tell the Soviet Union about the plans. Yes, It was a little rash for the Soviet Union to do a blockade causing people to starve. It was a new perspective I took on things. I also really enjoy General Clay, he seemed very smart and in touch with the people.
5. If a person would like to know what happened during the Berlin airlifts and the reasoning for the blockade, then watch this episode. It was also really cool of all the footage they had with the planes unloading & loading supplies.

Comrades.
1. Tension has been rising between the USA and the USSR since 1917, the outbreak of the Russian Revolution. The biggest difference of these countries is that the Soviets are Communists and the Americans are Capitalists. This episode is a summary of US-Soviet interactions before the Cold War and WWII. This episode introduces Most of the Key players in the Cold War and the lead-up to it.
2. Key people and terms (in no particular order)
Stalin - Communist leader of the USSR
Churchill - Leader of Great Britain during WWII
Truman - President of the US at the end of WWII
Russian revolution of 1917 - fight between the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks, US supported the Mensheviks (anti-communists) and the Communists won…
Roosevelt - between the wars, president roosevelt strengthened ties between the US and Russia
Molotov-Ribbentrop nonaggression Pact - German/Soviet treaty that upset Great Britain and The United States, both were upset with Stalin being a dictator and not opposing the Nazis. Hitler later broke this treaty and the Soviets joined the Allies.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Two Japanese cities that were bombed with an Nuclear weapon to end World War Two in the Pacific. This was the first use of an atomic bomb in warfare.
3. Three main points
-Although the USA and USSR were on the same side during both world wars, relations between the countries were not always great, leading up to the cold war
-The Soviets felt a little "used" when they lost more than 40 times the troops of GB and the US combined
-USA=Capitalist, don't like communist. USSR=Communist, don't like capitalist.
4. I think the Soviets, and Stalin in particular, acted dangerously. The Allied countries knew that tension was rising and so the leaders acted very politely to each other, but Stalin made bold decisions and did what he wanted for the sake of the USSR, which could have been one of the contributing factors that led to the Cold War.
5. I feel like it is definitely worthwhile watching "Comrades" because it sets up the Cold War and describes the Soviet-US relation leading up to the Cold War.

This episode was called "MAD." It was all about the development of nuclear weapons. It also included what prevented the world from entering nuclear was. The main reason was MAD, or mutually assured destruction. It was really interesting to get a behind the scene look at the Cold War and its effect on people's lives. The most interesting thing I learned was how powerful the new nuclear weapons were getting. I believe it said one missile was more powerful then all bombs set off before it combined. It was also cool to see the progression of the technology within the weapons. (it was also a bit scary). I am not sure there are too many really important people or terms to know from this, but a couple are MAD and the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is really scary how close we got to war. I had never heard about how there were accidents where missiles were shot. That was probably the one moment that stuck out to me. I would definitely recommend watching this show. My dad and sat down and watched this together it was so good. I will most likely be watching all the other episodes in the series too.

This episode was called "MAD." It was all about the development of nuclear weapons. It also included what prevented the world from entering nuclear was. The main reason was MAD, or mutually assured destruction. It was really interesting to get a behind the scene look at the Cold War and its effect on people's lives. The most interesting thing I learned was how powerful the new nuclear weapons were getting. I believe it said one missile was more powerful then all bombs set off before it combined. It was also cool to see the progression of the technology within the weapons. (it was also a bit scary). I am not sure there are too many really important people or terms to know from this, but a couple are MAD and the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is really scary how close we got to war. I had never heard about how there were accidents where missiles were shot. That was probably the one moment that stuck out to me. I would definitely recommend watching this show. My dad and sat down and watched this together it was so good. I will most likely be watching all the other episodes in the series too.

CNN Cold War Report: Sputnik
In this episode of CNN Cold War Report, the Soviet Union becomes the second nation to possess nuclear weapons. As a result, a nuclear arms race ensues between the United States and the Soviet Union. In addition, the space race between the two aforementioned nations has begun. The Soviet Union has place Sputnik (the first unmanned satellite) and the first man in space, while the United States appears to be lagging behind.

Key People:
• Igor Kurchatov “The Beard” (Russian nuclear bomb project leader)
• Klaus Fukes (Russian spy on the Manhattan Project)
• Robert Oppenheimer (Leader of the Manhattan Project)
• Harry S. Truman (33rd President of the United States) - Democrat
• Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th President of the United States) – Republican
• Nikita Khrushchev (Leader of Soviet Union after Stalin)
• Wernher von Braun (German rocket scientist who worked for the U.S.)
• Gary Powers (Flew U2 flight that was shot down)
• Yuri Gagarin (1st man in space)

Key Terms:
• ICBM – Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

Reaction/Recommendation:
This episode was a very interesting episode of CNN Cold War Report. Although it is titled Sputnik, the episode focused mainly on the development of the nuclear arms race. Part of the episode showed the development of the hydrogen bomb, and during this portion, I wondered how the scientists who developed these weapons must have felt. The ethics behind the development of nuclear weapons was an issued raised in this episode, and I found myself a bit conflicted by the issue. In addition, I found the entire idea behind the massive nuclear arms buildup extraordinary scary. In the end, I would recommend this episode because it featured a blend of science and military operations. It was also very informative and helped better my understanding of the beginning of the arms build up and the space race.

The episode I watched was titled "Freeze". During the episode President Jimmy Carter had declared to "remove all of the nuclear weapons off the face of the Earth" along with Leonid Brezhnev who wanted to reverse the arms race, but sooner or later they ran into their problems and had their disagreements. Although, these countries stated that they wanted to stop the arms race, they both continued to either reinforce their defenses or make more nuclear weapons.

Key People:
Gerald Ford: President of the United States, predecessor of Jimmy Carter; made a move towards détenté

Jimmy Carter: President of the United States, worked against nuclear arms race

Leonid Brezhnev: General Secretary of the Soviet Union

Key Terms:
Arms Race
Helsinki Declaration

Reaction:

There really wasn't much to react to due to the fact that this episode really dealt with the deals and pacts that the US and Russia made. The episode really talked about information more than what happened physically.

Recommendation:

I believe that "Freeze" is definitely a good episode to watch due to the fact that it has loads of information. This information helped me understand what happened more thoroughly, how things occurred, and what happened to both countries and not just the United States.

I watched the episode “Détente”. It was about how the U.S. and USSR wanted to slow down the arms race. President Nixon first tried to get troops out of the war in Vietnam by improving relations with USSR and China. Many Americans were very unhappy with the enormous casualties in Vietnam. The U.S.’ better relations with China worried the USSR, but summits with the Soviet Union relaxed tensions and led to concrete arms control agreements, laying the foundation of Détente. Willy Brandt then introduced Ostpolitik, which normalized West German relations with East Germany. American bombings of Hanoi brought North Vietnam to negotiate and led to the Paris Peace Accords, which allowed the American troops to finally leave Vietnam. The Peace Accords did not end the fighting in Vietnam however, and led to Saigon’s fall. The Helsinki Accords was signed by 35 states to recognize human rights and the post war division of Europe.

Key terms:
Détente
Ostpolitik
Paris Peace Accords
Helsinki Accords

Key people:
President Nixon
President Leonid Brezhnev
Willy Brandt
Henry Kissinger
Vietnam
USSR

3 main points:
1. Détente led to a better coexistence of the superpowers rather than war.
2. Détente was very long political process that produced much violence along the way
3. American citizens had great disapproval towards the actions Nixon was taking to fulfill détente and the relations between the superpowers were fairly thin throughout the whole process.

Reactions/recommendations:
I think that Nixon handled the situations he was forced to overcome fairly well. While many Americans believed that Nixon should not have bombed Hanoi, I think that he did not really have another choice in order to get North Vietnam to even begin to cooperate. I also think that Brezhnev and Nixon together handled the détente well and did a good job relaxing tensions between nations. I would recommend this episode because it gives you a good picture on how complicated and long the process of détente was.

1. I watched "The Wall comes down" and is was generally about the countries around the Iron curtain breaking their bonds with communism and pulling apart from the soviet union. For instance in Hungary when they took down the Iron fencing with Austria and in Poland the communists lost in the elections. As well as in Germany. the episode focused on Germany and the issues between East and West and how they eventually became reunited. They also compared so parts of communism to other parts of the world such as China.
2. Mikhail Gorbachev
Miklos Nemeth - humgarian Prime minister
Eric Honecker -East German minister
Wojchiech Jaruzelski - polish head of state
George Bush - US president
James Baker III - US Secretary of State
Hans Dietrich Genscher - West German Foreign Minister
Viacheslav Kochemasov - Soviet Ambassador to GDR
Egon Krenz - East German Leader
3. Firstly that the
4. I thought it was interesting the different perspectives between the east german man about the Soviet Union and the other countries. I was surprised how much East Germans wanted the countries behind the Iron curtain stayed communist. It was also strange how Gorbachov automatically assumed that the eastern European countries would not at all turn away from socialism, but stay with it with a "human face". when given free elections. It was really interesting hearing from different people that were in different Eastern European nations. I thought it was slightly creepy how Honaker appreciated how the Chinese dealt with protesters in Tianamin square. It was also sad but interesting how Honecker thought of the people emigrating from East Germany were ungrateful, and that he didn't not get the point that there needed to be change. It was really moving to see clips and testamonies from East Germans trying to escape to West Germany, the faces and the feelings of the people. It was weird to have the East German government so speechless and unsure what to do about the protesters who had stayed in East Germany. I think when Gorbachev came to East Germany and all the trained youth started chanting Gorby, it really showed how the people really needed change in Germany. It was very strange how through all this time Honecker seemed oblivious to what was happening within his country. I feel very bad for the people of East Germany that they had to deal with the fear of what happened in China to protesters; it must have been very scary to know that the army was coming anticipating a fight. It was very moving to hear the reactions of the people when they learned that the people could have free movement from East Berlin.
5. I would definitely recommend this video to anyone who wanted to understand how the wall came down and the people of East Berlin were allowed to free travel to West Berlin.

I watched the episode Iron Curtain

While the episode talked very little about the concept of the Iron Curtain, mentioning it a couple times in the middle of it, it shows of how countries reacted after the war. For example, the US was much wealthier than it was before the war. Another example of what occurred after the war is the shortage of food in germany. Some important figures of the time include Winston Churchill, President Truman and Joseph Stalin. Winston Churchill was a major figure during this time as he helped win the war for the allies. He was also widely popular in America after giving a famous speech during Trumans presidency. I was quite interested by many of the things I learned from this video. I was interested in the fact that Stalin ruled with a "steel grip" and how he was elected even though he only promised hardship for his country. I was also astonished by the translation of his speech which practically declared WWIII on all the non-communist countries. I would definitely recommend this video to anyone who wants a clearer view on what occurred after the war and what happend when Stalin dropped his Iron Curtain.

I watched the episode of Soldiers of God. It was about the conflicts between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. The clash began when Nur Mohammad Taraki came to power and attempted to modernize Afghanistan. He made several reforms, such as literacy for women. However, his attempt to turn the country into a Marxist one provoked a rebellion. Initially, the Soviets are reluctant to intervene, but when Taraki is replaced by Hafizullah Amin, they invade Afghanistan. The United States fight on the side of the Afghani soldiers because they want to weaken the Soviet Union. This began in 1975 and lasted until 1988. In the beginning, Jimmy Carter was president, but things changed when Reagan was elected. He had a tougher stance on foreign policy than Carter did and the war got bloodier. In the episode, there were interviews with men from each side. It gave the war an interesting, more human perspective. Something that particularly caught my attention was an interview with two Soviet soldiers. They talked about the reality of war and killing, and what it is like to live under what they thought of as an “evil” government. In 1988, there was a peace agreement signed in Geneva, and the Soviets left Afghanistan. However, other terms of the agreement (the Geneva Accords) were ignored. At the end of the war, a total of 5 million Afghanis were wounded or forced to flee, and one million were killed. 15,000 Soviet soldiers were killed. I think this is a worthwhile episode to watch. It gives a new side to the Cold War, and some close-up, graphic footage of what it was actually like. The interviews are also informative and I learned a lot watching this documentary.