The Cold War was a time of political tension between the communist of Eastern Europe lead by the Soviet Union and democracies of the Western World championed by the US that happened after the Second World War. After World War II, numerous complications about international power movement arose. According to Gaddis (2006), the Soviet Union wanted to expand its territory whereas the US tried to subject the advances made by the Soviet Union. The battle of ideas between these two countries heightened diplomatic tension, increased proxy wars and the threat to the national security of each nation. The phrases and words that are linked with the Cold War include a race to space, the Berlin Wall, air raid drills, Bays of Pigs, Cuba crisis, Checkpoint Charley and race to arms.
During this time, the US and the Soviet Union monitored each other closely. If the Soviet Union fired Sputnik, the US retaliated with its space launch. The rigidness between these two nations eventually became a contention between communist and democratic nations (LaFeber W.& LaFeber, 1997). As much as the pressure between these two countries escalated, they did not want to engage in war because they feared that their nuclear war could destroy the entire world. This paper seeks to discuss different conceptions of Cold War based on the interviews carried out on several individuals that were born in the 1950s (dad, James Ruddy), 1960s (aunt, Linda) and 1970s (my friend, Richard).
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James (my dad) points out that the word and phrase that come in his mind regarding the cold war are spies, Berlin Blockade, race to space and communism. Some of the significant the cold war concepts that my father remembers studying in school are the Berlin Wall and race to space between the US and the Soviet Union (Halle & Halle, 1967). He further asserts that the key event that was linked with this particular cold war was the Berlin Blockade. The wall separated the West Berlin and East Berlin. It was constructed to prevent individuals from fleeing Eastern Berlin. It was the perfect symbol that separated the communist countries of Eastern Europe and democratic western countries during the Cold War. From his illustrations, it is clear his words and phrases greatly give a good conception of the cold war.
According to my uncle (Joe), the word and phrases that come in his mind about Cold War conceptions is the Berlin Wall and Space race. Although he scarcely studied the Cold War in School due to his young age, he remembers seeing individuals building bomb shelters in fear of attacks. According to my uncle, the parties that were involved in the cold war during this time were the Soviet Union and the US. The primary events that were linked with the cold war during this time were Cuba blockade by US military and Bays of pigs. As stated by my uncle, every group was put on alert to attack as bombers were being loaded with warheads ready to attack. It was the scariest moment ever experienced and every individual was practicing for the bomb alert. From this interview, Joe’s illustration gives a better description of the Cold War conception.
As coined by Richard (my friend), the words and phrases that indicate Cold War conception is the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cold War concepts that my friend remembers studying in school are the air raid drill and nuclear war. According to my friend (Richard), the US, the Soviet Union, and Germany were the parties that were involved in the Cold War. The main events associated with the Cold War are the race of arms and the intelligence counterintelligence between the Soviet Union and the US. The information collected from Richard such as air raid drills and nuclear war gives a clear depiction of the Cold War.
From the interviews, the conception of the Cold War was a period of distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union. This time was characterized by frequent air raid drills, the race of space, Cuban Missile crises, Berlin Wall and Bays of Pigs. During this period, the USSR consolidated its control over the Eastern Europe states while the United States started a worldwide containment strategy to counter the Soviet Union prowess by stretching their military as well as financial assistance to Western Europe countries. The Berlin Blockade and the Cuba Missile Crises are some of the notable indications of the cold war between the US and the Soviet Union.
From the above interviews, each interviewee has tried to illustrate what he or she perceives as Cold War. Based on the events such as the Cuban Missile Crises, Berlin Wall, race of arms, race, of space, Bays of Pigs and air raid drills that happened during their time, it is clear that each person understands some concepts of the Cold War. The interviewees’ conception of the Cold War appears similar because they happen to have lived at the period these particular events happened. Therefore, the cold war is simply a distrust that occurs between two nations resulting to geopolitical tension as in the case of the long period of tension that occurred between the democracies of the Western World championed by the US and the communist countries of the Eastern Europe lead by the Soviet Union.
References
Gaddis, J. L. (2006). The Cold War: a new history . Penguin.
Halle, L. J., & Halle, L. J. (1967). The cold war as history (pp. 354-371). London: Chatto & Windus.
LaFeber, W., & LaFeber, W. (1997). America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-1966 . McGraw-Hill.
