From my Cold War primary source shelves: J. Edgar Hoover’s Masters of Deceit (1958) replete with high school student scholarship contest! #history#ColdWar#books#America#Communism
"Unstable nuclear-waste dams threaten fertile Central Asia heartland"
"Dams holding vast amounts of uranium mine tailings above the fertile Fergana valley in Central Asia are unstable, threatening a possible Chernobyl-scale nuclear disaster if they collapse that would make the region uninhabitable, studies have revealed."
I never realized how close the Kurils are to Japan. Leaving aside, y’know, all of Russian and Japanese history prior to 1945, no wonder the Americans were so keen on becoming friends with Japan after the war.
Even if we definitely should have insisted on more trials of murderers and criminals like Shiro Ishii.
Thomas C. Theiner not active in the fediverse posted some nice pictures on X about how elaborate the air and missiledefense was in europe during the coldwar. An enormous system is required to defend a large territory. We don't have enough equipment to fully protect Ukraine this way so the only option it seems is striking deep inside Russia at missile factories, airbases etc. #ukraine#missiledefense#russia#coldwar#ThomasTheiner
On #ThisDayInHistory in 1889, #CharlesChaplin was born into #poverty in London. He never forgot his origins, and spoke out for the poor and for #socialism, and against war and fear, all his life. The US showed its McCarthyite face by driving him into exile during the #ColdWar.
The war in #Ukraine has put to the test two strongly-held tenets of the #ColdWar: the strength of #Russia's Army and the strength of #USA's commitment to its allies.
A potential war in #Europe was supposed to be decided by which one would have been the strongest.
We witnessed how the Russian army wasn't really so strong: but what about the strength of US commitment?
What is stronger?
Had long known about the radioactive boar in Germany resultant from Chernobyl contamination, but a team has shown that a significant amount of the radionuclides they are eating comes from Cold War nuclear weapon testing.
New history purchase! Taras Young’s Nuclear War in the UK (2019). Initial impression: Lots of fascinating images but short on analysis…. #history#ColdWar#books
🧵 I'm browsing 'Zivilverteidigung,' the Swiss national defence book from 1969.
The Swiss took their nuclear defence very seriously. Many buildings (my own included) are still built today with nuclear bunkers in the cellars.
The UK's own 'Protect & Survive' booklet was 30 pages, whereas, the Swiss 'Zivilverteidigung' is 320 pages.
Great graphic design, too. Here's a thread of random images. #coldwar#switzerland#graphicdesign#illustration
#POTUS Joe Biden said on Fri the US will impose costs for Russia's "appalling attempts" to use Americans as bargaining chips in a stmnt to mark the 1-yr anniversary of WSJ reporter Gershkovich's arrest in Russia.
Gershkovich, 32, was the 1st US #journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the #ColdWar when he was detained by the #FSB on Mar 29 last yr.
Cold War satellite images reveal nearly 400 Roman forts
Declassified Cold War-era spy satellite images have led researchers to identify 396 previously unknown Roman forts in Syria and Iraq. The research points towards a vibrant network supporting trade and cultural exchange rather than a rigid border defense system...
History nerd alert: I highly recommend the new series on Netflix, "Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War."
Informative and accessible, it should be required watching for everyone. Because WWII wasn't that long ago, the Cold War didn't really end, and we sure as hell didn't learn our lesson.
I've been watching Turning Point recently - since we watched Oppenheimer I was looking for a more broad historical background. But it's far more interesting than that, and follows the threads of the cold war right up to modern Ukraine and Putin's ongoing war there.
There is a tiny bit of sciency stuff too, lol.
But if you were a little kid in the 90s - or not born yet - this will give you a lot of context you're missing regarding current events. If you're an American, you didn't learn any of this in school, I guarantee it.
The Berlin Blockade (June 24th,1948 – May 12th, 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control.
The Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift (German: Berliner Luftbrücke, or "Berlin Air Bridge"') from June 26th, 1948 to September 30th, 1949 to carry supplies to the people of West-Berlin.
The "Haus der Geschichte" features the history of this event in its post-WW II-section, showing the inside of a "Rosinenbomber", a Douglas C-54 Skymaster.
Today in Labor History March 12, 1967: Suharto took power from Sukarno in Indonesia. He ruled Indonesia as an authoritarian, kleptocratic dictator for 31 years, and is widely considered one of the most brutal and corrupt dictators of the 20th century. During that time, he amassed a fortune worth $38 billion. Suharto rose to power under Sukarno during the 1965-1966 genocide. During that ostensibly anti-Communist purge, Suharto’s troops murdered 1-3 million communists, labor activists, peasants and ethnic minorities. During that genocide, he received support military and economic from both the U.S. and the U.K. In 1974, the Suharto regime, with approval of U.S. president Gerald Ford, invaded East Timor, killing over 200,000 Timorese. Another 75,000-200,000 died from starvation and disease. The current Indonesian government is considering awarding him the posthumous honor of National Hero.
#Oppenheimer feared nuclear annihilation – and only a chance pause by a Soviet submarine officer kept it from happening in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, as it gave him time to rethink before firing his nuclear torpedo/.
“World War III was very likely averted as a result of a brief delay in time caused by a sailor who happened to be stuck in the right place at the right time..."