The Red Nightmare documentary

1. In the beginning of the film, it appears to be an ordinary American small town, but where is it? (Between 1:00 and 2:30).       
The Soviet Union, deep behind the Iron Curtain!



2. What is the father's (Jerry) attitude toward his responsibilities, such as attending a Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTA) and going to Army Reserve training (6:20)?     
He doesn't like going to them so he makes up excuses to not go.



3. According to the film, if all people had the attitude that Jerry has, what is the Red Nightmare? 

Communist ideals would spread from one town to another, children would leave their parents in favor of working on a commune, organizations like the PTA would be able to tell you what to do exactly an any given moment and access your personal information, your job would force you to work to an unreasonable standard or be punished, your youngest children would be brainwashed into believing in Communism, and your church would become a place to praise Russian scientific advancements.

4. What is Jerry's experience like at trial?     
Jerry's trial is not even really a trial. He is forced to either confess or just be sentenced, no option to defend himself. His own wife helps convict him with a statement that he indoctrinated his children.
 

5. Consider this film in the context of the Red Square Era. If you were a high school student 50 years ago, how would you have reacted to this film in a history class?

I would be extremely scared of what Communism could do to America. I wouldn't want to sleep again.
  

The Race to Control Space

“We have vowed that we shall see space filled not with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding"
-President Kennedy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, September 12, 1962

President Kennedy was eager for the United  States to lead the way in exploring space.  The Soviet Union was ahead of the United States, having launched the first satellite Sputnik in 1957 and the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to orbit around the earth in 1961.

President Kennedy said, “No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.” In 1961 Kennedy asked Congress to approve more than twenty two billion dollars for Project Apollo, which had the goal of landing an American man on the moon before the end of the decade.

First, go to this website at the JFK Museum. Read the introduction and the JFK and Space material.


Read the telegram and the two memos and answer the SIX questions that follow:

Telegram A.
On April 12, 1961 cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin from the Soviet Union orbited around the
earth in 108 minutes. The same day President Kennedy wrote a telegram to Premier Nikita
Khrushchev congratulating the Soviets on the first successful manned flight.

Memo B.
A few days later President Kennedy wrote a memo on April 20, 1961 to Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson, who was the chairman of the Space Council.

Memo C.
Eight days later, Vice President Johnson responded to President Kennedy’s memo.


1. In the telegram to Premier Nikita Khrushchev, how does President Kennedy say he would like the United States and the Soviet Union to work on exploring outer space?     
President Kennedy says he would like the United States and the Soviet Union to work together for the overall benefit of mankind.



2. In the memo to Vice President Lyndon Johnson, what is President Kennedy's main objective?       
It seems that President Kennedy's main objective is to beat the Soviets in the space race, as he keeps asking how they could win.



3. What is the main difference between what President Kennedy says in the telegram and what he says in the memo in terms of how the Americans and the Soviets should explore
outer space?       
In the telegram, Kennedy says that the USA and the USSR should work together in space exploration, while in the memo he focuses on how the USA can beat the USSR in the space race.


  
4. Why do you think President Kennedy appears to be giving two conflicting statements?     
He doesn't want the Soviets to be aware that he is trying to make every possible advance to beat them. This way they will be none the wiser when they are surpassed.



5. How does Vice President Johnson connect the space race with the Cold War in his April 28th memo to President Kennedy?      
Johnson mentions that the Department of Defense would like to increase research in solid propellant boosters. This boosters would most likely be researched for the purpose of intercontinental missiles.


6. What are Vice President Johnson’s suggestions for the President?     
Overall, Johnson suggests that the budget for space research is heavily increased, since the only reason the research has not been nonstop is due to a lack of financial means.

NSC-68 and the Arms Race

1. Study Source 7. According to this source, how serious was the Soviet nuclear threat?      
Source 7 says that the Soviet nuclear threat was extremely serious. According to the source, the Soviets would be able to deal heavy damage to many Americans and make a first strike within only a few years.


2. What measures is Source 7 calling for?     
Source 7 calls for increased air defenses, air warning systems, and a more developed civilian defense program. The source states that if they did not take these measures, the Soviets would have the upper hand in the arms race.


3. How would you describe the tone of Source 7? Use examples of words and phrases in the text to support your answer.     
The tone of source 7 is exaggerated. All the statements regarding crippling America's "superiority in economic potential" and "decisive initial attacks" were followed by a clause that basically said "if we do nothing." This clause added onto almost everything described in the document make it seem like the threat level was heavily exaggerated.


4. Study Source 8. What criticisms are made of Source 7?    
Source 8 says that Source 7 willfully exaggerated the actual threat of Soviet power in the report. It also states that the report completely exaggerated how unprepared America actually was. 


5. Do you think the author of Source 7 wanted to increase tension and the risk of war? If not, what were his motives?     
I think the author of Source 7's motives were to intimidate the Soviet Union so that they wouldn't make an attack. He knew that we were already much more armed than they were, but with this report the defense budget was quadrupled. Hence our arsenal of bombs was much larger than the Soviet Unions, providing for an effective intimidation method.

6. Do the criticisms in Source 8 mean that Source 7 is not a useful historical source? Explain your answer.

No, Source 7 is still very useful as a historical source. It shows evidence of what strategies were taken for the pure purpose of intimidation. It also shows the extent to which the U.S. government was concerned about the U.S.S.R. attacking purely based of the fact that they believed this.

The Formation of NATO

1. Look at Source 2. What did NATO members agree to do?    
They agreed to keep up defenses on an armed attack against them, and that they would defend each other if any one of them were attacked. 


2. The members of NATO argued that this was a defensive alliance. Explain why Stalin was not convinced about this.    
Stalin believed that the Western Powers were trying to spit the world into two military blocks right at each others throat. He saw it as a threat on Soviet control in Eastern Europe as they prepared for "defense". 


3. Study the cartoon in Source 4. Does the cartoon give the impression that Stalin feels threatened by NATO?     
The cartoon gives the impression that Stalin does feel threatened. He has a whole group of leaders against him and doesn't seem to know what to do. In the cartoon he looks perplexed and unsure about what to do with his hand. 


4. Explain how Sources 4 and 5 present NATO in different ways.   
Source 4 shows NATO as a delicate card game in which the leaders of NATO have the upper hand. Source 5, on the other hand, shows NATO as a vicious animal ready to attack the Soviet Union at any time. 


5. Now explain why they present NATO in different ways.     
The cartoons present NATO in different ways because Source 4 was made in America and therefore shows a more favorable view of how the leaders are handling the evil Communists. Source 5 was made in the Soviet Union, therefore they wanted portrayed the NATO, the vicious capitalists, as being much more aggressive than reality. 

Berlin Blockade Document Analysis

1. What type of document is this? What is its purpose?      
These documents are formerly classified memorandums written for President Truman. They are meant to inform him on the Soviets' reaction to events in Berlin and possible Soviet plans.


2. When was it written? Why is that significant?     
 They were written in 1948 just after the Berlin Blockade began. This means all of the plans and actions that are being written about are probably taking place in response to the Blockade and its consequences. 


3. Who created the document? Who received the document?     
 Rear Admiral Hillenkoetter, the Director of Central Intelligence, created the document. President Truman, General Walsh, Mr. Murphy, the Army, and the State Department received the document.


4. Who is Marshal Sokolovsky?     
 Marshal Sokolovsky was a Russian official involved in figuring out the consequences from the Berlin blockade on East Berlin. He discovered that East Berlin was more reliant on the Western zone than they had originally thought. 


5. How did the CIA get information of the meeting between Marshal Sokolovsky and German members of the German industrial committee?      
 The CIA got this information most likely from a spy at the meeting. It was definitely a source they believed they could rely on, as stated in the last sentence in parenthesis. 
  

6. What were the three Soviet alternatives as they presented themselves when this document was written? What policy did the Soviets pursue over the course of the next nine months? Why?     

The three alternatives presented were going to war, ending the blockade, or handing over control of all of Berlin to the West. They ended up choosing none of these options and continued the blockade. All of these alternatives were either too dangerous or would make the Soviets lose too much face. 

7. Stalin stated in a speech on February 9, 1946, "he [Stalin] blamed the last war on 'capitalist monopolies' and warning that, since the same forces still operated, the USSR must treble the basic materials of national defense such as iron and steel, double coal and oil production, and to delay the manufacture of consumer goods until rearmament was complete." Who are the "capitalist monopolies?" How does this statement enlighten the Soviet viewpoint against the United States? Were the Allies justified in cancelling the shipments of German reparations to the Soviets at the end of World War II? Why did the Soviets rely so heavily on Germany for food and industry?        

The "capitalist monopolies" were the allies who created the Treaty of Versailles. This statement shows that the Soviets didn't agree with anything the United States was doing and that they wanted to be ready for any possible attacks from the West. I think the allies were justified. Clearly the Soviet Union was planning on arming themselves for a possible war. The Soviets relied on Germany for food and industry because the West was supplying West Germany and they, without knowing it, received many supplies and industry in East Berlin from West Berlin.

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift

1. What is Source 37 (p. 75) saying about Josip Tito, leader of Yugoslavia?     
Source 37 is saying that Tito is a traitor, hence the "Judas" on his blanket, by taking money from the Marshall plan. The Soviet Union wanted to portray him as an enemy and a weakling, which they did by having him on his knee appearing to be a beggar. This cartoon was likely made around the time that Yugoslavia was expelled from Cominform.


2. Why do you think Stalin was so hostile to Tito?        
Stalin believed that Tito set a bad example for the other Communist states. He believed that America was trying to make Eastern European countires dependent on them so they could enter into his Communist controlled area. With Tito being the only Communist leader who did take Marshall Aid, Stalin believed he was making the USSR seem weak to the west and to other nations in Cominform. He had to show everyone that they still had power.


3. Look back at the map in Source 27 on page 71. How does the geographical position of Yugoslavia help to explain why Stalin did not take any direct action (such as sending in troops) against Tito?     
Yugoslavia is just east of the Iron Curtain. This means if Stalin had sent troops, it would have been an easy target for the Allies to defend, as it is also reasonably close to West Germany. Stalin had no way of knowing if Truman had some of his fancy new Atomic bombs in West Germany either, so he didn't take that risk.

4. Read Source 40 (p. 77). What reasons did the Soviet Union give for cutting off West Berlin?       
The Soviet Union claimed there were technical difficulties that made it impossible for the trucks of supplies to get through. They also claimed they had coal shortages to explain why they had cut off some electricity to parts of Western Germany. 


5. Why do you think the USA did not believe these were genuine reasons?           
It seems unlikely that all of these difficulties would just happen to occur when there were very high tensions between the two nations. Stalin was feeling less powerful due to the Marshall Aid money going to Yugoslavia. Getting rid of all supplies and electricity into West Berlin was a perfect chance to get back at the U.S., and the U.S. knew it.


6. How do Sources 41–43 differ in their interpretation of the blockade?            
Source 41 claimed that neither side gained anything but a prolonged conflict due to the blockade and subsequent airlift. Source 42, on the other hand, as it was a speech by Truman, made the air lift seem like a fight for freedom that America was unquestionable winning. Source 43 says that the USSR never even blockaded Berlin in the first place, and that it was all a scheme by America to make the Soviet Union look bad. 


7.  Which do you think is the most useful source for a historian studying the Berlin Blockade?       
Source 40 is the most useful. It shows a genuine government document that contains pure facts. The facts are that the Soviet Union was not letting supplies into Berlin supposedly because of technical difficulties and shortages. These facts are left up to interpretation by the historian. 



8.  Which source do you think gives the most reliable view of the blockade?      
Source 41 gives the most reliable view of the blockade. It was made by a historian looking in hindsight rather than an official on either side of the government writing during the blockade, when they constantly have to think about the reaction of the Soviet Union. This way the historian can weigh the benefits and detriments of the blockade without worrying about anyone's reaction.


          

Iron Curtain Separates Europe

1. What is your overall impression of Source 26 (p. 70) and use extracts from the source to support your view. (No fence sitting; you must choose one but not both)      


I believe it is exactly what Stalin was planning to do. The evidence of his actions in Eastern Europe show that he's willing to be aggressive in order to spread Communism. His unwillingness to accept non-communist governments bordering the Soviet Union was evident and he made it clear that he wanted to spread Communism around the world. 


  
2. Source 26 is a British source. Does it seem likely that similar documents were being produced by the American government?      
Most likely similar documents were being produced. We were close allies with Britain and probably had similar views. Not to mention Truman was very anti-communist and anti-communism was a popular ideal at this time in America.



3. Study Source 27 (p. 71) and make a list of three different actions that Communists took to achieve power in eastern Europe. Explain how each factor helped.     
1.) Imprisoning opposition leaders and Church leaders in Hungary. - This ensured that the Communist party was the only one in the "free" elections so they would definitely come to power.

2.) Banning all other parties in Czechoslovakia. - This way Czechoslovakia became a one party state run totally and completely by the Communist.

3.) Executing the other members of a left wing coalition in Bulgaria. - By executing the other leaders, the Communists were able to ride them to power then keep power after their death since the coalition had been elected as a whole.