The Cold War: The Early Phase (1945-60)

Figure 1.--After defeating NAZI Germany in 1945, the Soviets and German Communists began organizing a People's Republic in the Soviet occupation zone of eastern Germany. Here we see a boy in rural East Germany in 1946 walking beside a group of politically organized farm workers ("landarbeiter"). They are dressed up in their best clothes (as opposed to work clothes for the field) and being led along a country road beside a planted field by some Communist officials playing brass instruments in a local parade.

Stalin was left after World War II by virtue of the Red Army's victories was able to seize control of Eastern Europe. He proceeded to install totalitarian puppet satellite governments in Poland and other countries in his control. Stalin also proceeded to use Communist parties in Greece, France, and Italy to attempt tp broaden the Soviet Empire. American and European democracies sharply criticised the Soviet actions. Winston Churchill warned in 1946 that an "iron curtain" was descending through the middle of Europe. Western Europe in the aftermath of the War were weak politically and economically as well as militarily. World War II had left Europe devastated. A staggering 40 million people were killed. Western Europe by itself was not capable of resisting Soviet power. President Truman decided to support Western Europe The Cold War as it developed was a period of intense East-West competition, tension, and conflict, but always short of full-scale war in Europe. Joseph Stalin who had virtually allied himself with Hitler in 1939 to launch World War II, blamed the War on "capitalist imperialism" and threatened Western Europe. Many in the West with leftist views accepted this view of the post-War era. The American policy throughout the nearly 50 years of the Cold War was once of "Containment". It was first enunciated by George Kennan writing as "X" in a celebrated article on Foreign Affairs. In the Nuclear Age, war between super powers was unthinkable. America sought to contain the expansion of the Soviet Empire while internal forces would weaken Soviet imposed Communist regimes from within.

People's Republics

Stalin was left after World War II in control of Eastern Europe, Stalin proceeded to install repressive puppet satellite governments in Poland and other countries. Stalin proceeded to install People's Republics in these states which meant Stalinist police states subservient to the Soviet Union.

Western Communist Parties

Stalin also proceeded to use Communist parties in Greece, France, and Italy to broaden the Soviet Empire.

The Cold War Emerges

American and European democracies sharply criticised the Soviet actions. Public statements in both East and West soon defined a new world conflict. Joseph Stalin who had virtually allied himself with Hitler in 1939 to launch World War II, blamed the War on "capitalist imperialism" and threatened Western Europe. Stalin was the first to define the conflict. He declared in 1946 that international peace was impossible "under the present capitalist development of the world economy". Winston Churchill warned in 1946 that an "iron curtain" was descending through the middle of Europe. He warned that Britain and the United would have to work together to meet the Soviet threat. President Truman decided to support Western Europe. The Cold War was a period of intense East-West competition, tension, and conflict, but always short of full-scale war between the Soviets and the Americans.

Western Response

America and the West in the aftermath of World War II were unprepared for another epic struggle. The Soviet Union had been a key ally in the struggle against NAZI Germany. Largely forgotten was the fact that Stalin had begun the War as an essentially ally of Hitler. Chanhing American thinking about the Soviet Union required a major shift in public opinion. The first Western leader to clearly enunciate the evolving struggle was former British Prime Minister Winson Churchill. President Truman invited Churchill to speak at Independence College in Fulton, Missouri. The American policy throughout the nearly 50 years of the Cold War was once of "Containment". It was first enunciated by George Kennan writing as "X" in a celebrated article on Foreign Affairs. In the Nuclear Age, war between super powers was unthinkable. America sought to contain the expansion of the Soviet Empire while internal forces would weaken Soviet imposed Communist regimes from within.

Marshall Plan (1948)

World War II had left Europe devastated. A staggering 40 million people were killed in World War II. German cities had been levelled by the Allied strategic bombing. Fighting on the Eastern Front had also destroyed cities in Russia and Eastern Europe. The economies were prostrate. Jobs did not exist and capital was scarce to revitalise the economies. The performance of the Communists in the Resistance had increased their prestige. The desperate economic conditions also increased support for the Communists. After the War, the Communists were one of the largest political parties throughout Western Europe, especially in France and Italy. Only in Germany where people feared the Russians did the Communists not build an electoral threat. In an effort to promote economic recovery, the United States implemented the Marshall Plan. (It was not called the Truman Plan because that would have doomed it in the Republican controlled American Congress.) The Plan was proposed by American Secretary of State George C. Marshall in 1947. Eventually over $12 billion (in 1948 dollars) was provided. This assistance is generally credited with helping to launch the European economic recovery. Some authors down play the importance of the Marshall Plan, maintaining that the recovery was already well underway. [Hitchcock] Marshall Plan assistance was offered to Russia and the Eastern European satellites. Stalin, suspicious of American intentions, rejected the offer and speeded the establishment of Stalinist regimes throughout Eastern Europe. [Hitchcock]

Czechoslovakia (1948)

The Soviets enginered a coup in Czechoslovakia in February 1948. Czechoslovakia was the last Eastern European country occupied by the Soviets that had any semblance of a democratic government. Elections had made the Communists the largest political party. Heavily industrialized Bohemia had a well-established Communist following before World War II. Many Czechs were sympathetic toward the Russians because they had challenged the German Hapsburgs which had dominated Bohemia and Slovakia. Also many Czechs were bitter with how the West had abandoned them at Munich in 1938. The Communists did not, however, have a majority in Parliament. This forced them to form a coalition with non-Communist parties. Many Czechs were hopeful that their country because of its geographic location and historical links coukld serve as a kind of political bridge between East and West. The Czech Gobernment had welcomed the Marshall Plan, but Soviet presure forced them to reject it. Stalin was not interested in bridge building. He wanted a reliable, compliant Czechoslovakia like the other satellite states of Eastern Europe. The Communists armed their supporters and staged street demonstragtions. They were supported by th police because the Ministry of the Interioir was in the hands of the Communists. The army might have supoorted the Government if President Benes had decided to resist, but he believed that Soviet troops would intervene. Czecholslovakia at the time was almost entire surounded by Soviet satellites or Soviet occupied eastern Germanya nd Austria. He therefore yielded to the Communiksts and the country soon had a Stalinist Government. [Hudson, p. 60.] The Soviet takeover of Czecheslovakia in 1948 had many unintended consequences for Stalin. It helped convince the Western Allies to unite their occupation zones in Germany and it helped build support in America for entering in a military alliance with the Western European democracies.

Berlin Air Lift (1948-49)

Berlin was at the center if the Cold War. Many believe that the Cold War began and ended in Berlin. The beginning would be the Soviet efforts to push the Western Allies out of Berlin. The end was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Berlin was conquered by the Red Army in savage fighting during the end of April 1945. Stalin was itent on the Red Army taking the prize and lied to General Eisenhower about his intentions. Wehrmacht commanders west of Berlin could not understand why the Americand did not push for Berlin. When the Red Army approached his bunker, Hitler committed suicide. As decided at the Yalta Conference, the three principal Western Allies (Britain, France, and the United States) were given occupation zones in the conquered NAZI capital. As Berlin was located well within the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, all supplies had to pass through the Soviet zone. As a result, the Western allies and the Berlin people were vulnerable to Soviet pressure. This and the symbolic value of Berlin made it the focal point of the Cold War. It was at Berlin that the first major confrontation of the Cold War occurred. Stalin decided in 1948 that he could blockade Berlin and force the Western allies out and the people of West Berlin into submission. Ironically the people of West Berlin were saved by American and British pilots, in most cases the same men that only 3 years earlier had been bombing German cities and had reduced Berlin to ruble. President Truman was determined that the United States would not leave Berlin and a massive airlift was organized and even during the winter, more supploes were reaching Berlin than before tht Soviets had instituted the blockade. One of the pilots was struck by the Berlin children who still lived in desperate conditions after the War. The children of course had little idea of the larger issues involved, but were caught up in the episode when one of the pilots began dropping chocolates in little parachutes when he reached Berlin. Other pilots began doing the same. The Berlin children began calling him Uncle Chocolate and thousands wrote with directions as to how to how the American pilots could hit their homes! Finally with the success of the Airlift, Stalin relented and rail and road links were reopened in 1949.

Soviet-Yugoslav Split (1948)

The Allies during World War II shifted support from the Royalist Chetniks to Tito's Soviet-backed Partisans. A great deal of weaponry and supplies were delivered to the Partisans. Yugoslavia was the only country liberated by the resistance movement during the War. Despite Westen aid , after the NAZI surrender (May 1945), Tito set up a Stalinist-style peope's republic in Yugoslavia. He took a hard-line attitude toward the West. He instituted a police state, thousands died in concentration camps, and democratic parties were suppressed. British and American planes were shot down along the border. While Tito set up a Stalinist police state, it was different than in the rest of Eastern Europe because he was not a puppet installed by Stalin. Gradually Tito became uneasy about Stalin's efforts to gain control in Yugoslavia as he had done in the rest of Eastern Europe. There were also economic problems. The Soviets as they were doing in the rest of the East Bloc were deivering low quality goods at very high pfrices. Yugoslav state-owned companies were unable to obtain needed equipment. Officials in other East Bloc countries did not dare complain about such matters. Stalin was increasingly concerned about Tito's independence. Stalin did not permit discesion in the Soviet Union or within the Eact Bloc satellite countries. Hr saw Tito's independence at setting a bad example. Red Army units were distpacted to the borer. For awhile it looked like aoviet invasion would occur. Soviet propaganda charged that Tito wash "pursuing an unfriendly policy to the Soviet Union" abd called Tito a Trostkyite. This was virtually the worst thing you could say about someone in the Soviet Emipre. (Stalin had Trosty killed--an ice pick through the skull. This of course was not lost on Tito. Stalin cut off trade with Yugoslavia and incouraged dissent with the Yugoslav Communist Party. The Soviets had the Yugoslav Communist Party expelled from the Cominform. Tito turned to the West. He accepted U.S. Marshall Plan assistance (1950).

North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) (1949)

Britain, Ftance, and the Low Countries created a Western Union alliance. These countries, however, could not have resisted a determined offensive by the United States. We cannot at this time assess the economic debate. While the role of the United States in financing recovery can be debated, it is clear that only the military shield of the Unites States prevented the establishment of Eastern European People's Republics in Western Europe. America did not withdraw from Europe after World War II as it had done after World War I. American participation in a miltary pact to defend Western Europe was not a forehoine conclussion in 1945. Soviet actions after the helped create political support in America for a continuing military presence in Western Europe. It was genrally thought that America's rejection of Wilson's League of Nations and isolationist policies after World War I had made possible Hitler's rise to power. Many Americans were convinced that the mistake should not be repeated after World War II. Stalin helped bring about that commitment. Stalin seized total control of Czechoslovakia in 1948, ending all pretence of democracy. But it was the Sovier blockade of West Berlin that made it clear that a strong Western military capability was necessary to counter Soviet power. The United States helped organize the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)--a mutual assistance military treaty. Even befoire the Soviet blockade was lifited, the United States and 11 other countries on April 4, 1949 signed the treaty. [Hudson, p. 62.] Thanks to Stalin, there was little debate in the Senate which approved ratification in an overwealming 82 to 13 vote. Stalin's foreign policy had brought about just what he did not want, a powerful, determined military capability on the the western edge of the Soiviet Empire.

China (1945-49)

After the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, the Civil War between the Nationalists and Communists resumed in earnest. The Communists had by 1948 defeated the Nationalists on the Mainland and Chiang Kai-shek and his remaining forces fled to Taiwan which had been liberated from the Japanese. The success of the Communist Revolution led by Mao-Tse-Tung in 1949 brought a massive change in Chinese society.

Anti-Communist Hysteria

As the Cold war intensified, a wave of anti-Communist histeria developed in America. This was fueled by Soviet actions in Eastern Europe and, unlike the United States, unwillingness to substantially reduce military forces. The Communist Victory in China added to the public fear as did the annoncement that the Soviets had developed an atomic bomb. The public began to think that the Truman Administration was mismanaging the Cold War. Some Republicans began to intimate that disloyal Americans were undermining the American effort against the Communists. Relevations concerning the Rosenbergs passing atomic secrets were especially sensatuoinal. The Reoublican Congressional effort to root out susposed Communists began in ernest during 1947. The House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), chaired by J. Parnell Thomas, in 1947 began investigating Hollywood. The Committee named people who they accused of holding left-wing views. Major Hollywood stars testified against friends. Others refused to testify and received prison terms. Three former FBI agents and a right-wing television producer, in published "Red Channels", a widely circulated pamphlet listing the names of 151 writers, directors and performers who they claimed were members of subversive organisations. A blacklist developed and people's careers were ruined. Some of the best known individuals were: Leonard Bernstein, Charlie Chaplin, Aaron Copland, John Garfield, Dashiell Hammett, Burl Ives, Arthur Miller, Dorothy Parker, Philip Loeb, Pete Seeger, Orson Welles, Paul Robeson, and Richard Wright. The Govdernment began using the Alien Registration Act against the American Communist Party. Leaders of the Party were arrested and tried in 1949. Spy cases at the time involving Alger Hiss and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg added to the public concer about an internal Communist threat. Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, saw political capital in the public hysteria.

The H-Bomb

America debated the H-bomb. Oppehimer argued against it, but his loyalty ws questioned. Teller argued for it. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the Soviets had already begun their H-bomb program. [Reed] Stalin put NKVD Chief Beria in charge of the project.

Korean War (1950-53)

The North Koreans Army crossed the 38th parallel on June 25, 1950 to forcibly unify Korea. The Soviets had provided modernwapons in great quantity to the Noryth Koreans. Embolded by the Communist victory in China during 1948-49, Kim-il-Jong obtained Stalin's approval for the attack. President Truman immediately ordered war material be provided the Soyj Koreans and then air support for the South Korean Army. Seoul fell within days. Truman went to the United Nations which, because the Soviets were boycotting the Security Council, approved a military opperation to repell the North Korean attack. Truman than ordered American military intervention. The Soviets had helped the North Koreans build a powerful military force. The United states after World War II had significantly scled back its conventional military force. As a result, the North Koreans pushed the South Koreans back to a small peromiter around the southern port of Pusan. Generl MacArthir from Japan organized an amphibious invasion at Inchon which caught the North Koreans between teo forces. North Korem resistance collapsed and MacArthur rushed north accross th 38th parallel to completely defeat and occupy North Korea. Tuman was skeptical, but MacArthur assured him that Chinese warnings to intervene were bluff. They were not an America norces approaching the Yalu River were mauled by a massive Chinese attack. For a while it looked like the Chiese would tota;lly defeat the U.N. forces, but the front was finally stabilized north of Seoul. What followed was 2 years of stalemate which became a major political issue. Peace talks with the Communists were frustrating. Th major issue became the Communist demand that all POWs be returned, even the ones who did not want to be repatriated. Finally a ceasefire was reached. Stalin died in 1953. Eisenhower became president in 1953 and fulfilling a campaign promise, went to Korea. The armistice wnt into force on July 27, 1953. More than 3 million Koreans were killed as a result of te War. Millions more were made homeless refugees. About 1 million Chinese soldiers are believe to have been killed. American casualties totaled nearly 55,000.

The Doctor's Plot (1953)

The Doctor's Plot was concoted by Stalin to begin a wave of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union. The reason was the same as the anti-Semetic campaign of Tsar Alexander III. By playing off the anti-Semitism of many Russians, the attention of the average Russian could be focused on Jews rather than deficenies of the Soviet state and his dictatorial rule. Other historicans bekieve that Stalin was preparing to confront the West aggressively and that actions against the Jews would help to raise the level of internaional strife. The fact that his Jewish doctors as well as other Moscow doctors were arrested meant that Stalin did not get very good medical attention when he collapsed

Slalin's Death (1953)

The Communist world was stunned in 1953 with the death of Stalin. Tass announced that he died from a stroke. We now know that he was poisoned. The Chief of the NKVD, Lavrenti Beri (1899-1953), put rat poison in his wine. Beria was apparently concerned with good reason that delays in the H-bomb program had caused Stalin to prepare for his arrest. Perhaps even more important is that it was useful for Stalin to do away with secret police chiefs. It was a coinvenient ways of burying a great deal of knowledge about Stalin's complicity in state crimes. Beria was aware of this and struck first. Stalin had left orders that he not be dusturbed. Finally his guards found him in a ppol of urine, but still alive. He reportedly vomited blood for 3 days. [Reed] Beria in the annals of the 20th century is a man so monsterous that he is approached only by Himmler. Beria's premtive action in the end did him no good. Before Beria could effectively use the NKVD to place hin in power, his Politboro colleagues had him arested. He was sumarily tried and executed.

Eastern European Revolts

Stalin and his sucessors encountered much more difficulty subjecting the people of Eastern Europe to totalitarian rule than the Russian people. The Soviets brutally suppressed attempts by Eastern Europeans to overthrow Soviet imposed governments: East Germany (1953), Poland (1956), Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1978), and other outbreaks--espoecially in Poland. The first revolt broke out in East Germany after the death of Stalin. Efforts to end the mass terror and liberalize the Soviet system were met in East Germany by demands for real democratic rule. Soviet officials concluded that reforms were dangerous and threatened the Soviet system. [Harrison] As a result, for three decades efforts at reform were brutally supressed. The Hungarian Revolution occurred in the midst of Nikita Khruschev's de-Stalinization program. One historian contends that Kruschev did not want to appear weak in the face of Western Operations in Suez, thus explaining the force of the Soviet reaction in Hungary. [Hitchcock] Finally it was in Eastern Europe that the whole Soviet system would begin unraveling.

Berlin (1950s)

Berlin throughout the Cold War continued to be a very dangerous place. It was there Soviet and American tanks faced each other. It was notable hotbed for spies. The most famous example was a tunnel American and British agents dug into East Berlin to tap the telephone trunk line to Moscow. Apparently the Soviets knew about it because they had pnetrated MI-6. [Stafford] Berlin was also an increasing embarassment for the Soviets as the economic affluemnce of the West became increasingly conspicious in comparion to the poor conditions in the East. In addition, the ease of crossing into West Berlin was adversely impacting the East German economy.

Germany

The Cold War was to be won or lost in Germany. Although newspapers headlines followed dramatic events as they occurred around the world, it was in Germany that the outcome of the Cold War was determined. The country was even with deminished borders the powerhouse of Europe. The Red Army and Stalin's ruthlessness early owned settled the matter in the minds of most Germans. The question became moreone of whether America had the determination to support the Germans in the face of the Soviet threat. The Western Allied in 1949 began to allow the Federal Republic of German to administer the Western occupation zones and formally ended ocupation in 1955. The larger and more important economy allowed the FRG to dominate the East German Democratic Republic (DDR). The FRG worked to prevent other countries recognizing the DDR which was effctive through the 1960s. It also meant that the West Germans lost opportunities to pursue potentially beneficial commercial opportunities in Eastrn Europe and the Soviet Union. [Gray] This did not change until Arab countries began recognizing the DDR in the 1970s. By that time, Willy Brandt in the 1960s began his Ostpolitik, to build realtions with Eastern Europe and the United States.

France

Developing Countries

There were proxy wars and competition for influence in the newly independent countries of the developing world, many of which introduced Soviet command economics. India adopted a command economy with a democratic political system. Many other countries discarded all but the trappings of democratic government. There was also an arms race between the two super powers. America and the Soviet Union adopted client states in the Third World to support their respectivde sides. Neither country was often that converned with domestic politics in those client states. The Soviets supported Iraq even though the Bath Party arrested and executed Iraqi Communists. The United States supported many non-democratic regimes, in some cases brutal regimes. The Cold War lasted over 50 years. Ase have said, it was not always fought well or wisely. Significant mistakes were made. America was involved in areas in which it was unfamiliar. Of course it easy now to criticize many of those actions. Much of the danger that America and the West faced during the Cold War is now lost. The collapse of the Soviet Union makes it seem that the West was never in mortal danger. But of course it was. Military analysts believe that the Soviets had the millitary potential to sweep to the English Channel. Only the American nuclear umbrella stood in the way. Thus any asessment of American Cold War actions has to be taken in that context. Some historians have criticized America as militarily reckless and to willing to bomb third world countries. This criticism has become increasingly sharp as the spector of Soviet Union faded in Europe and American and European public opinion increasingly diverges on a variety of issues.

De-Stalinization

After Stalin died in 1953, the Cold War became more unbalanced. There were periods of relaxation followed by resumed confrontation. Nikita Khrushchev shocked the Communist world when he denounced Stalin at the 1956 20th Party Congress. There were limits on how far Khrushchev and other Soviet leaders were prepared to go Most had been active participants in he Great Terror. Khrushchev owed his position to Stalin and in agreed with Stalin on many issues. [Taubman] When Khrushchev was replaced in 1964, the Party line changed. There was no further discussion of Stalin's crimes although there was also no return to mass terror. Some Leftist thinkers were convinced that Stalin had perverted Communism and that Khrushchev could radically transform the system. [Deutscher]

Nikita Khrushchev (1954-64)

A power struggle followed Stalin's death in 1953. Ukranian Party boss Nikita Khrushchev emerged victorious in that struggle. Perhaps his single most important achievement was launching the De-Stalinization process in 1956. While Stlalin was a mass murder, Khrushchev was even more dangerous. His behavior was often crude such as when he took his shoe off and banged his desk at the United Nations when a speaker displeased him. He told Americans, "We will bury you". He rarely listen to advisors, often making important decissions on whim. Also he actually believed in Communist ideology. This combined with his mercurial personality and willingness to gamble brought the world close to nuclear war over Cuba in 1962. He once confided with Nassar that a Mideast crisis was like "playing chess in the dark". He was finally replaced by faceless party aparatcheks in 1964 for "adventurism". [Taubman]

Sputnik and the Space Race (1957)

The Soviet Union opened a brand new front of the Cold War with the launching of Sputnik (Otober 4, 1957). Often accounts of the Cold War focus on ideological differences between East and West. Technology played a critical role in the Cold War which is often overlooked. Marxists proclaimed Communism as a new, scientific approach to organizing human society. As a result, science assumed an important ideological status in the Cold war. Obviously if Marxism was the optimal organization of human society, the Soviet Union should be able to produce the best science. And Soviet propaganda trumpeted Sputnik as a symbol of the superiority of Soviet science. President Kennedy understood both the scientific and ideological importance of the space race and committed the Unitesd States to land on the moon. Both America and the Soviets mobilized their sciebtific and industrial resources for a race to the moon. In the long run, superior Western technology played an important role in the West's victory. The West's superiority was, however, not apparent in the 1950s.

Soviet Literature

Literary experts can helped but notice the outpooring of great litrature from Russia during the lte Tsarist era and then after the Revolution, especially after the beginning of the Stalinist era the almost total lack of published literature of real caliber. The reason of course was the regime's insistance on "Soviet realism" and the fate of authors who were brought to the attention of the security services. Even after Stalin died, authors of real merit had difficulties publishing their work. There were of course gifted authors, but getting their work published was virtually impossible. Nothing illustrates this better than the experiences of Boris Pasternak with his great work Dr. Zivago. The book is asaga of the Revolution and probably the greatest work of literature written during the Soviet era. Pasternak dispaired of ever publishing his masterpiece. Two Italian Communists played a key role in publishing the book. Giangiacomo Feltrinelli was the wealthy founder of a new publishing firm in Milan. He asked a fellow Communist who had just secured a position in Moscow to keep his eyes open for Russian books that he could publish in Italy. Sergio D'Angelo was a young Italian Communist who got a job with the Italian Service of Rasio Moscow (1956). While in Moscow he learned about Dr. Zivago and assumed it would soon be published. The KGB ws not yet paying much attention to it. Such matters were normally effectively handled by the Writers Union and publishing houses. D'Angelo asked his associates to set up a metting with Pasternak who afreed to meet him. D'Angelo offered to get Dr. Zivago published and promosed it would not be released until it was published in the Soviet Union. Pasternak shocked D'Angelo, who was becoming increasingly disalunionsed with the Soviets, when he told him that the book would never be pubished in the Soviet Union because it didn't "conform to official cultural guidelines". Paternak disappeared in to his hous and reappeared in a few minutes wih a package. He told D'Angelo, "This is Dr. Zivago. May it make its way around the world." The two departed with Pasternak saying, "You are invited at attend my execution." The next week D'Angelo flew to East Berlin. As an honored guest of the Soviet Union and flying to East Berlin, D'Angelo was not searched. The Berlin Wall was not yet built and D'Angelo simmoly crossed to West Berlin. Omce the KGB learned that a manucript had reached the West, the Soviets, the KGB was now involved, made a major effort to prevent its publication. They pressured Pasternak to get the manuscript back. The KGB arrested his lover, Olga Ivinskaya, and used her to further pressure Pasternak. (Here accounts vary.) The Soviets published hysterial attacks on Pasternak and Dr. Zivago. [D'Angelo] The Cultural Sector of the Central Committee of the Communist Party called it a "perfidious calumny against our revolution, and against our entire way of life". The book was a sensation in the West. It reveived the Nobel Prize for Literature (1958). It was later turned into a materful movie (1965). The Soviets forced Pasternak to refuse the Nonel Prize. Pasternak was treated as an outcast and viciously attacked by his colleagues. He died in isoltion (1960).

Sources

D'Angelo, Sergio. The Pasternak Case: Memoirs of a Witness (2007). The Russian publisher of D'Angelo's book included a 20-page epilogue by Pastenak's son Yevgeny Pasternak which D'Angelo did not authorize. The son disputes some details, especially concerning Olga Ivinskaya. His main objection, however, appears to be with the share of royalties D'Angelo received.

Deutscher, Issac. Deutscher is Trotsky's biographer.

Gray, William Glenn. Germany's Cold War: The Global Campaign to Isolate East Germany, 1949-69 (University of North Carolina), 251p.

Harrison, Hope. George Washington University. Library of Congress Panel, March 5, 2003.

Hitchcock, William I. The Struggle for Europe: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent (Doubleday), 513p. This is a thought provoking, well researched book. He has gained access to never before used Soviet archives. We do not agree with all of his conclusions. The author in many instances, for example, tends to explain Soviet actions as response to American policies rather than the inherent nature of brutal regime.

Hudson, G.F. The Hard and Bitter Peace: World Politics Since 1945 (Praeger: New York, 1967), 319p.

Kennan, George. Foreign Affairs.

Mandelbaum, Michael. The Ideas that Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the 21st Century. Prados, John. Lost Crusader: The Secret Wars of CIA Director William Colby (Oxford Unicersity, 2003), 380p.

Stafford, David. Spies beneath Berlin (Overlook), 211p.

Taubman, William. Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (Norton), 876p.

Created: February 25, 2003
Spell checked: March 7, 2003
Last updated: 11:52 PM 11/26/2007