The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Cold War (A Synopsis) - Part II - Sep 21st, 2004

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[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

...................................................................................... ...........................................

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Berlin: 1948-1949

DIVIDED GERMANY

Following World War II, Germany is divided into four zones of occupation -- Soviet, British, French and American. Germany, and Berlin in particular, are the only places where communist and capitalist forces come into direct contact.

Three and a half million Berliners live deep inside Soviet lines. The Nazis' once-proud capital, reduced to a pile of rubble by Allied anger, is down to its bare essentials.

CURRENCY REFORM

In June 1948, an announcement by the Western Allies brings a crisis to Berlin. They establish a currency reform meant to wipe out the German black market and further tie the vulnerable German economy to the West. The Soviets are not told and are infuriated by the action. Moscow says Berlin is located in the Soviet zone and therefore "economically forms part of it."


Sir Brian Robertson (Great Britian), Pierre Koenig (france), Lucius D. Clay (USA).

Sir Brian Robertson, the British military governor in Berlin, along with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Lucius Clay, respond by introducing a special version of a new German currency, the deutschmark, stamped with a "B" for Berlin.

AIRLIFT

On Thursday, June 24, 1948, West Berlin wakes to find itself under a Soviet blockade -- and in the midst of the first major confrontation of the Cold War. The Western Allies impose a counter-blockade on the Soviet zone. The Soviets hope to starve the West out of Berlin.



The West had been through a similar short-term Soviet blockade of Berlin two months earlier -- and had responded with an airlift using air corridors set up in a 1945 agreement with the Soviets. Now, new plans are drawn up -- for long-term replenishment of West Berlin from the air.

NEW ALLIES

The Berlin airlift brings a new mindset to the Western Allies, who start thinking of West Germany as an ally, rather than an occupied territory. In West Berlin, the airlift brings people sustenance and hope. In one memorable instance, the airlift -- in the form of American pilot Gail Halvorsen -- rains candy on West Berlin's desperate children.


In 1948, Halvorsen’s bunk was a factory for miniature parachutes weighted with chocolate bars. He became known as the 'Candy Bomber,' 'Uncle Wobbly-Wings' and 'Der Schokoladen Flieger' ('Chocolate Pilot'). (U.S. Air Force photo)

As it becomes evident that the Soviets are not going to back down from their blockade, the Western Allies consider how to expand their airlift operations. Larger cargo planes are brought in, as well as bombers with cargo capacity.

WEST-EAST



Berliners are still free to move around their city, despite the Soviet blockade. While West Berlin is suffering through shortages of electricity and other essentials, the eastern sector offers a relatively normal lifestyle. Politically, however, the city is on edge.



Soviet troops harass West Berliners who go to the eastern zone. And in September, a communist attempt to take over the city council sparks mass protests -- which end in violence.

BLOCKADE ENDS

The Soviet Union ends its blockade of Berlin on May 12, 1949. A month earlier, at the airlift's peak, Western cargo planes were landing at one of Berlin's three airports at a rate of one every 62 seconds. By the time the airlift ended, more than 275,000 flights had carried 2.3 million tons of supplies to Berlin -- an effort that went down in history as an aviation and logistical feat.



At least 79 people, including 31 Americans, 39 British and nine Germans, had lost their lives, mostly in plane crashes. But the confrontation proved to be only the opening act in the decades-long Cold War.

[SAMWolf]

Korea: 1949-1953

INVASION

The surrender of Japan at the end of World War II also meant an end to 35 years of Japanese occupation in Korea. As they had in Germany, Soviet and U.S. troops liberated Korea -- and agreed to divide the nation along the 38th parallel as a temporary measure.

But as both sides withdrew their troops, they also set up rival governments, creating the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the North, and the Republic of Korea in the South.

WAR

Both North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and his South Korean counterpart, Syngman Rhee, dreamed of reunifying the peninsula under their respective governments. But Kim acted first. He pleaded with Stalin, who -- after first rejecting the idea -- helped North Korean forces plan for the invasion of the South.

Stalin also was heartened by the communist victory in China in 1949 and believed it was time to open an Asian front against capitalism. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army rolled south in a surprise assault.

U.N. ACTS

The United States took advantage of a Soviet boycott of the United Nations to have the U.N. Security Council condemn North Korean aggression -- and create a U.N. military force that would defend South Korea.

That U.N. force included soldiers from 16 nations, with the largest contingent coming from the United States --- all under the command of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur. At first, the U.N. troops were helpless against the North Korean assault -- and for a while appeared on the verge of being driven from the peninsula. But a daring attack behind North Korean lines at the port of Inchon rolls back the North Korean advance.

CHINA

North Korea's neighbor, the People's Republic of China, watched with alarm as U.N. forces drove the North Koreans out of the South. MacArthur assured U.S. President Truman there was no possibility of China entering the war. But unknown to Western leaders, 500,000 Chinese -- called the People's Volunteers -- were preparing to enter Korea.

In November 1950, after repeated warnings through diplomatic channels, China attacked -- sending the surprised U.N. forces reeling southward.

STALEMATE

U.N. troops stopped the advance by North Korean and Chinese forces near the 38th parallel -- and the war developed into a painful stalemate. MacArthur, who had called for the bombing of Chinese cities and pursuit of the war into China, was dismissed by Truman.

American members of the United Nations Delegation to the Panmunjom Military Armistice Conference attend a daily meeting at the Musanni United Nations Base Camp. Left to right: Colonel Andrew J. Kinney, USAF; Rear Admiral Ruthven E. Libby, USN; Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy, USN, Chief Delegate; Colonel Don O. Darrow, USAF; Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence G. Hill; Major General Howard M. Turner, USAF; and Major General Jai Heung Yu, Republic of Korea Army.

By the summer of 1951 armistice talks began. It wasn't until July 1953, after months of pointless fighting and the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, that a cease-fire was finally agreed to. Despite the armistice, the Korean peninsula remains divided to this day -- and a potential global flashpoint

[SAMWolf]

Reds: 1947-1953
FEAR

In the 1940s and '50s, the Cold War was fought through fear and persecution on both sides of the globe. In the United States, anti-communism became strident. Those who refused to completely renounce communism and its supporters were considered suspect. This was underscored by the actions of the FBI, under its leader J. Edgar Hoover.



In the Soviet Union, fences were raised against the outside world. The Gulag -- the secret government system of labor camps -- housed millions of prisoners.

HOLLYWOOD

At home, Americans feared communist subversion. Congress revived the House Committee on Un-American Activities. In 1947, the committee investigated America's film industry. Some of Hollywood's best-known actors, producers and writers were called to testify.


The "Hollywood Ten"

But 10 witnesses, who became known as the Hollywood Ten, defied the committee's line of questioning. The 10 were imprisoned. Hundreds more in Hollywood, suspected of communist sympathies, were blacklisted -- and unable to find work.

WITCH HUNTS

Several U.S. politicians used the Red Scare to their advantage. A State Department official, Alger Hiss, was accused by a former communist of passing secrets to the Soviet Union. Leading the prosecution against Hiss -- who was later jailed for perjury -- was a young California congressman named Richard Nixon.


Sen. Joseph McCarthy

Fear of communism also brought Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy into the limelight. During Senate hearings, McCarthy claimed to have lists of communists in the U.S. military, State Department and other government agencies. For months, McCarthy was able to attack people's reputations at will. He eventually fell out of public favor and power -- after he denounced leading Republicans and senior Army officials as communists.

ROSENBERGS

The fate of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg came to symbolize the excesses of the U.S. Red Scare. The couple were convicted of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union and sentenced to death.


Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Despite protests that the death sentence against the Rosenbergs -- who had young children -- was unconstitutional, they became the first U.S. civilians to be executed in peacetime for espionage.

CONFORMITY

In the Soviet bloc, Joseph Stalin was eliminating all traces of outside influences -- and any dissent against his form of communism. Following his split with Yugoslav leader Marshal Tito, Stalin had Czechoslovakia's Communist Party secretary, Rudolf Slansky, arrested and charged with Titoism, spying and sabotage. Slansky and 10 others were executed in 1952.


The Czech Jewish party leader Rudolf Slansky (seen here with his family) was found guilty of "Trotskyite-Titoist-Zionist activities in the service of American imperialism" at a trial in Prague in November 1952.

In the Soviet Union, those who discussed change, even in private, risked punishment. At age 17, Susanna Pechuro was arrested and charged with treason and terrorism as a member of a secret discussion group. Three of her friends were executed. Over the years, millions shared their fate -- many vanishing without a trace.

STALIN

In 1952, an old but still-unchallenged Stalin presided over the 19th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party. Before a hall packed with international dignitaries, Stalin declared that capitalists were losing the global class struggle.

But at home, Stalin saw treachery everywhere. Most of all, he suspected so-called cosmopolitans, mostly Jewish intellectuals and professionals. In January 1953, nine Kremlin doctors -- five of whom were Jewish -- were accused of plotting with Western intelligence to kill Soviet leaders. The affair inflamed Russian anti-Semitism.



Weeks later, Stalin collapsed of a brain hemorrhage. No one dared treat him as he lay half-conscious on the floor. Stalin died on March 5, 1953. Even those in the Soviet bloc who hated him could not imagine a future without him.

Additional Sources:

www.cnn.com
people.zeelandnet.nl
www.bayern.de
www.germanembassy-india.org
www.salvator.net
www.military.com
cti.itc.virginia.edu
www.msu.edu
www.berlinairlift.com
airwar.hihome.com
cgi.cnn.com
members.tripod.com/ bonniewmon
korea50.army.mil
www.phyton.dk
www.usc.edu
www.evesmag.com
www.learnhistory.org.uk
www.friends-partners.org
www.celebritymorgue.com

[SAMWolf]

Three years after the end of World War II, the Nazis' former capital, Berlin, would once again find itself the target of an allied air fleet. This time, the air armada was working to save, rather than destroy, the city.

It was one of the few times the Cold War went hot. The conflict on the Korean peninsula claimed millions of lives, and set the stage for the way both sides would view each other for years to come.

As the Cold War intensifes, so do fears in the Soviet Union and the United States of outside influences -- prompting massive campaigns to purge the "enemy within."

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone!

[Soaring Feather]

[snippy_about_it]

Pretty cardinals feather. We saw a female today. First one Sam has seen in years!

[snippy_about_it]

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[Soaring Feather]

Oh, I saw a female, too. I saw one eating grapes. Lovely.

[manna]

Present!

[snippy_about_it]

We waited a few minutes, hoping to hear their song but they weren't singing. :-(

Tomorrow is another long day away from the Foxhole. Friday we get to quit a little early and Saturday is our flight back.

We miss everyone but we are having fun!

[Soaring Feather]

Well, my dear have fun!!! We get to go around once in life!

The Foxhole goes on. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Hi Feather.

[Soaring Feather]

WOO HOO!! Hi Sam!!!!

[SAMWolf]

Hi Manna

[SAMWolf]

It was nice to see a Cardinal again. :-)

[Soaring Feather]

Oh Sam, I am sending FOXHOLE links to my brother in Mo. He loves Matthew's posts.Downloaded all the tunes Matt posted yesterday.

[Soaring Feather]

Oh sure, but we do not have Hummers year round as do you.


:-(

Hey, you and snippy gonna start a bird thread?? LOL

[Valin]

Teaser

1966 Jimmy Hendrix changes spelling of his name to Jimi

Goodnight.

[Iris7]

"A State Department official, Alger Hiss, was accused by a former communist of passing secrets to the Soviet Union. Leading the prosecution against Hiss -- who was later jailed for perjury -- was a young California congressman named Richard Nixon."

No mention of the fact that KGB files confirm what Whittaker Chambers said about Hiss. Hiss was one hundred percent guilty.

Another confirmed spy from that era was Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific head of the Manhattan Project. The Left screamed bloody murder when his security clearance was revoked. The Russian in charge of the atomic weapons technology grab, guy named Sudoplatov, says that Oppenheimer was one of his agents.