A Brief History
On June 22, 1990, Checkpoint Charlie, the best known crossing point between Soviet-occupied East Germany to Western-occupied West Germany was torn down, a sign that the Cold War that had threatened the world with nuclear annihilation since 1947 was drawing to an end. Here we list 10 prominent symbols or icons that are closely associated with this time period. (Honorable mention to the AK-47 and the M-16 assault rifles.)
Digging Deeper
10. MiG-15 and F-86.
These are the best of the early jets from both sides that faced off during the Korean War; the fierce debate over which was the better fighter plane is still being fought.
9. The ICBM.
The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile that carried a nuclear warhead was first fielded by the Soviets in 1959, but the U.S. was quick to follow with its own similar weapons. Because they were capable of striking anywhere on Earth and impossible to stop (at the time) once launched, these rockets terrified anyone smart enough to realize the danger they posed. Eventually engineered to carry multiple warheads of increasing power and accuracy, these testaments to the animosity felt during the Cold War remain in use to this day and are now also in service in places such as China and India. With even more third world countries threatening to develop such missiles and the nuclear warheads to go with them, the relief felt at end of Cold War was certainly fleeting.
8. The U-2.
Designed by Lockheed’s Clarence “Kelly” Johnson (the guy who designed the P-38, the F-80, the F-104 and the SR-71), the super long and delicate-looking wings of this spy plane gave it a distinctive silhouette, making it an unmistakable and a prominent symbol of the Cold War. When U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, tensions between the U.S. and the USSR reached a high level, and the U.S. was left humiliated when President Eisenhower looked like a liar after denying the flight had even taken been over the USSR. On an interesting side note, this is one of only a few military planes to have an operational life of over 50 years, and it is still in service.
7. Sputnik.
The world watched as the Soviets beat the Americans into space with their launch of the world’s first satellite in 1957, and disappointed Americans were irate that Communists could have beaten “free” people into space. The successful launch of Sputnik was soon followed by the ICBM whose saving grace is of a legacy of satellites enjoyed today for television, radio, telephone and other communications as well as monitoring and taking nifty pictures of space and the Earth.
6. The B-52 Stratofortress.
Since being introduced in 1955, 744 of these massive bombers have been built. Incredibly, the U.S. Air Force still relies on them as one of their primary weapons systems. Probably the most iconic weapon of the Cold War, unlike its Soviet counterparts, the B-52 has dropped thousands of (non-nuclear) bombs in combat. This Cold War relic may well be the greatest military bomber of all time.
5. Checkpoint Charlie.
Once a tense location where suspicious soldiers carefully checked the papers of people and the contents of vehicles crossing the Berlin Wall to and from East and West Germany, this classic symbol was retained after the Berlin Wall was torn down during the reunification process of Germany. Though it was only 1 of 9 Berlin border crossings, it is the one that is most remembered. Its building is now a tourist attraction and museum. For all intents and purposes, Checkpoint Charlie was the front line of the Cold War.
4. Cheyenne Mountain.
Completed in 1966, this tunneled complex located deep in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado had the purpose of serving as a protected headquarters in the event of nuclear war. Consisting of 15 three-story buildings mounted on enormous shock-absorbing springs, it was over 5 acres large and stood under the protection of 2,000 feet of granite and giant steel blast doors that had been designed to be capable of withstanding a 30-megaton blast. This “underground city” has a 1.5 million-gallon reservoir of water and its own power plant. It is now mainly used as a space program monitoring station.
3. The Moscow-Washington “Hotline.”
A direct link between the principle adversaries of the Cold War, this telephone connection was established in 1963 to provide sure and direct communication between the President of the U.S. and the leader of the Soviet Union during times of crisis. The need for such a link had become apparent during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and it remains intact even today.
2. The Hydrogen Bomb (thermonuclear).
Developed first by the U.S. in 1952 and then by the USSR in 1953, this horrific weapon had the potential of being more than 1,000 times more powerful than the bombs that had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The threat of nuclear devastation hung over the world for nearly 40 years and nearly came to pass during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The only good part to come of this were some entertaining movies such as Dr. Strangelove (1964, comedy), Failsafe (1964, serious) and television’s The Day After (1983) which was watched by over 100 million people at the time of its original broadcast.
1. The Berlin Wall.
Constructed by East Germany in 1961 to keep East Germans from defecting to the West, the concrete wall was over 150 kilometers long, nearly 12 feet high in places, topped with barbed wire and manned by soldiers with machine guns in 302 watch towers and 20 bunkers. The tearing down of this wall has become synonymous with the end of the Cold War. It is now estimated that as many as 200 defectors were shot as they attempted to climb over it.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Did we miss any?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see:
Downing, Taylor and Jeremy Issacs. Cold War: An Illustrated History, 1945-1991. Little Brown & Co, 1998.
