[RADIO OPERATOR] Sir, that's the fifth one today! The same identical message: "To History Bombs, do the Cold War (in one Take)" But what does it mean?
[COMMANDER] History Bombs, huh? It's gotta be the Russians, their spy network. Maybe something to do with the Manhattan Project. I gotta take this to the President!
[MODERATOR] Hey, guys! I've got this!
[RADIO OPERATOR] Who's that guy?
[MODERATOR] Pass me the mic, I'm coming through So you thought there would be peace after World War II? How could you be so naive to believe That we'd seen the worst of the 20th century? On one side: The communist USSR v capitalist USA
[US MILITARY] Oo-rah!
[MODERATOR] The tension's about to blow sky high At the Potsdam Conference, 1945!
[PRESIDENT TRUMAN] We did it, Stalin, chalked up a win And we've each got a nice little piece of Berlin
[STALIN] My victory, Truman, your troops arrived late But at least I've seized the Baltic States
[PRESIDENT TRUMAN] So you're gonna pull back? Time to take stock? [STALIN] What? Are you jealous of my Eastern Bloc? So you want Russian help to defeat Japan?
[PRESIDENT TRUMAN] Well, actually, I've got an explosive plan
[MODERATOR] The Potsdam Agreement split Germany and Austria into four occupied zones as an "Iron Curtain" fell across Europe This was the only time Truman and Stalin met face-to-face Just one week after the conference Truman unleashed America's top secret nuclear weapons on Japan, without informing Stalin, fuelling mistrust between the former allies
[GEORGE KENNAN] This is George Kennan reporting from Moscow, ma'am Eyes only for Truman, a Long Telegram It must be America's firm intention To contain Soviet global aggression
[NIKOLAI VASILEVICH NOVIKOV] This is Novikov reporting from United States Tell Stalin we must spend whatever it takes The US are clearly laying foundations For total global domination!
[MODERATOR] Kennan's Long Telegram influenced the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan which provided aid to countries threatened by Soviet communism The US sent aid to Turkey and Greece, but when they tried to introduce the Deutsche Mark in Germany Stalin blockaded supplies to West Berlin Cue the Berlin Airlift! [RAF PILOT] Look up, Stalin, you can block the roads But the Brits are flying in with peaceful payloads!
[ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE PILOT] Ha, good on ya, mate! How about some credit for the US, Aussie, Kiwi, and Canadian effort?
[RAF PILOT] We be dropping 9,000 tonnes of supplies a day Mostly coal and potatoes, hardly gourmet Now find me a runway, I need to hit the ground
[ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE PILOT] You can head home, mate, Stalin's just backed down!
[RAF PILOT] What, what!
[MODERATOR] The Allies flew in vital supplies to West Berlin until Stalin backed down in May 1949 In the same year the Western Allies formed NATO to counterweight Russia But that winter the balance of power was about to shift dramatically east
[STALIN] Comrade, welcome to the Soviet Union. And kudos on your communist revolution!
[MAO ZEDONG] And so a new era for China begins I need good news to take back to Beijing
[STALIN] An alliance together, if I may say so, would surely put it right up NATO!
[MAO ZEDONG] Let's renew the Sino-Soviet Alliance
[STALIN] Agreed! Now, you like rocket science?
[MODERATOR] Stalin and Mao renewed the Sino-Soviet Alliance, presenting a seismic shift in geopolitics What's more, the USSR secretly tested their first nuclear weapon Both superpowers began spreading their influence abroad backing a complex web of competing governments and rebel groups, until tensions crystallised on the Korean Peninsula!
[US AIR MARSHAL] Okay, boys, it's good to see ya The Commies are backing North Korea So we'll be supporting our troops on the ground
[USAF PILOT 1] Gettin' up close to the speed of sound!
[US AIR MARSHAL] Alright, now remember it's a UN mission We're part of a Western coalition Protecting the South. You got that, Briggs?
[USAF PILOT BRIGGS] Yes, sir! Time to bag me a MiG!
[MODERATOR] The Korean War hit a stalemate until an armistice began in 1953. North and South Korea were split along the 38th parallel - a line that still divides the country today. Over the next decade, tensions escalated further and the conflict became truly global Are you paying attention? Let's go!
Stalin died and Truman lost power In come Khrushchev and Eisenhower The Warsaw Pact binds the Eastern Bloc But the Russian and Chinese bond is rocked In '56 the Hungarian Uprising Is smashed by the Russians, the world's realising That these superpowers crush those who oppose As the CIA ruthlessly hunts in the shadows The Space Race makes for a dazzling sideshow As Khrushchev cranks up the pressure from Moscow In the Berlin Crisis, you've probably guessed They put up a wall to split East and West And just before you begin to relax An island off Florida has just unpacked A lethal arsenal of Soviet nukes The world holds its breath and I'm gonna puke!
[PRESIDENT KENNEDY] My fellow Americans, there's a Soviet move-a To a put a boat load of nukes on the island of Cuba It would appear that Moscow has fed us lies And I will not stand idly by Now I know what you're thinking, last year wasn't great The Bay of Pigs was a big mistake But after careful thought, the decision's been made We'll stop Moscow's ships with a naval blockade
[MODERATOR] For thirteen days the world held its breath as Washington and Moscow communicated via unreliable backchannels Despite some close calls, Khrushchev agreed to remove the weapons if Kennedy removed his own missiles from Turkey Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, an ill-advised proxy war was growing out of control
[US MARINE] Well, good morning, Vietnam Lit by a furious fire of napalm Scarred by a million brutal shells A jungle paradise turned to Hell And is that battle really ours? Where's the "just" within this cause? America, an elephant scared by a mouse Drawing lines in the sand when the tide is out
[MODERATOR] For two decades the US fought a futile war against communist-backed North Vietnam until the US withdrawl In 1972, President Nixon travelled to Beijing and Moscow holding talks to limit the arms race during a period known as détante However, in 1979, Cold War tensions would ratchet up once more
[CIA OPERATOR] Sir, we just got word from Afghanistan A communist coup!
[CIA COMMANDER] Sounds like a Soviet plan
[CIA OPERATOR] Yes, sir, the Russians are sending advisors Clearly, they're trying to undermine us
[CIA COMMANDER] So let's support the other side
[CIA OPERATOR] The Islamist fighters?
[CIA COMMANDER] Yeah, that sounds fine Encourage them to fight a holy war v the Soviet Union
[CIA OPERATOR] Well, if you're sure
[MODERATOR] The Soviet Union sent thousands of troops to support the communist party in Afghanistan, but they failed to defeat local Mujahideen fighters backed by the USA In 1987 Gorbachev and Reagan signed a treaty to limit nuclear weapons as the Soviet economy began to fail And in 1989 the eyes of the world turned to Berlin!
[MALE BERLINER] We're sick of silence, we will not rest Berlin as one, not East and West If there's one thing of which I'm certain It's time to end this "Iron Curtain"!
[FEMALE BERLINER] We must destroy this brutal vision This ugly symbol of division East and West, join the call Hey, Gorbachev?
[BERLINERS] Tear down this wall!
[MODERATOR] In '89 the wall came down And Eastern Europe stood its ground With a sweeping wave of revolutions Against their Soviet institutions Finally, after 50 years Of proxy wars and nuclear fears The world began to heal the scars Of countless battles, near and far And present day? Fast forward the clock We're still living with the aftershock This global war for domination Affected almost every nation So don't assume this war was "cold" That it didn't take a human toll For the millions who died for their nation states Let us learn from their fateTeksty umieszczone na naszej stronie są własnością wytwórni, wykonawców, osób mających do nich prawa.
