Berlin Wall Interview

Interviewers: Lena and Liesel Kemmelmeier

Interviewee: Christopher Church

Christopher Church is an assistant professor at the University of Nevada Reno Department of

History department. He specializes in social movements in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Interviewer: How did Post-War Berlin impact the Cold War?

Christopher: Berlin became the site of the first show-down between the United States and the
USSR. The Soviets occupied Berlin during the war and, with any eye toward the postwar world
and a penchant for reparations, they were reluctant to relinquish control of the city to the Allied
powers. The city was split into four zones: French, British, American, and Soviet. The Allies
merged their zones into West Berlin, while the Soviets kept their portion as East Berlin. The
USSR felt outnumbered by the Allies, and so they imposed the Berlin Blockade to prevent
supplies from entering the Western half of the city. This prompted what was known as the Berlin
Airlift, in which the United States began bringing in supplies via airplane. At this point, outright
war could have erupted, but because of the immediate memory of the Second World War, cool
heads prevailed. The showdown over Berlin had become a theater of the Cold War.

Interviewer: How did weapon developments (such as those of the atomic bomb)
play a significant role in the Cold War?
Christopher: One major reason that the Cold War remained cold was the development of
weapons of mass destruction on both sides. The United States developed the bomb in 1945,
with the USSR close on its heels in 1949, while Britain followed in the early 50s and France in
the early 60s. The USSR tested Tsar Bomba in 1961. The most powerful bomb ever produced.
Tsar Bomba made a mushroom cloud that stretched nearly 60 miles across and shattered
windows almost 600 miles away (farther than from Reno to San Diego). The US followed suit
the next year with a hydrogen bomb 500 times more powerful than those used on Japan in
1945. With all sides having such powerful weaponry, it was clear that outright war could result in
annihilation of all parties involved. This became known as mutually assured destruction, and it
was a large reason why the United States and USSR never went to war directly. They did,
however, fight proxy wars all over the world, both sides providing conventional--or non-atomic-weaponry to the combatants. While there were numerous proxy wars after 1945, the best
known examples took place in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.

Interviewer: How would you describe the hostility between the Soviet Union and
US during the Cold War?

Christopher: The hostility between the USSR and the US during the Cold War was one of
uneasy tension. Both sides felt that their way of life was better, and that the other's was
destroying the world and exploiting its people. So the Americans thought Communism was evil
and produced propaganda against it, while the Soviets felt the same about capitalism. While
much of the war was carried out through espionage, as well as through the proxy wars I
mentioned before, it was clear to both sides that outright war could erupt at any moment. This is
why US schools taught "Duck and Cover" routines championed by a cartoon named Bert the
Turtle. Everyone knew that atomic destruction was two key turns and a button push away. The
closest both sides came to outright war was when the USSR armed their proxy, Cuba, with
atomic weapons in 1962. Cuba is only 90 miles from Key West, Florida, and missiles so close to
the United States made everyone fear that the Cold War would become hot. The United States
blockaded Cuba, and as Soviet ships approached, it could have resulted in a declaration of war.
Thankfully, the Soviet ships turned away, and after a tense two weeks of negotiations and a
naval showdown, things cooled back off. So, the Cold War went through stages, at times getting
worse and at times better--what we call a detente, or relaxing of relations--but at all points, it
was marked by an uneasy tension.