Cold War in the News -- History

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Was West German history shaped by East German spy
The name of the literature student Benno Ohnesorg became a rallying cry for the West German left wing after he was shot dead by police in 1967. Newly discovered documents from the Stasi archive suggest that Karl-Heinz Kurras - the cop who shot Ohnesorg - may have been a spy for the Stasi. The papers show that Kurras began working with the Stasi in 1955. He had wanted to move to East Berlin, but instead he signed an agreement with the Stasi to remain with the West Berlin police force and spy for the communist state. As a result of the new information, criminal charges have once again been filed against Kurras (who has already been acquitted two times).
by spiegel.de :: 2009-06-03 :: East Germany

Teenager Mathias Rust tested Soviet air defenses on May 28, 1987
The Cold War was still in full force in 1987, when West German teenager Mathias Rust decided he was going to help us all just get along. Not only did he escape a death and fail to start World War III, but his stunt actually smoothed the way for an eventual easing of global tensions. Rust, 19, was determined to prove that the "evil empire" really wasn't all that evil and that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was truthful in his desire to end the Cold War. His plan: Violate the most heavily defended airspace in the world, get to Moscow in one piece, and show the world the softer side of the Soviets.
by wired.com :: 2009-06-03 :: Uncategorized Cold War News

KGB material released online by Cold War project
The Cold War International History Project has released the Vassiliev Notebooks - an important new source of information on Soviet intelligence in the US 1930-1950. Though the KGB's archive remains closed, ex-KGB officer turned journalist Alexander Vassiliev was given the unique chance to spend 2 years browsing over materials from the KGB archive taking notes on some of the KGB's most sensitive files. Though Vassiliev's access was not unchained, the 1115 pages of notes that he was able to take shed new light on such essential topics as Alger Hiss, the Rosenberg case, and 'Enormous,' the massive Soviet effort to gather intelligence on the atomic bomb project.
by slashdot.org :: 2009-05-27 :: Cold War Soviet Spies

The Great Cold War: A Journey Through the Hall of Mirrors [book review]
The initial turning point in the Cold War came quietly in the 1950s and 1960s. It was then that analysts at the RAND Corporation made what was then a radical but verifiable conclusion: "The West was far stronger than the Soviet Union and its allies - it had more manpower, greater wealth and a huge lead in technology." So, what was needed to exploit these inherent advantages? "A long term strategy that would be more effective than the policy of containment - and the will to implement it." That is the core of Gordon Barrass' "The Great Cold War," a superb account of how analysis reasoned that the Soviet Union, in many ways, was a hollow shell.
by washingtontimes.com :: 2009-04-17 :: Cold War Strategy and Tactics

Visitors tour Cold War missile site at Everglades - History Attraction
At the height of the Cold War, anti-aircraft missiles stood at the ready in Florida's swamplands, protecting the South from a Soviet nuclear attack from Cuba. For almost two decades, after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the HM-69 Nike Hercules Missile Site was staffed by 100 military personnel, one of the last lines of defense. When it closed in 1979, the park took charge of the site. Now the site is undergoing a rebirth as a history attraction, drawing the tourists who want to see the Cold War relic along with those who stumble upon it while visiting Everglades National Park.
by usatoday.com :: 2009-03-25 :: Cold War Bunkers & Shelters

Cold War in paradise - British soldiers witnessed early nuclear bombs
Some 50 years ago, thousands of young servicemen landed on the white sands of a Pacific paradise to oversee Britain's testing of early nuclear bombs. But what took place next damaged them for life, some claim, and now they want compensation. Dressed in overalls, gloves and a balaclava, naval cook Dougie Hern was ordered to sit on the beach, back to the bomb, eyes closed and hands over his face. "We saw a bright, brilliant light. It was as if someone had switched a firebar on in your head. It grew brighter and you could see the bones in your hands, like pink X-rays, in front of your closed eyes." Then, they were ordered to stand and turn towards the nuclear blast.
by bbc.co.uk :: 2009-03-01 :: Nuclear War

U.S. pays $100M to Florida Cold War workers with occupation illnesses
The U.S. Department of Labor has paid $100 million in compensation and medical benefits to Florida residents under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). The act was created to assist individuals who became ill as a result of working in the atomic weapons industry. Since the act, the Labor Department has paid 48,510 persons $4.5 billion. The EEOICPA covers current or former workers who have been diagnosed with illness caused by exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica while working for the U.S. Department of Energy, their contractors or subcontractors, a designated Atomic Weapons Employer, or a beryllium vendor.
by insurancejournal.com :: 2009-03-01 :: Nuclear War

NSA Documents on U.S. Cold War Intelligence Activities Released
A month before the Cuban Missile crisis, Soviet leaders placed their strategic forces on their "highest readiness stage since the beginning of the Cold War," reveals an internal history of the National Security Agency. Possibly worried that the White House had exposed soviet plans to deploy missiles on Cuba, the Kremlin kept forces on alert for 10 days from Sept. 11, 1962. The NSA's signals intelligence (SIGINT) history also reveals that on October 15th, the Soviets had a "precautionary, preliminary" alert. After JFK's speech on October 22nd 1962, announcing the blockade of Cuba, the Kremlin put military forces on an "extraordinarily high state of alert."
by pubrecord.org :: 2009-01-21 :: CIA during Cold War

Cold War in the News is an edited review of hand-picked Cold War related news and articles.