Cold War Interview

May 30, 2012
Block 5
Mrs. Hughes
Cold War The cold war affected many countries and people. It lasted about 46 years and it had the most casualties. It worried and hurt millions of people world wide. There was so much that happened during the cold war. Throughout the war it seemed that people all around the world were scared for their lives and their families. People that grew up during the cold war grew up around nuclear bomb threats, watching or listening to the news about people talking about all the deaths and terror around them. It was hard to keep children safe and out of the war. Teachers would bring tv’s and radios into the classroom and have them listen to it and watch was happing to the world around them. Children began to be drafted and involuntarily involved in the war at a very young age. The United States and the people involved in the war got taught a lot during this time. It advanced our technology. As the war continued on for 46 years, countries all around the world were competing in the space race. They were sending devices and humans up into space to come up with new technology. Such as computers, TV’s, new weapons, phones and much more was invented that changed the world and how our generation is today. A child born before the cold war grew up in fear, especially because as they grew up they knew people involved in the war and sometimes became a part of the war. Teenagers mostly, and the people with the loudest voice got drafted. Most of the people living during the cold war were against it, especially the Vietnam War which was a huge event in the cold war. Even though it wasn’t declared a war, it was the bloodiest and most gory war and took a huge part in the cold war. It affected many people especially because so many people were being drafted. Some people were sent off to Vietnam and couldn’t do anything about it and some of them never came home. It split families, friends, countries, and governments apart. It changed the ruling of some countries and how presidents dealt with our countries and our own issues. The people that were raised during the cold war are raising our generation now. The world is a much different place now ever sense the cold war. The way we talk about and approach a war and other countries now is very different today, then it was during the cold war. The cold war changed the world we live in today in a very drastic way. The cold war had an effect on many different people. During this time, post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety effected many people because of the Vietnam War, and the nuclear bombs and invasions. It was talked frequently about on the news and on the radio and for many kids to see, they grew up living in fear because everyone would talk about death, threats, radiation and bombing. Then children had to be worried about being sent off and away from their family to fight in the Vietnam War. Back during the cold war the news would be open about what was going on, causing everyone to panic and kids would see pictures and hear about what was happening to them and it basically scarred them for life. On the bright side of the war it taught the children during that time to become stronger and more independent because their life was surrounded by the war. People and children always got scared about what they were hearing on the news, but after awhile they got used to it. After the Vietnam war ended the people that were in the war became mentally insane and some of them had to go into intensive care hospitals to get treated because their families couldn’t help them or couldn’t bare to see them suffer because of what they had to go though. I will never fully understand what people had to go though during this horrible time during their lives and I hope I never have to live thought what many children and adults did. They all grew up differently then we do today because they had more experience of a crazy life. The cold war gave me a whole new perspective of life and we would never have the things we have today if it wasn’t for the war and the people involved in it.

Question/Answer Sheet 1. Did you ever hear people talk about the nuclear weapons? How did you feel about these weapons? * I did hear people talk about the nuclear weapons. But I wasn’t really scared because I wasn’t really old enough to understand what was going on. 2. Did your school have air-raid drills? What did you have to do? * Yes we did have air-raid drills and when we did we had to get under our desks but we only did practice ones there was never a real one. 3. Did you ever hear about bomb shelters? Did you ever have to go in one? * Yes, I did hear about the bomb shelters. I never had to go in one though, but at night we had to turn off all of our lights and shut all of the curtains just in case something did happen. 4. What do you remember watching on tv or hearing on the radio? * I never listened to the radio and we didn’t have a tv back then so I didn’t know much. 5. Were you ever afraid of the nuclear weapons? * No I was not because I knew nothing was going to happen. 6. Do you remember who the president was during the cold war? * Yes I do, it was Truman. 7. Did you know anyone in the cold war? * Yes I did. Your uncle dawn was in the war. 8. Where did you live during the cold war? * I lived in Maine during the cold war. 9. Did you understand who the enemy was? * Yes, China and Russia but I never understood why they were attacking us. 10. How old were you during the cold war? * When it first started I was about 3 and when it ended I was in the late thirtys.