Through Enemy Eyes:
U.S. and Soviet Perceptions of the
Other During the Cold War
From Wartime Alliance and the Friendly
Meeting on the Elbe River (Spring 1945). . .
To Mutual Distrust, Escalating Tensions, and
a World Divided into Two Camps
AMERICA IN THE WORLD ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS MOST RELEVANT
TO THIS PRESENTATION:
Perceptions of America at Home and Abroad:
How has America’s role in the world been characterized, and what is the
significance of these characterizations? (For example: imperialist, empire,
beacon of liberty, manifest destiny, global policeman, vital interests, national
security, and colonialism).
How has the US defined itself?
How have interactions with other nations affected Americans’ understanding
of their own identity?
Making war/making peace
How do nations interact with each other? How has the US projected its
power abroad?
How can we deepen historical thinking by viewing
this conflict (and others in American history)
through enemy eyes?
TLH Historical Categories of Inquiry Emphasized:
Through Their Eyes – How did people in the past view their world?
How did their worldview affect their choices and actions?
Using the Past – How does the past help us make sense of the
present?
Change and Continuity – What has changed? What has remained the
same?
Cause and Effect – What were the causes of past events? What were
the effects?
Using Propaganda as Historical Evidence – An Opportunity to
Encourage and Enhance Critical Thinking Skills
"Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions,
manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that
furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.“
Garth Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell,
Propaganda and Persuasion
“ Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful
persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and
actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial
purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages
(which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels.”
Richard Alan Nelson, A Chronology and
Glossary of Propaganda in the United States
“The Cold War was really a propaganda war. It was not a hot war, it was a
propaganda war in which all sides participated very, very actively. It was a
struggle for people’s minds.”
Vladimir Pozner (Soviet television commentator)
Part I:
Clashing Perceptions and Policies
in Post-War Europe
An “Iron Curtain” Descends
(Winston Churchill, 1946)
Stalin’s Reply to Churchill,
Pravda Interview, 1946
George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” (1947): US
Perceptions of Soviet Intentions. . .
. . .leads to the Truman Doctrine policies
Nikolai Novikov’s Telegram (1947):
Soviet Perceptions of American Intentions
“Hysterical War Drummer”
Phrases and . . . Bases
The figure in the back pocket of the General is saying Peace,
Defense, Disarmament.
The Marshall Plan for European Recovery
(Marshall’s Speech at Harvard,1947)
President Harry Truman and General
George Marshall
The Marshall Plan: Peace,
Freedom, Prosperity
Soviet Critique of the Marshall Plan:
Andrei Vyshinsky’s UN Speech (1947)
Capitalist Europe on the Upswing (1947)
Caption: American Marshall Plan credits
have failed to give a lift to the capitalist
countries of Europe.”
“Equal Partners” (1947)
Caption: “From top to bottom: Uncle Sam,
Bevin, Schuman, and Benelux in the process of
signing the North Atlantic Pact.”
“The Way It Happened - Ceremonial Signing of the Atlantic Pact”
Caption: The North Atlantic Pact is intended to intimidate those
nations which refuse to accept dictation from the Anglo-American
power bloc, a bloc which pretends to mastery of the world.”
The people of the world do not want a repeat of
the disaster of war. - J. Stalin
[Uncle Sam holds eggs and Spam in one hand and a gun wrapped
in the NATO treaty in the other.]
Part II: The Propaganda War at Home:
Depicting the Enemy’s Way of Life for a
Domestic Audience
Mosinee, Wisconsin’s “Day of Communism,”
May 1, 1950
Soviet Depictions of American Capitalism: Revealing the
True Nature of the Opposing System
“The Goal of Capitalism is always the Same: To get the
maximum profit from the poverty and misfortune of the
masses. Exploitation, Oppression, War.” (1953)
“Who Receives the National Income? In the USSR – the Workers. [In 1950,
the national income rose more than 60%. In the background, buildings labeled
University, Cinema, Palace of Culture. Packages labeled with name of
department stores, candy hangs from his button.] In Capitalist countries: the
lion’s share of profits go to the exploiters. [Note the guns.]
“The Same Years but Different Weather:
American Industry - 22%. Soviet Industry +20%”
Note that the American capitalist holds war plans and the lightening is spelling
out the word “crisis.”
America’s Role in the World
“Two worlds – two plans. We plant life, they sow death.”
WE transform the desert into a blooming region.
THEY transform cities and villages into a desert.
The American Way of Life
“A serious crime takes place every 21 seconds in the USA
Freedom American Style
Clockwise from upper left inset: Freedom of speech [geese labeled propaganda, lies]. Civil Liberties
[Klansmen lynching an African-American]. Freedom of assembly and meetings [leftist demonstrators being
attacked by heavily armed soldiers.]. Freedom of Opinion [judge reading criminal sentence for a Communist
Party member.] The skyscraper in the background behind the Statue of Liberty is labeled Wall Street.
In the USSR: the construction
of urban and rural schools
increased 70% in 1951-55 over
the previous Five Year Plan
In the USA: Spending on
schools represents 1% of the
government budget while 74%
goes to military spending; there
are over 10 million illiterate
people; around one-third of
children drop out before
finishing school. [sign says
“School closed”]
The Shame of America
Part III: Cultural Shocks and Closer
Encounters with the Other,1957-59
Space is Red!
Sputnik Changes the US
Perception of Soviet
Technological Prowess
October 1957
The New Masters of the Universe?
Soviet schoolchildren listen to Sputnik’s signals
Soviet Exhibition in New York City, 1959
The American National Exhibition in Moscow, Summer 1959
A Brave New World of
American Consumer Culture
The Kitchen Debate: A Different Type of Cold War Confrontation
Red Files: Soviet Propaganda [segment on the American
National Exhibition begins about 26 minutes into the film]
http://vimeo.com/8594157
For more on the American National Exhibition see
Kitchen Debate: A Research Project on Cold War Material
Culture
www.kitchendebate.org
Mosinee newsreel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbAf9y4ab4A