http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT5x2E6oJ4s

American actress and singer Della Reese talks about her time touring with Nat King Cole. Reese explains how she was utterly and outwardly smitten with the famous jazz musician to the point where Cole’s band would tease her about her crush. She delights in her memory of Cole standing up for her one night after a show–telling his band to cease teasing her: “He had recognized me. It was wonderful.”

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Della Reese’s Crush on Nat King Cole appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6EGIF3bgeg

Polio is an infectious disease spread from person to person. Polio can result in severe muscle weakness, most commonly involving the legs. In the 1950s, Jonas Salk created a polio vaccine that was used to vaccinate children across the United States. In this video, polio survivors recall coming down with the disease and how Polio impacted their lives. Says one survivor: “I was completely paralyzed from the neck down for about six weeks, and in the hospital, I guess, a good six months. And I remember I was quarantined. I couldn’t see my parents for those six weeks.”

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Polio Survivors Recount Contracting The Disease appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86ub54ChBc4

Gary Powers was an American pilot who was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission over Soviet Union airspace in 1960. The plane Powers was flying was a U-2 spy plane belonging to the Central Intelligence Agency. Powers was captured by Soviet Forces and held prisoner until February 10, 1962, when he was released in exchange for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. This video shows historical footage from the time of the incident, including a statement from U.S. State Department spokesman Lincoln White and footage from the wreckage of the plane.

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Pilot Gary Powers appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrMAvy_Aoak

The Stasi were the official state security service of East Germany established in 1950. It is considered to be one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies of all time. The Stasi were headquartered in East Berlin, and they were responsible for spying on the population. In this video, both Stasi victims and agents speak about their experiences.

The post Cold War
Stasi Victims and Agents On Their Experiences appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LqUP2Qc81M

Rudolf Abel was an intelligence officer with the KGB who was arrested on charges of conspiracy by the FBI in 1957. Abel was sent to the United States after World War II as part of a spy ring operating out of New York City. Although Abel was sentenced to 45 years in prison for his conviction on three counts of conspiracy as a Soviet spy, he only served four years of his sentence. On February 10, 1962, Abel was exchanged for American U-2 pilot Gary Powers, who had been captured by the Soviets. This video explains how Abel was caught, and shows clips from interviews with Abel’s New York neighbors as well as his defense attorney.

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KGB Atomic Spy Rudolf Abel And The Hollow Coin appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXY2NDv5CqA

Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury on January 21, 1950. Whitaker Chambers, a former Communist Party member, had testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) that Hiss had secretly been a Communist. Hiss denied this allegation. Chambers then produced evidence that he and Hiss had been involved in espionage, which Hiss had previously denied. Hiss was indicted on two counts of perjury, and was found guilty on both counts of perjury and received two five-year sentences, of which he served three and a half years. In this video, Hiss maintains his innocence.

The post Cold War
Alger Hiss Interviewed About His Conviction appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkFQsYaddGM

Three successful professionals share the influence that Charles M. Schulz, creator of the “Peanuts” comics, has had on their lives and in the world in general. First is Kate DiCamillo, award-winning children’s book writer; next is cartoonist Stephan Pastis who co-wrote the first graphic novel containing Peanuts characters, titled “Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown!”; and Washington Post cartoonist and Comic Riffs blogger Michael Cana. Peanuts was created by Schultz on October 2, 1950 and still runs in syndication today. On January 3, 2000, the last original weekday Peanuts comic strip was published and the final Sunday strip was published on February 13, 2000.

The post Peanuts
Cartoonists Inspired by Charles M. Schulz Discuss His Influence appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgcuk_R51HQ

Nat King Cole’s daughter, widow, and others explain what Cole’s “The Christmas Song” means to them and their relationship with the beloved icon. They also touch on the challenges the singer had to experience in his personal life with his health and the racism he endured throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

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The Christmas Song appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG3mjPaIwSk

On December 28, 1958, at Yankee Stadium in New York City, the 26th annual NFL championship game was played between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants. It was the first NFL playoff game to go into sudden death overtime. With a score of 23-17, the Baltimore Colts led by Quarterback Johnny Unitas, emerged victorious. The game became known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” This video shows highlight footage from the game.

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“The Greatest Game Ever Played” appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B8R-umE0s0

On December 8, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly entitled “Atoms for Peace”. Following this speech, the United States launched the “Atoms for Peace” program, which supplied equipment and information to schools, hospitals and research institutions both in the U.S. and abroad. This video shows part of Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace speech, in which he says: “Clearly, if the peoples of the world are to conduct an intelligent search for peace, they must be armed with the significant facts of today’s existence.”

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Eisenhower’s Atoms For Peace Speech appeared first on Witnify.