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.

The post Cold War
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.

The post Cold War
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=4lPjMh1zpEo

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev made a surprising and historic announcement on December 25, 1991. Effective immediately, he resigned as president and essentially dissolved the entire Soviet Union. The Christmas day speech is seen by many, along with the fall of the Berlin Wall, as the moment that the Cold War officially ended.

The post Cold War
Mikhail Gorbachev Resigns on Television appeared first on Witnify.

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

Alger Hiss was an American lawyer who was accused of being a member of the Communist Party by the House Un-American Activities Committee(HUAC). On August 3, 1948, a man named Whittaker Chambers testified before the committee that he and Hiss had both been secret communists for years. Despite questions over the reliability of Chamber’s testimony, Hiss was eventually imprisoned for 3 years and eight months for lying to Congress.

The post Cold War
Alger Hiss Testifies Before HUAC appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niN-eCcRUBQ

“I speak to you tonight in a spirit of hope”. On July 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation regarding the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty. Explaining the treaty, he says: “Negotiations were concluded in Moscow on a treaty to ban all nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and underwater. For the first time an agreement has been reached on bringing the forces of nuclear destruction under international control”. While expressing optimism, President Kennedy also notes the treaty’s shortcomings: “The treaty is a limited treaty which permits continued underground testing, and prohibits only those tests that we ourselves can police”. A nation could also withdraw from the treaty in times of war, or if events had “jeopardized its extreme interest”.

The post Cold War
President John F. Kennedy on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61w9Tqzxpfw

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, is interviewed about his perspective on the Cold War period in which Germany was divided into two independent countries with the famous Berlin Wall. Putin discusses his impressions on the wall and why it was destined to come down, claiming that a structure used to divide people can never really be anything more than temporary. He also comments on the decisions that the Soviet Union made to use East Germany as their pawn in the Cold War, as well as what he would have done differently if he was in a position to make state decisions during that time.

The post Berlin Wall
Putin on East & West Germany’s Division & Unification appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtjJqZvl5nk

Svetlana Alliuyeva, the youngest child and only daughter of Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, addresses the press concerning her 1967 immigration to the United States. Svetlana, who changed her named to Lana Peters after moving to America, sparked international scandal with her defection from the Soviet Union becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States and voicing her dissent against her homeland’s ruling powers.

The post Cold War
Daughter of Stalin Speaks After Defection to U.S. appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei1HnWwzmNk

A significant moment in Cold War history: U.S. President Ronald Reagan on June 12, 1987 issued a challenge to Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall, which the Communist state of East Germany erected in 1961 as a barrier between West Berlin and the socialist state of East Germany. Reagan’s challenge was for Gorbachev to dismantle the wall as a marker of his stated commitment to increase transparency and freedom in the Eastern Bloc and to urge an end to the arms race with the Soviets.

The post Berlin Wall
‘Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!’ appeared first on Witnify.