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The Cold War: a Matter of Opinion

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The Cold War: A Matter of Opinion

Amy Spengler

SS310

The Cold War was really a battle of wills, a power struggle, between the United States and the Soviet Union. No military contact ever ensued, but there was the constant fear of nuclear weapons. During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union fought as allies against the Axis powers (History, 2013). However, that changed after the war when there was competition between the two nations. The Cold War was an event in history that is commonly taught in schools all around the country. I personally do not remember learning about it in school, although I am sure I did. I interviewed five people to see if their knowledge of the Cold War is more than mine. All five of my interviewees were of different ages, to ensure a wide variety of answers. One special person interviewed was my father, Robert Spengler, who served in the Navy during the Cold War. He had some great stories that I will share.

So, what are the words or phrases that come to mind when thinking of the term Cold War? The answers ranged from political war, nuclear standoff, and political unrest to Cuba, USSR, and Iron Curtain. One person I interviewed, Susan Tomlinson, could not think of any words or phrases and she admitted that she knew nothing about it. Her exact words were, “I don't remember studying about the Cold War, although I remember hearing people talking in reference to the Cold War I don't know about it” (S. Tomlinson, personal communication, March 7, 2013). Two of my other interviewees remember learning about the Cold War in school; however, my father did not, since he was out of college and in the Navy at the time and one other did not remember learning about it at all. However, she states that she did “remember learning about the Iron Curtain” (Deb Kessler, personal communication,

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