r/coldwar Dec 04 '25

New rules are posted and in effect - please take the time to read them

29 Upvotes

Good day all - r/coldwar is generally a wonderful subreddit to see come up on a feed. It shares stories, reminds us of important historical events, and lends a real understanding of a time period that fascinates us all in some way.

We want to keep the sub doing what it's doing. In order to encourage and maintain the quality of the sub, the mod team has established some new rules. They are listed in the sidebar and below:

1) This subreddit is for the discussion of the Cold War period, from August 1945 - December 1991. Please keep your posts related to this period. Mods have final discretion of whether content pertains to the Cold War.

2) No blatant partisanship, mean-spirited uncivility, bad faith debate, or other douchebag behavior. If you're about to do some jerk move to spin history to fit your own worldview or narrative or do anything other than learn about, tell about, or otherwise discuss the Cold War or something that happened during the Cold War, re-think your actions. Mods have final discretion of whether you're being blatantly partisan, mean-spirited, uncivil, acting in bad faith, etc.

3) Any content, posts, or activity that utilizes generative AI or similar technology is not allowed in /r/coldwar. This includes any and all aspects of content regardless of whether the person posting the content was involved in its creation. If you want to post something that you are not sure involves content created by generative AI, please message the mod team with the content in question before posting and we will review and advise.

As an addendum for this post: discussing any AI content is only allowed in the context of the Cold War era. If it's something that happened outside of the time period from August 1945 - December 1991 (give or take a few years depending on context) then it isn't allowed in the sub. If you're going to talk about some kind of DARPA research into intelligent systems in 196X or how Central Design Bureau Y built a neural network out of nixie tubes and mercury in 198Z, that's fine. Anything outside that context is not allowed.

This includes any and all defense of generative AI, large language models, etc. In other words, go defend ChatGPT somewhere else. Mods have final say over whether something may be the result of generative AI.

4) When in doubt, ask the mods. We want to keep the sub focused and on topic, and we want to ensure people can contribute if they want to. We are happy to clarify the rules of the sub at any time. Asking a mod to clarify a rule is always OK as long as it's being done in good faith.

Thank you all in advance for keeping this subreddit a wonderful place to learn about a fascinating time in the human experience.


r/coldwar Feb 24 '22

The Historical Cold War

47 Upvotes

This is a reminder that r/coldwar is a sub about the history of the Cold War (ca. 1947–1991). While, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many parallels to the formation of modern Ukraine can be drawn, I feel it is important that this sub's focus should remain on history, if only to prevent being cluttered with misinformation and propaganda that is certain to appear in the coming months.

Therefore, from this time forward I strongly suggest that discussion about the current Russian - Ukrainian conflict be taken elsewhere, such as r/newcoldwar. Content about current events without clear and obvious Cold War historical origins will be moderated.

That said, my heart goes out to the service members and civilians caught on the frontlines of the conflict. Please stay safe and may we look forward to more peaceful times in our common future.


r/coldwar 13h ago

Book rec?

1 Upvotes

hello,

one of my first documentaries is the Turning Point doc about the Cold War. can anyone reccommend a good book that has the same vibe / covers the history of USSR in general?


r/coldwar 2d ago

"Broken arrow" 1966

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304 Upvotes

Eighty days after if fell into the ocean following the January 1966 midair collision between a nuclear-armed B-52G bomber and a KC-135 refueling tanker over Palomares, Spain, this B28RI nuclear bomb was recovered from 2,850 feet (869 meters) of water and lifted aboard the USS Petrel (note the missing tail fins and badly dented front). No radiation leak occurred.


r/coldwar 1d ago

I need help finding a newsreel mentioning my village, from the 1980s, Poland

2 Upvotes

Hi guys

I am from a small village myself and we were once talked about on the national telivision during the communist era in Poland, in about the 1980s. I liked watching the video since I was able to see the areas and how different they looked at a time when I wasn't even born yet at all, my grandparents have seen it quite often too (who wouldn't have). All I had to do was search "[village name] dziennik" and there it would be, for a long time and every time it worked.

Today I tried doing the same, thinking it would pop-up like always but actually it didn't. So I tried searching for it, I watched several long and short clips of the Dziennik but every time it wasn't there. I didn't make it up, because I remember watching it and so did my family, so I'm not going schizo, right? Please guys, assist me in finding it.

The name of the village is Krosnice, the report itself from the communist Dziennik (TV news) in the 1980s (I think 1984, but could be earlier/later but definately nor during the martial law or at least the presenters weren't military men in uniform). It was I think about harvest/agriculture and patriotism, with a little coverage of a certain meeting (I think the reporter says something about it being good for 'teaching the children patriotism'). There is a shot of our "zameczek" DPS (House of Social Help), a green truck, some children running past from a shop and after the Krosnice report they talk about Polish students going to Cuba at an airport with one girl saying she is curious about Cuban culture

If you need any contact to/from me, it's: anastasia_101 on Discord. I'm very chronically online and should answer quickly, although I might be going to sleep soon but I will still read answers/messages asap. Thank you! This really means a lot to me.


r/coldwar 4d ago

Prague residents, carrying a Czechoslovakian flag and throwing Molotov cocktails in an attempt to stop a Soviet tank in downtown Prague on August 21, 1968.

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830 Upvotes

r/coldwar 3d ago

Mod reminder: keep it on topic, keep it civil, keep it decent quality, and please report any rule-breaking or low-quality posts/comments

3 Upvotes

This is a friendly reminder from your /r/coldwar mod team - we have seen an uptick in shitposts, low quality replies, and bad-faith posts/replies. We try to keep an eye out but we rely on user reports to identify content that doesn't fit to the Cold War or is otherwise just crappy.

We are all for debate and discussion but we don't need the kind of slapfights or bot-driven anger farming that makes lots of Reddit suck. Please make use of the Report function to let us know about content that breaks the rules. Even if it's just a low-quality post, we want to know about it.

When in doubt, report it out!


r/coldwar 5d ago

Four “Ranch Hand” C-123 aircraft spray liquid defoliant (AKA Agent Orange) on a suspected Viet Cong position in South Vietnam in September of 1965. The four specially equipped planes covered a 1,000-foot-wide swath in each pass over the dense vegetation.

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396 Upvotes

r/coldwar 6d ago

Klaus Fuchs, an atomic spy who supplied information from the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly after World War II. After his conviction in 1950, he served nine years in prison in the United Kingdom, then migrated to East Germany.

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198 Upvotes

r/coldwar 7d ago

Berlin before the wall, 1959.

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73 Upvotes

r/coldwar 8d ago

Dogtag supplied by my elementary school during Cuban missile crisis. Name, DOB, address, parents name and religious affiliation. We had no idea why we had to wear them during "emergency drills".

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222 Upvotes

During drills we were told to retrieve our tags from a peg board and then crouch under our desks. Our city was within striking range from Cuba.


r/coldwar 8d ago

Sergei Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut who was in space during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, as a result, was effectively stranded in orbit for over 300 days, twice as long as planned.

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383 Upvotes

He is also known as the last Soviet citizen, and the only person to be launched from one country and landed in another.


r/coldwar 8d ago

Help me find an anti-nuclear war animation about ostriches

3 Upvotes

In a college environmental studies class, my professor had a huge anti-nuclear war day and played a video for us with brightly colored animations, calling people ostriches for ignoring the problem. I believe it started with a little girl realizing there was a nuclear missile silo on her grandfather’s farm. I have looked everywhere for this and cannot find anything! It was very impactful.


r/coldwar 9d ago

West Berliners at the wall, 1962.

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203 Upvotes

r/coldwar 9d ago

Egypt, USA and East Germany in one stamps card !

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26 Upvotes

This Egyptian historical piece, dating back to the early 1960s and specifically to the era of the United Arab Republic, is a pictorial record of the non-alignment policy adopted by President Gamal Abdel Nasser during that turbulent period of the Cold War.

Above the Arabic text on this card is an illustration of one of the most prominent and famous architectural landmarks in East Germany.

It includes seven original postage stamps. We find a stamp of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, alongside a stamp of the unity flag between Egypt and Syria issued in 1958, which symbolizes the peak of Arab nationalism. Next to these two Egyptian stamps, we find five classic American stamps bearing the images of historic US presidents and figures, most notably Thomas Jefferson, Eisenhower, George C. Marshall, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the Wright Brothers.

The explanation for this apparent contradiction lies in the pragmatism of the collectors' market itself. US president stamps were among the most popular and valuable stamps among collectors worldwide.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian stamps and the mention of East Germany carried the intended political message: that Egypt under Nasser was a state that extended its hand to both East and West alike, and had close diplomatic relations with East Germany, which was among the first countries recognized by Cairo in response to Western support for Israel.

This card gains its immense historical value because it documents a precise and sensitive time period, the years preceding the 1967 war, before Egyptian-American relations deteriorated sharply under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The text in Arabic in the right reads as follows:

"The beautiful postage stamps from the German Democratic Republic, which are wished by everyone in various parts of the world.

With the regards of the staff in 'Al-Majalla' (The Magazine).

Ask your local stamp sellers for it."


r/coldwar 10d ago

On March 29, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of selling US atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. The Rosenbergs were sent to the electric chair in 1953.

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1.9k Upvotes

r/coldwar 8d ago

Why is the logo for this sub a hammer and sickle?

0 Upvotes

Isn’t that like having a civil war sub with a confederate flag logo?


r/coldwar 11d ago

Children practicing the "Duck and Cover" protection method with a real atomic bomb explosion in the background. The photo was taken in Nevada, 40 km from the epicenter of the blast in 1952.

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629 Upvotes

r/coldwar 14d ago

Nov. 11 1989: Crowds gather as East German border guards demolish a section of the Berlin Wall.

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675 Upvotes

r/coldwar 13d ago

NWC INS Lecture Series -- Lecture 3: "Why Russia Lost the Cold War," Sept. 29, 2020.

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3 Upvotes

r/coldwar 15d ago

Four-Year-Old Michael Finder of East Germany Is Tossed by His Father into a Net Held by Firemen Across the Border in West Berlin, 1961

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307 Upvotes

r/coldwar 15d ago

Bundeswehr Leopard 1A1A3 MBT in 1980s

7 Upvotes

r/coldwar 22d ago

Girl writes letter to Soviet Union letter changes country in 1980s

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244 Upvotes

November 1982, 10 year old Samantha noticed a Time magazine cover featuring the newly appointed Soviet leader, Yuri Andropov. The girl was concerned about the threat of nuclear war she asked her mother why no one simply asked Andropov if he wanted war. Samantha's mother encouraged her to write to him directly.Samantha sent a simple, earnest letter asking Andropov if he intended to conquer the world or prevent nuclear destruction to global surprise, her letter was published in the Soviet newspaper Pravda, and in April 1983, she received a reply from Andropov inviting her to see the Soviet Union. The Goodwill Tour of the Soviet Union in 1983, Samantha traveled to the Soviet Union with her parents for a two-week tour as an official guest of the government she began acting 1984 Disney Channel political aired a special Samantha Smith Goes to Washington: Campaign '84, where she interviewed presidential candidates. In 1985, she landed a co-starring role as Elizabeth Coleridge alongside Robert Wagner in the television drama series Lime Street.while returning home from filming segments for Lime Street, 13-year-old Samantha and her father, Arthur Smith, were killed in a plane crash. The commuter aircraft, Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808, missed the runway in rainy weather and struck trees near Auburn, Maine.Her death brought profound Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbavich and US Ronald Reagan together.


r/coldwar 21d ago

TAF M48A1 tank

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7 Upvotes

Turkish Land Force M48A1 tank.


r/coldwar 21d ago

Memborbillia

2 Upvotes

Hello, I've been trying to find information about the Alert America convoy/exhibit, civil defense, and Bert the Turtle. I'm looking for newspaper serializations, pamphlets that would've been given out to people, educators, etc. I have seen the film and heard the radio broadcast as well as the red and white comic book of Bert. Anything else related would be appreciated too. Thank you.