The Cold War and Weapons of Mass Destruction
The Cold War started around 1945, and one of the main points of concern was nuclear warfare. More specifically, it was dubbed the Nuclear Arms Race. A relationship, that war far from positive, developed between the United States and USSR (Russia/Soviet Union) post World War II. Both sides were worried about the other having weapons of mass destruction, like the one mentioned in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns that wiped out all communication, stopped all electronics, and caused major harm to the environment. One of the bombs was the H -bomb (hydrogen bomb) and the U.S. created it in 1952, but the Russians created one as well the following year. The H -bomb is hundreds of thousands of times more powerful than the atom bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. It is apparent from that information alone that one can see why both sides would fret. Both countries were afraid that the other would literally wipe them off the face of the planet (Trueman).
Below is a brief timeline from Chris Trueman’s History Learning Site website on the Cold War:
Cold War Chronology
1945 : ‘A’-Bomb dropped on Hiroshima + Nagasaki. USA ahead in the arms race.
1947 : Marshall Aid to the west of Europe. Stalin of USSR refused it for Eastern Europe.
1948 : start of the Berlin Blockade - ended in 1949
1949 : NATO established; USSR exploded her first ‘A’-bomb; China becomes communist
1950 : Korean War started.
1952 : USA exploded her first hyrogen bomb.
1953 : Korean War ended. USSR exploded her first hydrogen bomb. Stalin died.
1955 : Warsaw Pact created. ‘Peaceful coexistence’ called for.
1956 : Hungary revolts against USSR. Suez Crisis.
1957 : Sputnik launched.
1959 : Cuba becomes a communist state.
1961 : Military aid sent to Vietnam by USA for the first time. Berlin Wall built.
1962 : Cuban Missile Crisis.
1963 : Huge increase of American aid to Vietnam.
1965 : USA openly involved in Vietnam.
1967 : Six-Day War in Middle East.
1968 : USSR invades Czechoslovakia.
1973 : Yom Kippur War.
1979 : USSR invaded Afghanistan.
1986 : Meeting in Iceland between USSR (Gorbachev) and USA (Reagan).
1987 : INF Treaty signed.
The U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian website had this to say on the end of the Cold War, which was the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty): “On December 8, 1987, Reagan and Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty in Washington, D.C. The final treaty eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons, restricting the deployment of both intermediate and short-range land-based missiles worldwide” (“Milestones”).
Below is a brief timeline from Chris Trueman’s History Learning Site website on the Cold War:
Cold War Chronology
1945 : ‘A’-Bomb dropped on Hiroshima + Nagasaki. USA ahead in the arms race.
1947 : Marshall Aid to the west of Europe. Stalin of USSR refused it for Eastern Europe.
1948 : start of the Berlin Blockade - ended in 1949
1949 : NATO established; USSR exploded her first ‘A’-bomb; China becomes communist
1950 : Korean War started.
1952 : USA exploded her first hyrogen bomb.
1953 : Korean War ended. USSR exploded her first hydrogen bomb. Stalin died.
1955 : Warsaw Pact created. ‘Peaceful coexistence’ called for.
1956 : Hungary revolts against USSR. Suez Crisis.
1957 : Sputnik launched.
1959 : Cuba becomes a communist state.
1961 : Military aid sent to Vietnam by USA for the first time. Berlin Wall built.
1962 : Cuban Missile Crisis.
1963 : Huge increase of American aid to Vietnam.
1965 : USA openly involved in Vietnam.
1967 : Six-Day War in Middle East.
1968 : USSR invades Czechoslovakia.
1973 : Yom Kippur War.
1979 : USSR invaded Afghanistan.
1986 : Meeting in Iceland between USSR (Gorbachev) and USA (Reagan).
1987 : INF Treaty signed.
The U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian website had this to say on the end of the Cold War, which was the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty): “On December 8, 1987, Reagan and Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty in Washington, D.C. The final treaty eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons, restricting the deployment of both intermediate and short-range land-based missiles worldwide” (“Milestones”).
The History of the Batman
“Milestones: 1981-1989 - Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), 1987.” Office of the Historian. U.S.
Department of State, n.d. Web. 6 Jun. 2012. <http://history.state.gov/milestones/1981-1989/INF>.
Miller, Frank. Batman: The Dark Night Returns. 9th ed. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2002. Print.
Trueman, Chris. "The Cold War." History Learning Site. History Learning Site, 2000. Web. 24 Jun. 2012.
<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coldwar.htm>.
*All images belong to Frank Miller and DC Comics.
Department of State, n.d. Web. 6 Jun. 2012. <http://history.state.gov/milestones/1981-1989/INF>.
Miller, Frank. Batman: The Dark Night Returns. 9th ed. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2002. Print.
Trueman, Chris. "The Cold War." History Learning Site. History Learning Site, 2000. Web. 24 Jun. 2012.
<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coldwar.htm>.
*All images belong to Frank Miller and DC Comics.