Today we look at a man who was both similar and different to the subject of our last podcast, Ho Chi Minh. De Gaulle was a strong-willed, fiery character and he was very nationalistic. And as well as leading the Free French forces during World War 2, he would later take on another very important role. He even started his own political creed, and also caused major disputes with his Cold War allies in the 1960s.
Much like the man we looked at in the last podcast, Mao Zedong, Ho was an East Asian Communist revolutionary. He was involved in the Communist movement and had wanted to create a Communist Vietnam for many years even before he got close to having his wish fulfilled. Previously, we have seen him play a key role in the Vietnam War, but in this episode we briefly look at his wider life.
Following our episode on JFK, we’re here with an episode on one of the most important people in the whole Cold War – Chairman Mao Zedong.
He was dominant for decades after taking power in Communist China. He was often more hard-line than Soviet leaders. His views caused rifts with the Soviets as well as the Americans in the Cold War. A truly unique character, his policies also caused havoc within China, and he had a long and winding life before heeven took power.
We shall be looking at one of the most iconic of US presidents, a sometimes controversial figure who inspired hope in so many. He also died inthe most tragic of circumstances.
Khrushchev played a major role in some of the most important Cold War events during his time in power in the 1950s and 1960s. The key years of the nuclear arms race, the building of the Berlin wall, and the Cuban Missile Crisis all happened during his time as Soviet leader. But, he had a bloody and intriguing past before then.
Eisenhower was so much more than a 1950s Cold War President. In spite of the fact that he led the US during the period when the Cold War was in full swing, Eisenhower had a great and long life before that. Indeed, in many respects Eisenhower’s greatest accomplishment came before his time as President.
In the latest episode of Cold War People we look
at an important and controversial figure, and the leader of East Germany for
decades after World War 2. Walter Ulbricht.
He was closely involved in the events that led to the building of the Berlin Wall, and was the dominant figure in East German life throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He became an important and influential Communist not just in East Germany, but also the wider Communist world.
The man who authorized the use of the atomic
bomb against Japan in World War 2, and the man in charge when the Cold War
began, is the focus of this episode of Cold War People - former US President
Harry S Truman.
Truman was President of the USA over the years 1945-1953, the years when the Cold War really got going. In Cold War History, we saw how instrumental Truman was as Europe became divided in the post-war years and during the Korean War, but in this episode we shall look at Truman’s wider life.
He presided over one of the most brutal regimes in history and many millions of people died as a result of his policies and actions. But, the changes he made to the Soviet economy ultimately allowed the Soviets to overcome Nazi Germany in World War 2. In this episode, we look at Stalin the man, and ask how he came to be such a bloody tyrant.
Hot on the heels of our book release, we’re back with our brand new series, Cold War People.
This series will look at the lives of some of the most important
people involved in the Cold War. We will provide interesting, introductory
overviews of them rather than necessarily looking in detail at their
involvement in the Cold War.
And the first episode looks at one of the most important men of his age, Winston Churchill. The British war-time leader played a key role for the allies throughout World War 2, and in the war-time conferences when the Allied Powers were deciding how the post-war world would look. But, there was so much more to Winston Churchill than that. He had a long and distinguished career before then.
