Cold War International History Project

Co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne sit down with Professor Sergey Radchenko to gain some insight into the Soviet view of the Korean War. Professor Radchenko outlines some interesting archives to explore and discusses the future of the field of international history.

Esteemed historian Samuel Wells joins co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne to discuss the broader context of the Korean War and how US President Harry Truman made the decision to involve the US in the conflict. According to Dr. Wells, much of our understanding of the Korean War today is due to the opening of the former Soviet archives in the early 1990s.

In the first episode of International History Declassified, co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne speak with Dr. Charles Kraus of the History and Public Policy Program about the origins of the Korean War and the Chinese perspective. Dr. Kraus explains the role of Mao Zedong in the decision to invade South Korea, and how Chinese see the war today.

In our final episode, the Sport in the Cold War podcast digs into Cold War broadcasting. A. Ross Johnson, former director of Radio Free Europe, discusses sport journalism under the iron curtain and the broadcasting efforts of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-40-cold-war-broadcasting

The call for an international boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics created divisions in Britain between Margaret Thatcher's government, which supported the US boycott, and British athletes, who resented being asked to sacrifice their Olympics. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-39-britain-and-the-1980-olympics-boycott

At the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, fourteen-year-old Romanian Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast ever to be awarded a "Perfect 10." Nadia went on to earn five additional perfect 10s during the Montreal Olympics and three gold medals, catapulting her to international stardom and into the midst of Romania's international Cold War tensions. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-38-romania-s-perfect-10-gymnast

Emil Zátopek was one of the greatest long-distance runners of all time and a hero in his homeland of Czechoslovakia. Zátopek also participated in politics and was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, although he was expelled after he participated in protests during the Prague Spring in 1968. Oldrich Tuma discusses the complications and contradictions of Zátopek’s life, as well as the role of sport in Czechoslovakia. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-37-emil-zatopek

In the 1980s, the People's Republic of China returned to the Olympics after more than a twenty year absence. Susan Brownell explains how international politics affected China's participation in global sport, as well as her personal experiences as an athlete in China. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-36-china-s-return-to-the-olympics

The occupation and division of Germany following WWII created huge disruptions in the country's sport culture. Athletes were considered "diplomats in a tracksuit" and their victories and defeats highly politicized. Dr. Jutta Braun speaks about the lengths the East German regime went to in order to win and to maintain control over its athletes. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-35-sport-in-divided-germany

In 1976, twenty-five African countries boycotted the Montreal Olympics to protest the participation of New Zealand, whose rugby team toured South Africa that same summer. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-34-the-forgotten-african-olympic-boycott

Former CIA analyst David Kanin gives a behind-the-scenes look into the Carter administration's decision to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-33-carter-s-olympic-boycott

David Goldblatt, author of The Games: A Global History of the Olympics, dives deep into the origins, politics, and influence of the modern Olympic Games. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-32-politics-at-the-olympics

Mark S. Dyreson (Pennsylvania State University) argues that California became the center of American commercialization of the Olympics beginning with the 1932 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-31-californication-of-the-olympics

Sport is often referred to as "war minus the shooting," but in one case in 1969 it helped ignite an actual armed conflict. A contentious World Cup qualifier between Honduras and El Salvador combined with political tensions to spark the so-called "Football War." Nate Jones (author of Able Archer 83) tells the story of the Football War and his work obtaining documents through the Freedom of Information Act at the National Security Archive. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-30-the-football-war

The Friendship Games were an international competition organized by francophone African countries in the early 1960s. Later rechristened the All-African Games and recognized by the IOC, the competition became the first official Olympic sporting event for the African continent. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-29-the-african-friendship-games

Sport and politics were deeply entwined in Southeast Asia during the Cold War. Simon Creak (University of Melbourne), historian of modern Southeast Asia, discusses the founding of the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games (SEAP). Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-28-the-southeast-asian-peninsular-games

Amanda Shuman (University of Freiburg) on China's role in the Cold War and how sport was seen as an integral part of life in communist China. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-27-sport-in-the-prc

The Olympics were intended to showcase amateur athletics rather than commercially-supported professionals. Yet during the Cold War, the Soviet Union developed a highly "professional" sport system which provided living expenses, training facilities, and luxury perks for its "amateur" athletes. Sylvain Dufraisse (Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne) describes the beginnings of the Soviet system in the 1930s and the later controversies that dogged Soviet athletes at the Olympics. View the cartoon Dufraisse discusses and episode notes here: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-26-olympic-professionals

After peace returned to the Pacific region with the end of WWII, the Asian Games were founded, opening in Delhi in 1951 and characterized as a symbol of peaceful Asian cooperation at a time of Cold War tensions and sometimes violent de-colonization. Stefan Huebner is an expert on colonialism, development policy, and sport in Asia. He is the author of Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913-1974. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-25-pan-asian-games

The World Youth Festival was one of the most elaborate, and expensive international events of the Cold War-ear. An international sporting competition and cultural gathering for students, it was organized by the communist bloc in order to impress visitors from nonaligned and western countries. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-24-the-world-youth-festival

Mikhail Yu. Prozumenshchikov, Russia's leading historian of sport, tells the story of Brezhnev's long-held dream of hosting the Olympics in Moscow. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-23-brezhnev-s-dream

After 1949, the People’s Republic of China on the mainland and the Republic of China on Taiwan both competed for recognition at international sporting events and the right to refer to themselves as the true “China." Andrew D. Morris (California Polytechnic State University) dives into years of mutual boycotts, defections, and subterfuge played out on the Olympic stage. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-22-a-clash-of-two-chinas

Boycotts of South Africa at international sporting competitions proved uniquely powerful in influencing world opinion and motivating the end of Apartheid. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-21-sport-and-apartheid-in-south-africa

The Soviet player Lev Yashin was one of the first international football stars. Known for his friendly-demeanor, Yashin was embraced by sport fans worldwide. Mauricio Borrero (St. John's University) explains Yashin's enduring appeal and significance. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-20-the-black-spider

In 1986 world-famous tennis star Martina Navratilova returned home to Czechoslovakia eleven years after defecting to the United States. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-19-the-girl-who-got-away

David McDonald and James G. Hershberg tell the story of the 1972 Summit Series, when Canada and the Soviet Union met in a historical eight-game hockey series. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-18-1972-summit-series

The East German regime saw sport as a means to demonstrate the superiority of socialism over the capitalist system. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-17-east-german-soft-power

Tim Naftali (New York University), author of One Hell of a Gamble, talks about the political dimensions of international competitions during the Cold War. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-16-war-minus-the-shooting

Annette Timm (University of Calgary) explains Witt's complicated image as a glamorous sex symbol and a loyal supporter of the East German regime. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-15-katarina-witt

While the Games successfully promoted friendship and solidarity among Latin American countries, for the United States they represented a continuing failure of cultural diplomacy. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-14-the-pan-american-games

Toby C. Rider, author of Cold War Games, explains the United States’ government’s use of sport as a tool of statecraft in the early Cold War years. The U.S. government tried to project an appealing image of American ideals and culture through the medium of sport. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-13-sport-and-statecraft-in-the-u-s

Having risen to prominence at the 1960 Olympics, Ali was heavyweight champion of the world when he was called up to serve in Vietnam in 1967 – and refused, on religious grounds. Ali’s refusal to fight in Vietnam places him at the crossroads of race relations, the Cold War and American politics. Episode Notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-12-muhammad-ali

Mal Whitfield was a five-time Olympic medalist who spent forty years as a sports coach and goodwill ambassador in Africa. Whitfield’s journey from athlete to ambassador, at a time when racism was rife in US society, is told by Kevin Witherspoon, History Professor at Lander University, South Carolina. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-11-marvelous-mal-whitfield

In the 1950s, anxiety about the decline of France's empire and "great power" status was expressed through concern about its poor athletic performance at international competitions. Lindsay Krasnoff, author of The Making of Les Bleus: Sport in France, 1958-2010, describes how France attempted to catch up on the Cold War playing field. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-10-france-s-sport-crisis

The Soviet magazine "Krokodil" was published for decades poking fun at such topical events like the boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-09-soviet-sport-satire

Amidst a monolithic Soviet football system, Georgia stood out as a country with a uniquely artistic and agile style. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-08-georgian-football

Mozambique-born Eusébio can be seen as an example of local sporting talent being mined for the benefit of a colonial power. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-07-eusebio

Thomas M. Hunt, author of Drug Games, explains the history and politics of doping during the Cold War. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-06-performance-enhancing-drugs

Erica L. Fraser (Carleton University) talks about the role of hockey in Soviet sports culture and why "no coward plays hockey." Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-05-real-men-play-hockey

In post-war Italy, football became the battleground for an ideological struggle between religion and communism. Fabien Archambault (University of Limoges) explains how the Catholic Church promoted the game to increase its own influence in Italian society and out-maneuver the Italian Communist Party. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-04-football-and-religion-in-italy

Berliner FC Dynamo was the football team of the East German secret police, the dreaded Stasi. Alan McDougall (University of Guelph) discusses how BFC Dynamo was able to dominate East German football in part through questionable referee calls and the controversy this created among football fans. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-03-the-stasi-s-football-team

The 1963 World Ice Hockey Championships were disastrous for the United States, which was trounced by nearly every other team. The day after an embarrassing 17-2 loss to Sweden, John F. Kennedy called his aid and personal friend David Hackett to complain and ask for answers. John Soares (Notre Dame) discusses why the US team was so terrible in 1963. Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-02-john-f-kennedy-and-hockey

A new podcast exploring key moments in Cold War sports history. In the first episode, Tony Shaw (University of Hertfordshire) and Denise Youngblood (University of Vermont) discuss how Cold War tensions played out in American and Soviet films. What was the Soviet response to Rocky IV? How were American athletes portrayed in Soviet sports films? Who won the cinematic Cold War? Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-01-the-cinematic-cold-war