Museum Entrance

1. Press for Curator 1956 - 1960 1951 - 1955 1945 - 1950 Welcome to the beginning of the Civil War Museum Entrance

2. 1945-1950 Room 2 Move to Entrance

3. 1956-1960 Room 3 Move to Entrance

4. 1951-1955 Room 4 Move to Entrance

5. Artifact 1: Nikita Khrushchev • Nikita Khrushchev rose from the poverty of his youth to become the most powerful Russian in the Communist Party and personification of the Cold War of the 1950’s and early 1960’s. • He became the dominant Soviet leader after Stalin’s death in 1953. In 1956, the tough Khrushchev denounced Stalin for jailing and killing loyal Soviet citizens. His speech signaled the start of a policy called destalinization. • He helped organize a guerilla army in Ukraine and the planning of the defense of Stalingrad(today called the Volgograd). Image acquired at: http://www.adclassix.com/images/55timenikitakhrushchev.jpg Return to Room

6. Artifact 2: Non-Aligned Movement • The Non-Aligned Movement(NAM) was created and founded during the collapse of the colonial system and the independence struggles of the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other regions of the world and at the height of the Cold War. • During the early days of the movement, its actions were a key factor in the decolonization process, which led later to the attainment of freedom and independence by many countries and peoples and to the founding of tens of new sovereign States. • Through out its history, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries had played a fundamental role in the preservation of world peace and security. Image acquired at: http://mycatbirdseat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/nam-iran-summit.jpg Return to Room

7. Artifact 3:Soviet Army • The Soviet Army is the name given to the main land-based branch of the Soviet Armed Forces between February 1946 until December 1991, though was not taken fully out of service until 25 December 1993. • Up until 25 February 1946, it had been known as the Red Army. Established by decree on 15(28)January 1918 “to protect the population, territorial integrity and civil liberties in the territory of the Soviet State.” • To maintain said strength range, Soviet law minimally service obligation from every able man of military age until 1967, when the Ground Forces reduced it to a 2-year draft obligation. Image acquired at: http://vash-advokat.com/uploads/news/id83/SovietArmy.jpg Return to Room

8. Artifact 4: United Nations • An international organization established immediately after WWII. It replaced the League of Nations. In 1945, when the UN was founded, there were 51 members; 193 nations are now members of the organization. • The UN’s mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the U.S and Soviet Union and their respective allies. • After the Cold War, the UN took on major military and peacekeeping ,missions across the world with varying degrees of success. Image acquired at: http://www.unaboulder.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/undayflags.jpg Return to Room

9. Artifact 5: Marshall Plan • Also known as the European Recovery Program, channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe between 1948-1951 • This successfully sparked economic recovery, meeting its objective of ‘restoring the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole. The plan is named for Secretary of State George C. Marshall. • Soviet Union viewed this as an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of other states and refused to participate. • The plan promoted European economic integration and federalism, and created a mixture of public organization of the private economy similar to that in the domestic economy of the U.S. Image acquired at: http://marshallplan.freeterritorytrieste.com/myPictures/MARSHALLLOGO.png Return to Room

10. Artifact 6: NATO • NATO’s primary purpose was to unify and strengthen the Western Allies’ military response to a possible invasion of western Europe by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. • In the early 1950’s NATO relied partly on the threat of massive nuclear retaliation from the U.S to counter the Warsaw Pact’s much larger ground forces. • NATO later adopted a “flexible response” strategy, which the U.S interpreted to mean that a war in Europe did not have to escalate to an all-out nuclear exchange. Image acquired at: http://www.coldwar.org/articles/40s/NorthAtlanticTreatyOrganizationNATO.asp Return to Room

11. Artifact 7:Korean War • On June 25, 1950, 75000 soldiers from the North Korea People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel. • As the North Korean army pushed into Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, the U.S readied its troops for a war against communism itself. • Even though it failed to unify the country, the U.S achieved its larger goals, including preserving and promoting NATO interests and defending Japan. This war served to encourage the U.S Cold War policies of containment and militarization. http://www.chrysopeia.com/images/army112kid.jpg Return to Room

12. Artifact 8: 38th Parallel • 38th parallel, popular name given to latitude 38 N that in East Asia roughly demarcates North Korea and South Korea. The line was chosen by U.S military planners at the Potsdam Conference near the end of WWII as an army boundary, north of which the U.S.S.R. was to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces in Korea and south of which the Americans were to accept the Japanese surrender. The line was intended as a temporary division of the country, but the onset of the Cold War led to the establishment of a separate U.S. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3578/3374235085_e11af448af_z.jpg?zz=1 Return to Room

13. Artifact 9: Joseph Stalin • Joseph Stalin(1878-1953) was the leader of the Soviet Communist Party from 1922 until his death in 1953. Following the death of V.I Lenin, the first leader of Soviet Russia, Stalin managed to win complete control of the party, ruling as a dictator for the next thirty years • He led the Soviet Union through WWII and –not without justification- believed that his country made the greatest sacrifices to defeat Nazi Germany. http://price4prez.wikispaces.com/Joseph+Stalin Return to Room

14. Artifact 10: Fidel Castro • Cuban resentment led to a popular revolution, which overthrow Batista in January 1959. Fidel Castro was the one who led this revolution. Established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere after leading an overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He ruled over Cuba for nearly five decades, until handing off power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008. • Castro rejected democracy and declared himself in favor of armed revolution. • In 1956, Castro and Guevara landed in Cuba with a small band of insurgents, known as the ‘26th of July Movement’, and began a guerrilla war against the government. • February 1959, be was sworn in as prime minister of Cuba and announced the introduction of a Marxist-Leninist programme adapted to local requirements. http://www.freevector.com/site_media/preview_images/VectorPortal-Fidel-Castro.jpg Return to Room

15. Artifact 11:Communes • Communes are larger collective farms that the Great Leap Forward called for. By the end of 1958, about 26000 communes had been created. The average commune sprawled over 15000 acres and supported over 25000 people. In the strictly controlled life of the commune, peasants worked the land together. They ate in communal dining rooms, slept in communal dormitories, and raised children in communal nurseries. And they owed nothing. The peasants had no incentive to work hard when only the state profited from their labor. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/People%27s_commune_kitchen.jpg Return to Room

16. Artifact 12: Great Leap Forward • Mao’s attempt to modernize China’s economy so that by 1988, China would have an economy that rivalled America. This took place in 1958. • Great Leap Forward is a plan that Mao proclaimed to expand the success of the first Five-Year Plan. It planned to develop agriculture and industry. • It took two forms: a mass steel campaign, and the formation of the people’s communes. • The Great Leap Forward was a giant step backward. Poor planning and inefficient “backyard” , or home, industries hampered growth. • This plan was ended in 1961 after crop failures caused a famine that killed about 20 million people. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/chinese-rice-expert-reveals-death-toll-after-great-leap-forward-15224.html Return to Room

17. Artifact 13: Yalta Conference • Yalta Conference took place in a Russian resort town in the Crimea from February 4-11 1945, during WWII. At Yalta, U.S President Roosevelt, British Minister Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin made important decisions regarding the future progress of the war and the postwar world. • At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan and all three agreed that, in exchange for potentially crucial Soviet participation in the Pacific theater, the Soviets would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria following Japan’s surrender. This included the southern portion of Sakhalin, a lease at Port Arthur, a share in the operation of the Manchurian railroads, and the Kurile Islands. This agreement was the major concrete accomplishment of the Yalta Conference. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf Return to Room

18. Artifact 14: Warsaw Pact • The formation of the Warsaw Pact was in some ways a response to the creation of NATO, although it did not occur until six years after the Western alliance came into being. • Like NATO, the Warsaw Pact focused on the objective of creating a coordinated defense among its member nations in order to deter an enemy attack. http://hansocials11.weebly.com/nato-vs-warsaw-pact.html Return to Room

19. Artifact 15: Potsdam Conference • Held near Berlin, the Potsdam Conference(July 17-August 2, 1945) was the last of the WWII meetings held by the “Big Three” heads of state. Featuring Truman, Churchill and his successor, Attlee, and Soviet Premier Stalin, the talks established a Council of Foreign Ministers and a central Allied Control Council for administration of Germany. • The leaders arrived at various agreements on the German economy, placing primary emphasis on the development of agriculture and nonmilitary industry. http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/B04_01-02_01.jpg Return to Room

20. Artifact 16:Truman Doctrine • Truman Doctrine helped President Truman establish the U.S providing political, military, and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. The Truman Doctrine effectively reoriented U.S foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the U.S, to one of possible intervention in far away conflicts http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Photograph_of_President_Truman_with_members_of_his_Cabinet_and_other_officials%2C_in_the_Cabinet_Room_of_the_White..._-_NARA_-_200610.jpg Return to Room

21. Sumin Woo Sumin Woo is a research historian who works with ancient historical topics. She has an excellent communication skills that helps her to communicate with other historians, archivists, and those requesting the research. Return to Room