Music sings ♫ History
From 1945 to 1991: roots, events, culture and music of
the Cold War
From the Second World War to the Cold War
After the Second World War international politics were dominated by the Cold War, a state of
political tension between the Western powers (the United States and NATO), and the Eastern
powers (the Soviet Union and its satellite countries). Polarisation between the two blocs was
accentuated in 1961-62 with the building of the Berlin Wall, which divided Berlin into the
Eastern and Western blocs. The US pursued a policy of 'containment' to fight Communism any
time and any place it occurred.
Cold War anti-communism was not limited to foreign policy. The other side of the coin was
domestic anti-communism. This was a time of irrational anti-communist 'witch hunts' led by
Senator Joseph McCarthy, who tried to discover communists, bring them to trial and punish them.
He had a list of people, mostly intellectuals or rival politicians, whom he accused of anti-American
activities and communist sympathies, in consequence of which many lost their jobs or left the
country. McCarthy was eventually asked to prove his accusations, and as he had no evidence, he
was dismissed.
Germany Berlin Satiric picture of the Potsdam Conference
In the 80s the United States increased diplomatic military economic pressures on the Soviet Union,
at a time when the nation was already suffering from economic stagnation. In the late 1980s, Soviet
President Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the liberalizing reforms of perestroika
("reconstruction", "reorganization", 1987) and glasnost ("openness", 1985). That opened the
country and its satellite states to a mostly peaceful wave of revolutions which culminated in the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, leaving the United States as the dominant military power. The
Cold War and its events (the most tense involved the Berlin Blockade [1948–1949], the Korean
War [1950–1953], the Suez Crisis [1956], the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the construction of the
Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis [1962] the Vietnam War [1959–1975], the Yom Kippur
War [1973], the Soviet war in Afghanistan [1979–1989], and the "Able Archer" NATO
military exercises [1983]) have left a significant legacy, and it is often referred to in popular
culture, especially in media featuring themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare.
USSR President Michail Sergeevič Gorbačëv Berlin, 9th November 1989 Germany is a unified nation again
“Russians” by Sting
“Russians” is a song by Sting, from his debut solo album, The Dream of the
Blue Turtles, released in 1985. It was also released as a single. Sting cautions
about the repercussions of the Cold War including the mutually assured
destruction doctrine ("there's no such thing as a winnable war/It's a lie we don't
believe anymore"). Hence, he hopes that the "Russians love their children too",
since he sees it as the only thing that would save the world from a holocaust
brought on by nuclear weapons ("Oppenheimer's deadly toy"1).
1
Julius Robert Oppenheimer (April 22nd1904 – February 18th 1967) was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University
of California, Berkeley. Along with Enrico Fermi, he is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World
War II project that developed the first nuclear weapons. The first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16th , 1945 in the Trinity test in New Mexico;
Oppenheimer remarked later that it brought to mind words from the Bhagavad Gita: "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
In Europe and America, there's a growing Believe me when I say to you
feeling of hysteria I hope the Russians love their children too
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets There is no historical precedent
Mr. Khrushchev said we will bury you To put the words in the mouth of the President
I don't subscribe to this point of view There's no such thing as a winnable war
It’d be such an ignorant thing to do It's a lie we don't believe anymore
If the Russians love their children too Mr. Reagan says we will protect you
How can I save my little boy from I don't subscribe to this point of view
Oppenheimer’s deadly toy Believe me when I say to you
There is no monopoly in common sense I hope the Russians love their children too
On either side of the political fence We share the same biology
We share the same biology Regardless of ideology
Regardless of ideology What might save us, me, and you
Is if the Russians love their children too
Hammer to fall” by Queen2
2
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally
consisting of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar,
vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar, guitars, vocals), and Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals).
The lyrics at several points refer to the Cold War era in which the
band members grew up, fuelling the popular conception that the song
was about nuclear war. The term "waiting for the hammer to fall" in
the song was taken to refer to the anticipation by the public that Cold
War would turn "hot" - or, alternatively, as a reference to the Soviet
Hammer and Sickle. The song also contains references to death and
its inevitability. The question of the meaning of the song was
effectively settled when May wrote on his website that Hammer to
Fall is really about life and death, and being aware of death as being
part of life. "The Hammer coming down is only a symbol of the Grim
Reaper3 doing his job!"
3
Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and
clothed in a black cloak with a hood.
Queen “Hammer to fall” (1984) Rich or poor or famous
But your truth it's all the same - oh no - oh no
Yeah Oh lock your door but rain is pouring
Here we stand or here we fall Through your window pane - oh no - yeah
History won't care at all Baby now your struggle's all vain
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight For we who grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the mushroom cloud
Yeah, you don't waste no time at all Convinced our voices can't be heard
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call We just wanna scream it louder and louder
It comes to you as to us all and louder
Hey, we're just waiting
For the hammer to fall - yeah What the hell we fighting for?
Ah, just surrender and it won't hurt at all
Oh every night, and every day You just got time to say your prayers
A little piece of you is falling away Eh, while you're waiting for the hammer the
But lift your face, the western way, baby hammer to fall
Build your muscles as your body decays Hey, yes, it's starting to fall, hammer, you
know
Yeah, toe your line and play their game Yeah, hammer to fall,
Yeah, let the anaesthetic cover it all Waiting for the hammer to fall baby
‘Till one day they call your name Yeah yeah while you're waiting for the
You know it's time for the hammer to fall - hammer to fall
yeah Give it to me one more time
On June 26th 1963 the US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
went to visit people living in West Berlin. In Rudolph Wilde
Platz in front of the “Rathaus Schöneberg” he pronounced one of
his most famous speeches4 “Ich bin ein Berliner”:
"I am proud to come to this city as the guest of your distinguished
Mayor, who has symbolized throughout the world the fighting
spirit of West Berlin. And I am proud — And I am proud to visit
the Federal Republic with your distinguished Chancellor who for
so many years has committed Germany to democracy and
freedom and progress, and to come here in the company of my
fellow American, General Clay, who –who has been in this city during its great moments of crisis
and will come again if ever needed.
Two thousand years ago — Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was “civis Romanus sum.”
Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
There are many people in the world who really don’t understand, or say they don’t, what is the great
issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin.
4
Another famous Us President, Mr Ronald Regan, addressed a hopeful speech in West Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12th 1987, saying “Mr.
Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
There are some who say — There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let
them come to Berlin.
And there are some who say, in Europe and elsewhere, we can work with the Communists. Let them
come to Berlin.
And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us
to make economic progress. Lass’ sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.
Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect. But we have never had to put a wall up
to keep our people in — to prevent them from leaving us. I want to say on behalf of my countrymen
who live many miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they
take the greatest pride, that they have been able to share with you, even from a distance, the story of
the last 18 years. I know of no town, no city, that has been besieged for 18 years that still lives with
the vitality and the force, and the hope, and the determination of the city of West Berlin.
While the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the Communist system
— for all the world to see — we take no satisfaction in it; for it is, as your Mayor has said, an
offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing
husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.
What is — What is true of this city is true of Germany: Real, lasting peace in Europe can never be
assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to
make a free choice. In 18 years of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the
right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace, with
good will to all people.
You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. So let me ask you, as I
close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom
merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere,
beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.
Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we
look — can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this
great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will,
the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for
almost two decades.
All — All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin.
And, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
“Heros” by David Bowie
It was co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno, produced by Bowie
and Tony Visconti, recorded in July and August 1977, and released
on 23rd September 1977. A product of Bowie's “Berlin period”, it
was inspired by the sight of Bowie's producer/engineer Tony
Visconti embracing one of Bowie's backing vocalists by the Berlin Wall.
The song tells the story of two lovers, one from Est and one
from West Berlin. Bowie's performance of "Heroes" on June
6th 1987 at the German Reichstag in West Berlin was
considered a catalyst to the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall.
Following Bowie's death in January 2016, the German
government thanked Bowie for "helping to bring down the
Wall", adding "you are now among Heroes".]
David Bowie “ Heros” (1977)
I, I wish you could swim (I remember)
Like dolphins Standing by the wall
Like dolphins can swim (By the wall)
Though nothing, nothing will keep us together And the guns, shot above our heads
We can beat them, forever and never (Over our heads)
Oh, we can be heroes just for one day And we kissed, as though nothing could fall
(Nothing could fall)
I, I will be King And the shame, was on the other side
And you, you will be Queen Oh, we can beat them, forever and ever
Though nothing will drive them away Then we could be heroes just for one day
We can be heroes just for one day We can be heroes
We can be us just for one day We can be heroes
I, I can remember We can be heroes just for one day
We can be heroes
