Cold+War+DBQ+Pr.+6

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 * 1) Analyze the various viewpoints on the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War
 * 1) Analyze the various viewpoints on the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War

Document 1
//Source: Amir Hezarkhani, university student and system analyst, February 29, 1960, Mainz, Germany//

"It was just that two completely different cultures were going to collide, and nobody really knew what the results would be. All of my friends at school would always talk about it, and just wonder what it would be like. See, we were literally divided by a wall and had very very rarely ever communicated together. We had absolutely no idea what to expect at all. It was exciting and we all were all excited, but no doubt there was some sense of worry that we would not be able to get along with them. Before, they had been taught in school, to look down on East Germany and now all of a sudden we were expected to all get along. It got awkward a lot of the time. But I guess, overall, it was something that had to be done, and I do think it was a good decision."

//Source: Roya Pashmineh-Azar, assistant professor, April 23, 1962,// //Braunschweig,// //Germany//

"We just kept watching parts of it coming down. What was so unique, it really united us, at least the West Germans, we just got so caught up in the idea of unification under one country. But after awhile, East Germans lost their initial hopes of unification, it became a much more materialistic objectives. The East Germans really embraced the idea of much more opinion and choice. But I think, that in the end, we weren’t ready, at the time, for such a massive step forward. "

// Source: Rodi Blask, student, June 30, 1977, Weisbaden, Germany //

“I was quite young, so my generation really felt more the excitement. We were quite young, and just enjoyed the excitement, that came with the wall falling down. But East Germany had always been such a creepy and unfamiliar place my friends and I wondered how different they would be. Once the wall did come down, slowly, some Easterners did begin to attend my school, and they really did try to fit in. Sometimes it was awkward, just because of their past culture, but I was able to get along with them. In all, especially at my age, it was pretty cool, because it was such a huge change, and everybody was able to experience. It was always the main news on the T.V., and even at such a young as me, we did talk about the Easterners, and how they would act and change our lives.”

Document 4
//Source: Mr. Fitzgerald, teacher, October 20, 1950, Zion, Illinois//

" I never thought that communism was going to work. The idea sounds like a perfect situation. Communism could not be done in practice, yet by nature tensions. Capitalism was more workable with the way humans think. Capitalism stood for getting ahead, while communism would not let them. I could have been assigned to go to to Vietnam, but my draft number was too high. I also didn't want to go. In the new about the body count in vietnam, the body count was made up and inflated. Eventually people became more dissatisfied, and demostration of anti- war exhaled. Vietnam was a huge mistake. It didn't show American's best side.I was relieved when the the Berlin Wall fell. I felt relieved like it created peace."

Document 5
//Source: Sarah Ferguson, stay at home mom takes care of two children ages 2 and five months, April 5, 1958, Schaumburg, IL//

"America had a burst in better in math and science. Education was buckling down. I just really remember only the anti- Russian sentiment. I believed in all make love, not war. I really wanted to go to Woodstock. I realized after the Vietnam war that soldier were treated horribly. People would spit on them, and call them baby killers. I say that people should learn wrong from right., they should support troops, should respect , and honor soldiers. Majority of soldier were drafted. Some went to Canada to avoid draft or go to college to avoid it. I believed the cold war effected life in education in positive way . It also at the same time made more prejudice against Russians add eastern Europe. After the wall of the Berlin wall, i felt a new outlook. I realized that those people were just lie us. I felt more connected to them. I felt the stereotype being erased. My outlooks are a little bitter, seeing the good and bad things. I feel less opportunistic, and sad ". = =

Document 6
//Richard Smith, Consultant and has a small business, May 8, 1947, Buffalo Grove IL// //"No one at my time used the term cold war, It took various meaning from each generation//. Vietnam had the domino effect, that if vietnam fell that so will other communist countries. It felt like it was our responsibility to save them.It effected my life since i was in Germany for 3.5 years. Also, the ironic thing was when i was stationed in Germany, it was the same place that my dad when he was in World War 2. No one could go to East Germany unless they were in uniform."

//Document 7//
//Source: Hee-Young Lee, Academic teacher,// late 1980s, Seoul, Korea

"Even though I was serving in the Army, I didn't particularly notice any tension or difference in my life due to the cold war. However, when Soviet Union fell, i thought North Korea and South Korea would unite, but sadly it did not happen. We could have been very prosperous if we were unified."

Document 8
//Source: Kyoung-Yoon Lee, Housewife, late 1980s, Seoul, Korea//

"I did not have interest in the politic that time because i was too young. Honestly i do not remember much about it either. However, I was concerned with the best way to manage the household."

Document 9
Source: Sung-Gap Lee, Pastor, mid 1980s, Jun-joo, Korea

"I knew about the communists: very conservative, and dictatorial. I knew about the Berlin wall as well; East Germans tried to escape from communism to Democracy by going to West Germany. Because i was a pastor, i detested the communists because they would torture and kill pastors and destroy the religious symbols. I wished and hoped for American troops and Korean troops (blue-dragon troops) to destroy the Communism during the Korean war, which sadly did not happen."

Document 10
//Michael Cimmarusti, Birth date: July 1950, Postal Worker in 1989, Resided in US in 1989, drafted to fight in the Vietnam War// "The growing tension had started shortly after WWII and had stemmed from the end of WWII because of different political ways of life. Each side thought the other side was wrong. These tensions had escalated into a war time involving the Cuban Missile Crisis. At the time, many people expected this to escalate into the next world war. Nuclear testing was being publicized as the Soviet Union and the US were launching satellites into space and people were caught for spying. Russian spies were executed brutally. I was brought up hearing the propaganda through the news, and entertainment. All the information was sugar coated. Americans were told that communism was the wrong way of life. There was a clear growing fear and hate for Russians for just being...Russian. Movies were made where Russians were always the bad guys such as __Rocky__, __Rambo__ and __James Bond__.The effort put into the Cold War financially was a setback to the development of both nations. There were protest songs. One that I cannot forget is the "Eve of Destruction" which was basically Russians vs. Americans. I noticed the growth in Russian immigrants and these Russians were given a chance to a new life. I remember one quote by Ho Chi Minh 'They who forget the past are destined to relive it.' You and other young people just have the benefit of going forward by learning from the past. As a Vietnam War veteran, we were told that we were there to help and I believed it. As an American, even the poorest person was fortunate. "

Document 11
//Katherine Flagherty, Birth date: 1957, In the U.S. in 1989, Homemaker and Mother in 1989// "As a citizen, I was unaware of specific conditions. I had a general idea of what was going on, but I did not watch the news and I was unaware of the details of the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall. I would think that the young generation today would view the world more differently. The main concern in those days was politics. Now, humanity is focused more on..well..humanity. I do remember that there was a lot of turmoil about Vietnam. There was a huge division within the country due to unwanted drafting. I remember reading an article by Mike Royco. He was a controversial writer and he wrote about drafting and how since the U.S. was drafting young men, they should draft older men also and ask for their money. In general the Cold war did not affect my life and there really was no change after the wall fell. Even though there was no impact, it matters as to whether or not I'm paying attention."

Document 12
//Gandhi Kannan, Birthdate: 1959, In India in 1989, Mother in 1989.// "There was no impact when the wall fell. The extent of my knowledge only stretched to the tidbits that I had heard in the news."


 * Document 13**

//Romuald Firlej, DOB:1964, came to US in 1988, Part-time Mechanic in 1989 "Changes did not start occurring after the fall of the Berlin Wall, they started occurring with the Polish revolts. I remember participating in many of the revolts that happened in Warsaw, because I lived there at the time. We didn't have a president, we had 'the party'. Growing up with the party was not so pleasant. To control us, they would use fear. And, for the most part, it worked. I remember one day when my parents and I were on a bus, most people didn't own cars, and were crossing the bridge over Wisla. Our bus stopped all of a sudden. We looked out to see why, and what we saw was a huge tank blocking our path. There were soldiers too. People on the bus started crying, some started using profane language, and some just stood there, wide-eyed. Nothing serious happened. No one was killed or injured. But it really scared us."


 * Document 14** //

//Renata Firlej, DOB: 1963, Poland in 1988, physical therapist in 1988 "I saw so many changes taking place while being in Poland. A lot of them started taking place before the Berlin Wall fell, but there were also some that happened after it. There were more job opportunities for one thing. There were also new products, like cars or other technology. I remember our neighbors, the Ogledziskis, finally bought a car, after years of riding the bus and tramwaj, they got a car. Maybe it wasn't the best, but it was definetly an upgrade." //

Document 15
// Source information: Sam Abraham, DOB: June 17, 1970, occupation in 1989: sophomore at University of Illinois, location in 1989: Illinois // During the Cold War, as a child, I remember learning about Regan’s view on communism in school. He constantly portrayed communism as the representation of evil. While the Cold War was happening, the fear of the Soviet Union and communism spreading was eminent in our society. After the wall fell, I remember that the store that I worked at actually started selling little pieces of the Berlin Wall or what they said was pieces of the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Wall gave a sense of optimism to Americans because it reminded us that the impossible was possible and that hard work could help us achieve our goals. People born after the cold War, I feel, don’t see the world in black and white like we did; for us, there was either democracy, which was good, or communism, which was bad.

Document 16
// Source: Darius Margis DOB: 2/1/1954, occupation in 1989: construction worker, location in 1989: America, location during half of Cold War: Poland // In school in Poland, we learned that the imperialistic West tried to take over Poland and surrounding countries. We learned the West was trying to destroy the bright ideas of communism. The Cold War affected my life in many ways because I lived under the communist regime. We weren’t allowed to travel to Western democracies or contact anyone west of the iron curtain. There was no freedom of speech. We were constantly being spied on. The Cold War impacted pop culture in Poland because the Russian spies were the heroes of every novel and movie. There were censored books that we weren't allowed to read because it was illegal. But, we were allowed to listen to Western music and watch some western films. I had moved to the U.S when the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union fell. I remember feeling very happy when the wall fell.

Document 17
S//ource: Dean Weil, DOB:-, occupation in 1989: student, location in 1989: Yugoslavia// The Cold War affected my life because everyone in America at the time was united against a common enemy, the Russians. I feel like our government always has to have a common enemy. When the wall fell, I was an exchange student in Yugoslavia for a year. I remember seeing the wall fall on T.V. My life didn’t change specially in any way after the wall fell but the host family I was with were very excited for a democracy and were against the Russians. Feelings of nationalism were all around. America also had no common enemy for about 10 years. Because you were born after the Cold war, you don’t see the Russians as a common enemy. Instead, most Americans associate evil with the Middle Eastern countries because of the war on terrorism.

Document 18
//Source: Lindy Rosenson, DOB: 4/27/1964, Assistant to Vice President at Kemper Sports Marketing, 1989 Location: Wheeling, Illinois

I remember sitting at home watching the TV when the Wall came down. I didn't know very much about the communists as a child other than all problems in the world were a result of communist actions. Communism was wrong, capitalism was right. I remember watching the Vietnam War on television when I was a kid and i didn't understand why we were dropping bombs on children or why we were involved at all. The Vietnamese were so far away and they didn't seem to be hurting us in any way. Although I didn't fully understand why communists were so bad, I learned not to trust anyone who was not from the West. I remember that the communists were our biggest enemies in everything. When Moscow hosted the Olympics in 1980, the United States did not attend and when L.A. hosted the olympics in 1984, the Russians did not attend. While my life was not really affected by the fall of the wall, my sister in West Germany spoke very negatively about // East Germans coming to the West and taking jobs as well as all the governmental benefits.

I believe that those born after the Cold war have a different perspective on the world in that they do not separate whole nations into "good" and "bad" nor do they judge people from former communist nations as harshly. Overall, they are much more open-minded and willing to cooperate with other countries.

Document 19
//Source: Bob Hubberts, DOB: 6/4/1958, Controller with Motorola, 1989 Location: Chicago, IL//

Nearly everything I learned about the COld War was through the media. I remember hearing that Russians were evil and we had to be afraid of them because we didn't want communism in the United States. When I was a kid at school, we would have bomb drills in which we had to practice hiding under our desks in the case of an attack. We saw how people in communist countries lived and we didn't want to live the same way they did. I remember the Vietnam War as a highly unpopular war because the U.S. military was not well-trained for the types of fighting therefore leading to the U.S. losing the war and complete embarrassment. The Cold War impacted consumerism in that many Easterners sought Western goods, such as blue jeans and American music, although it was not really the other way around. When the wall fell, I was greatly impacted in that I was now able to adopt my daughter from Russia and visit Russia. My company also had a lot of new business in the East with former communist countries. However, there was clearly still a lot of remaining communist culture.

I believe that those born after the Cold War absolutely have a different view on the world given simply that they have not lived through all the same communism vs. capitalism events that the older generations lived through.

Document 20
//Source:// Alan Rosenson, DOB: 8/4/64, commodity trader at the Chicago Board of Trade, 1989 location: Wheeling, IL

I remember sitting on the living room couch in my Wheeling apartment when the wall came down. I had learned in school that the Soviet Union represented communism and the United States represented capitalism. The Soviets and the U.S. always had extensive building of nuclear weapons, each to show the other their power and potential. It was ironic, actually, that the weapons themselves insured mutually assured destruction. I understood that while a utopian society was theoretically ideal, democracy, by its nature, gave everyone the rights they deserved, which was also ideal. The two caused as much controversy as anything in the world besides religious wars. I really only understood capitalism and communism from an academic sense and I knew I couldn't visit the Soviet Union. All the restrictions and fuss over the Soviets did, however, peak my curiosity as to why the communists were so different. This lead me to eventually focus my studies in college on sources of Soviet conduct. In the movies, the controversies between the U.S. and the Soviets always made for a great story as well. It was an easy way to make the "bad guys" and "good guys" in movies. Although I was not directly affected by the fall of the wall, I found it highly interesting that the world was becoming a closer, more unified place. I also knew I wanted to visit Russia someday with my family.

I believe that people born after the Cold War era absolutely view the world differently than older generations. They are more open to other cultures and are more understanding. They are much less worried about the implications of a communist state. Given recent behaviors in N. Korea, China, and Russia, I am not sure that the world is a safer place now than it was twenty years ago, but the perception is clearly different.

Document 21
= = //Source: Emily Hong,1969,student ,Taiwan//

The fall of the wall didn't really have any impact on us, we lived on as it is.

Source: Richard Swiech II; DOB: 4/10/59; Real Estate Developer; Location in 1989: Chicago, IL

"When the the soviet union fell, and by that I mean Yeltsin came to power I was watching it on t.v. and I can remember Russian Tanks shelling the Central Committe Building, and after the shelling ceased I remember Yeltsin standing on one of the tanks and raising his arms in victory.""When I began to grow older Communism began to look grey and boring; me and my friends would write letters to these major US companies like Shell Oil, Michelin Tires, to send us stickers, when these stickers arrived I saw the true side of capitalism, I thought to myself why does this corporation care about a little kid like me who wants sticker, from then on I knew I wanted to come to America."

Document 23
Source: Bozena Sanecka; DOB: 7/5/59; Aupair; Location in 1989: Chicago, IL "I never looked down upon capitalsim like my country [Poland] taught me to do. I knew America was a wonderful place from the start because of all the stories my aunt and uncle sent me from America. I decided when I was pretty young that I wanted to live in America.""My family was not Communist of course we acted like we were but we never felt it to be the truest way of governing, for one we never gave up our faith like all communist sympathizers.""I remember learning about the war in Poland and they told me that the Veitcong were the good guys and that they were trying to unify Vietnam and that the evil Americans were hindering their operation.

Document 24
Source: Ania Lewandowska; Student; in Malbork, Poland

"My parents were not hardcore socialists, and for that reason they didn't push it on me. My family struggled with the Berlin Wall because we had friends and family on the west side that we had no contact with and could not see. We sometimes thought they might have been killed because of the cruelty that was local in Poland.""I remember seeing people very close to me who quote"disappeared in the night" people who never returned because they probably had been killed.""I never had seen people being executed on the streets but my parents told me it happened and we did all we could to blend with the crowd and not anger anyone."


 * __Document 25__**

Source: Kathleen Bruce, NYC Banker, living in CT, USA

"When the Berlin wall fell I was at Ceder Lodge Stable in Connecticut, when the USSR fell I was getting a massage from a Russian physical therapist. I didn't really know anything about the Cold War until I got to college, I took a very indepth class as a history major about it. I think the Cold War brought about the 60's movement. Looking for a more peaceful solution to a problem. When the wall fell I was slightly afraid the reunified Germany would blow up the world."

=== Document 26 === //Source: Maria Popovetskiy, DOB 1949 in Gomel,Belarus, gynocologist at universtiy hospital and nursing school professor, location in 1989 Moscow//

We were very excited when we heard that the Berlin Wall fell because "it was very bad when on epoeple were divided and it was bad for the country...and the people should decide where they live not a wall,after the wall fell life didn't change much but I knew before the wall fell that I needed to leave the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union was like a prision"

Maria's life was not affected by the cold war so much because"we needed to work everyday and wait in lines for hours and ride in transportaiotn for hours each day, and we talked about America being bad but we lived in our own lives, and we didn't care what was going on in America because at the time we werent planning on going ther anyway"

"Cold was for politicans and government officials not for the people"

Document 27
//Source: Regina Umanskiy, DOB 1972 in Moscow, student at Russian State Medical Universtiy, location in 1989 Moscow, USSR//

"What I grew up learning was that Americans were imperialists and the capiltaist system exploited regular people, in school and on tv we saw New York as the city of contrasts, they showed the projects, harlem, bums, and homless people, we never saw anything like the plains out west"

"I don't know if it was because USSR was a por country or it was the Cold War, but everyone was dressed the same and you had to have conncections to get things, and there was nothing available in the stores, Russian poeple dressed in dark gray colors and very serious militaristic style clothigns, so when Regan came to the USSR with his wife Nancy, she was wearing different color outfits, and I would never forget the yellow dress she had,it was the first time I saw colored clothing on tv from people in the government, and they were both smiling and they looked happy"

"The good thing about the Fall of the Berlin Wall was that it proved to us that we were bieng brainwashed and that we always believed capitalism was better we just could never express that"

"The governement was manipulating us regardless if it was a Cold war or a Hot war"

Document 28
//Source: Konstantin Umanskiy, DOB 1972 in Ukraine, student at Russian State Medical Universtiy, location in 1989 Moscow//

"I didn't care when the Berlin wall fell, I didn't think that it was that important, I was concerned that I didn't have enough food to eat though"

"The Cold War did affect my life while it was happening, I was afraid, I had nightmares that America would attack and that we would have to find somewhere to hide but they would find us, but for real we had to prepare for an attack they made us run to bomb shelters and run in gas masks, like your fire drills, we went to a museum to show us what would happen if a nuclear attack happened, this was when I was younger in Ukraine, but when I moved to Moscow for university it was almost over"

"Everything had to be censored and only movies with the correct messages could be shown, American movies were not allowed except the ones that had a good message, no videos, only in movie theaters so that everythign could be moitored"

"You view the world very differently, because imagine growing up and everyone telling you that you can't do this or you can't say that, so by the time you grow up you are like a machine and you are programmed to say three phrases and you know nothing else, you can't imagine that right?, because you never lived in that world"

**Document 29**
Source: Jim Marks, born December 1, 1960 in Chicago, working at Wesley Jensen in 1989, living in Evanston in 1989. Russia was viewed as the enemy. It was known the harm and violence committed to the Russian Jews under communism. Their rights and freedoms were affected under the government. The U.S. showed it did not approve of the Afghanistan invasion by boycotting the 1980 Olympics. This showed the split in political dogmas caused by the cold war. The Vietnam War did not have an effect on him. His dad was too old to be drafted. He saw the fall of the Berlin Wall as giving equal opportunity to the poor East Germans who wanted jobs. It solved the problem of illegal immigration which was depressing the western German economy by filling low paying jobs. There was strong tourism in Eastern Europe. He returned to Germany on business in 2002. He has never been back to former East Germany but to Flensburg, Hamburg, and Frankfurt.

**Document 30**
Source: Kathleen Marks, born January 5, 1962, working at Northern Trust in 1989, living in Evanston in 1989. Traveling in 1984, my mom saw the distinctive differences in economics between the East and the West, between capitalism and under communist rule. She traveled through Yugoslavia, Budapest, Hungary, Split and Dubrovnik, needed a special visa. She saw it as very “dark” and depressed. The culture was similar to that of Greece and Italy. Education level was lower. She had a firsthand experience discovering the effects of the lack of a free market economy. In October, 1989, before the fall of the Berlin Wall my parents traveled throughout Europe, in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. The conversion rate for the dollar was much stronger in Italy, Austria and Germany. Less people spoke English in the eastern European countries. They went to Dachau, compared the concentration camps and internment of the Jews with the iron curtain and the Berlin Wall.

Document 31
Source: Ed Marks, born July 4, 1937, working at Heller Financial in 1989, living in Northbrook He was very surprised the Berlin Wall fell. He thought that the Russians who had control of East Berlin would never let it go away. In the previous 25 years, many East Berliners tried to escape over the wall but were shot and killed by police. He saw the Berlin Wall fall on TV. He saw how the citizens of East Berlin used sledgehammers and drills to make holes in the bricks to eventually topple down the wall which was 13 to 14 feet high. In some malls in America, pieces of the Berlin Wall were on display. The Berlin wall was very famous like the great wall. He felt no direct affects by the fall of the Berlin wall but after Russia was open and travel and vacationing was freer. During the cold war, there were nuclear bomb scares, specifically two that he can remember. In the 1950s and 60s Russia sent a rocket with a dog called Sputnik. It scared Americans because it showed their power. During that time, he worked for IBM; companies like it were loaning money to employees to build bomb shelters in their basements. In 1962, Russians sent arms and started building a nuclear facility in Cuba just 90 miles from Florida. The Cuban missile crisis scared them but Pres. JFK made Khrushchev take out the missiles and they were sent back. In the 1960s they started drafting men for the Vietnam War, but he was married with a child so didn’t get involved.

Document 32


Source: Sandi Dahlin – college student, USA I

don’t really remember many of the details of the end of the cold war. To be honest, I don’t even know what year it happened. I know it happened while I was at collage but I don’t think it really affected my daily life, in any major way. Most of my knowledge of the cold war and the Berlin wall is from after the actual tearing down of the Berlin wall.

Document 33
//Source: //Bill Dahlin – Hewitt Associates, Illinois USA I think the change following the fall of the Berlin wall was more of a shift in mental attitude the any physical changes that occurred in my life, as a result, of the fall of communism. I think the most important thing that happened as a result, was the opportunity for change, and be able for the world to move forward, in terms of national cooperation.

__**Document 34**__

Source: Micheal Waks, Born September 12th 1956, executive at Lipton Soup Co. Ct Usa

"When I first heard about the fall of the Berlin Wall I was at home with my wife, when I heard about the fall of the USSR I was working in New York City. I understood that the Cold War was a global struggle between capitalism and communism. We fought a series of proxy wars in which we sent aid and troops to other countries around the world to fight off communism. One of my major fears was a Russian attack through their side of Germany. In the news the Russians were depicted as a dower humourless people. Films such as Dr. Strangelove showed the fear of nuclear war."

__**Document 34**__

Source: Julia Kalmens, former teacher in the USSR

"I was in Russia when the Berlin Wall fell and 2 years later when the USSR fell. The Cold War was not taught but we knew to be good citizens we had to dislike the Americans and their systems. War did not dominate my life and fear of nuclear war was never really on my mind. After I moved here I saw that capitalism was far better than communism. The US is truly better than the USSR was."

//Source: Martin Hautzinger, born September 13th, 1931. Retired//
 * __Document 35__**

//employee of the CTA in 1989, in Chicago in 1989 and in Stuttgart, Germany when the Soviet Union fell (vacation). "//People were better off with money in capitalism and there was a lower standard of living under Communism. The cost of living increased during the Cold War. After the wall fell, more trade opened up with the East. People born after the Cold War have more freedom and security; those freedoms are never questioned now."

__**Document 36**__

//Source: Anny Ament, born November 29th, 1931, worked as a dress maker. Was in Kansasville, WI when the wall fell and the Soviet Union fell.// "Our family lived under Communism in Hungary. We had no economic opportunities because my parents' farm was taken by the government. Veterans of Vietnam were treated horribly when they returned. Some were spit on, even though they were just doing what the government told them to. The Soviet Union was our enemy and we needed to produce more and more weapons to keep up."

//Source: Margaret Dosedla, born 1931. Was a housewife and was in Kansasville, WI when the wall and Soviet Union fell.// "I wasn't really interested in politics, but we were jubilant when the wall fell because now we could travel back to Hungary to visit family. No one in my family was in the military during the Vietnam War, so it d idn't really affect me. I was a young American busy raising my children. I remember watching Reagan on the television saying 'Mr. Gorbachev, take down that Wall!'. The Cold War didn't affect my personal life, just as when the Wall fell it mostly only affected Berliners and other people living in Europe. Only World War II affected my personal life because it left our family homeless."
 * __Document 37__**

= =

Document 38
Source: Joanne LaPlaca, born February 18, 1932, housewife

" I don’t remember where I was or when the Berlin Wall fell. I knew that Stalin was really bad and was a dictator and was invading other countries in Eastern Europe. I remember the Yalta Conference and the UN conference when Khruschev was pounding his shoe on the table, but I don’t remember what he was objecting to. I remember that capitalism meant the freedom of the people, the right to speak, the same rights we have here. I objected to the Vietnam war, I don’t remember why it started, but it was fighting communism, it didn’t solve anything. The Cold War didn’t effect my life, I never got into the communist fear hysteria, didn’t’ build a shelter or anything and I wasn’t nervous about an attack. I remember watching short news reels at the movies about the Cold War, and movies like Manchurian Candidate and Dr. Strangelove. People today view the world differently because the Cold War resulted in unnecessary wars and people today have a completely different paradigm than those of World War II and Cold War culture."on’t remember where I was or when the Berlin Wall fell. I knew that Stalin was really bad and was a dictator and was invading"

Document 39


Source: Peter LaPlaca, born May 8 1932,  "Absolutely, the cold war lasted so long and put so much pressure on the free world governments, you could never stop thinking about a possible attack on this country which had never happened on American soil, other than 9/11, this country was very dynamic isolated country for the last 200 years, never thought about someone crossing the oceans to attack us, changed everyone’s paradigm, we actually were vulnerable, we weren’t vulnerable during the World War II, Cold War created fear that we could be attacked, but the government reported that our missiles would protect us from Russia

Document 40


Source : Wendy LaPlaca, born November 1, 1957

"I remember the Vietnam War well. I used to have a POW bracelet and would check the newspaper to see if his name was listed to see if he was still alive or not. Americans did not support the war at all. I remember when the troops came back they weren't welcomed, they were ostracized for fighting in a war we didn't support. It wasn't until years later that the troops got formal recognition for their services and there were parades and they were honored."


 * Document 39**

Source: Ilsoo Kim, born January 24, 1954, student in Skokie IL

"Berlin Wall? What's the Berlin Wall? Is that the thing related to Communism? I do remember something big on the news about something big related to America being taken down but I never really cared about it. I don't remember anything about it, at this point of my life I was focused solely on my studies because I needed to get good grades to stay in America."

Source: Jeoung-Hyun Nam, born April 3, 1957, housewife in Skokie IL

"I do remember hearing something about a giant wall falling down on the news but besides the fact it was related to communism, it didn't really matter. I was taught in South Korea that Communism was bad and that was the reason for the suffering going on in North Korea. I did think about a possible reunification of North and South Korea, because the Wall fell. Of course the wall isn't really related at all to Korea but it was something I just thought about. However, these were just thoughts; the Fall or Cold War barely affected my life if any."

Source: Jun Lee, born August 5, 1980, student in Seoul, South Korea

"At the time of the event I was just a young boy so I can't really remember anything, except my parents did seem a little bit different during a time I remember hearing that some wall fell in the West. They mentioned something about North Korea and reunification. Besides that, I don't remember anything; I was just a student, politics and the world didn't matter to me at all. Good grades was all that was important in my life or else I would get in trouble with my parents."

Document 40
Source: Greg Alberts, born August 11, 1962, Co-owner of a small business, Buffalo Grove Illinois.

" When the wall fell I was at my dads house and we really never followed the situation but knew it was happening. I was more concerned about vietnam and if my dad had to go of for the draft or my older brother. I didnt care about that at all."

Source: Rosario Alberts, Born October 23, 1961, Housewife, Buffalo Grove Illinois.

" I really didnt know or care about it i knew a little but when i was a kid we had one tv in our house and my father controlled it and he watched sports not that, he didnt even care. But now sisnec i have been through college and read books on it i know quite a bit but at the time i didnt care it was silly and un necasarie for me to know about."

Source: Jack Alberts, Born November 17, 1935, owner of small business, Northbrook Illinois.

" I knew about it but i was to caught up in work. But thereal thing that scared me was the Missle Crissis thing. When the news of the missle came on tv I was very afraid for your grandma and myself it was very scary. And also with vietnam i cared about my sons being drafted rather then the wall falling i dont evenknow the day it fell."

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