Cold War Web Sites

Cold War: From Yalta to Malta (CNN)
This CNN Perspectives series explores the Cold War experience. Included are interactive maps, rare video footage, declassified documents, biographies, picture galleries, timelines, interactive activities, a search function, book excerpts, an educator’s guide and more. (Demands a 4.0 browser or higher) ***This site is no longer active and has been archived

People’s Century (PBS)
The site is based on a 26-episode television series and features a teacher’s guide, a timeline, a thematic overview, and RealAudio excerpts. Selected programs:

Soviet Archives Exhibit (Library of Congress)
Site contains declassified Soviet documents from 1917 to 1991

Cold War Policies 1945-1991
Written by a professor at the University of San Diego, this is part of a larger site from the History Department. The major topics are Negotiation, Demonstration, Containment, Coercion, Detent, Confrontation, Glasnost, and Revolution. While basically a time-line of policies and events, included are primary sources, detailed maps, and links to other sites, such as Reagan and Gorbachev’s pages.

1968: The Whole World Was Watching (BrownU.)
An oral history project that features recollections of a group of Rhode Islanders regarding pivotal events and issues in 1968.

The Wars for Vietnam
This site was produced by students out of Vassar college and provides an overview of the Vietnam war, primary documents and photos, and links to other related sites.

Vietnam, Stories Since the War (PBS)
Another well done PBS site; it contains background information on the Vietnam War, first-hand stories of veterans, an index, and a search function.

Cambodian Holocaust
This site relates personal stories from the Cambodian genocide of the Khmer Rouge years. There are photographs and suggested resources.

Vietnam: A Television History (PBS)
Part of PBS’s American Experience series, this informational site includes video clips of the war, background information, and much more.

The Face of Russia (PBS)
This informative PBS site attempts to answer the question: Who are the Russian People? There is a timeline, glossary, bibliography, media index, links, lesson plans, and a chat forum.

K-19
Inspired by National Geographic’s Widowmaker film, this online feature delves into the history of K-19, and the Cold War politics and mechanical malfunctions that led to a Russian nuclear submarine disaster in the summer of 1961. This interactive site offers a director’s commentary, K-19’s schematic, movie stills, selected profiles of U.S. and Russian subs, a sunken submarine map, an exploration of the evolution of submarine technology and much more.

Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides, Activities and more

The World in Uncertain Times, 1950 Present Practice Test
High School level quiz on Cold War America from Prentice Hall.

The World in Uncertain Times, 1950 Present Document Based Essay
This Prentice Hall DBQ is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents and is based on the accompanying documents (1-6).

Intervene or Interfere? Exploring Forty Years of United States Intervention in Foreign Affairs
In this lesson, students will research the motives, actions, and results of U.S. intervention in foreign affairs between the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion and the 2003 invasion of Iraq; they then present their research to class for comparative analysis.(April 7, 2003)

For more resources to use in the classroom, go to the Cold War Era section under American History.