Following the Allied victory in World War II, Germany faced a long road to reconstruction. The war took the lives…
Daily Life in Japanese Custody: Japan Takes Over U.S. Consulate in Vietnam During WWII
About one month before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States officially entered World War II, tensions were already…
In the Heat of the Cold War: Diplomats in a Divided Germany
Ever since the Foreign Service’s infancy, Foreign Service spouses have traveled with their partners to all corners of the world,…
Labor Unions During the Cold War
The end of World War II brought about the beginning of the Cold War, whose influence played a significant role…
The Royal Family of Swaziland Raises Awareness About AIDS
In 1995 the Apartheid era came to an end in South Africa, yet many still found themselves shouldering Apartheid’s tragic…
Wars that “Must Never be Fought”—Nuclear Disarmament in the Wake of the Cold War
From the words of President Reagan to the fears of people all over the world, unease over world-ending technology being…
The Last Ones Left: Inside the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
With a simple “good luck” from President Richard Nixon, Ambassador Joseph Farland set out to Pakistan, unsure of what to…
Thanksgiving: How U.S. Diplomats Celebrate an American Tradition Around the World
Gobble, gobble! Thanksgiving is a unique American holiday — one that U.S. embassies, foreign service families, and American expats of…
Spies and Prostitutes: Memories of a Visa Officer in Post-WWII Greece
In post-World War II Greece, U.S. consular officers met all kinds of people—from suspected spies to prostitutes. Don Gelber was…
Sound, Fury, Brilliance & Booze: Faulkner in Post-War Japan
William Faulkner, among the most decorated writers in American literature with the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature, the Pulitzer Prize…