After German troops invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany. Despite this, there were no…
“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!”
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan made one of his most famous Cold War speeches at the Berlin Wall.…
“Without respect, America’s power just seeps away”
Walter Mondale, born in Ceylon, Minnesota on January 5, 1928, was the 42nd Vice President of the U.S. under Jimmy…
An Encounter with Hitler
So it’s 1935, you’re blonde and Jewish and have a bit of Wanderlust. And where do you go? Why, Nazi…
The East Berlin Uprising, June 16-17, 1953
It began as a strike by East Berlin construction workers but quickly escalated into waves of protests throughout the German…
Independence and “Catastrophe”: The Deadly Founding of Israel, May 14, 1948
On May 15, 1948, the UK withdrew from Palestine. (It had been given a mandate over the territories after it defeated the Ottomans…
“The U.S. values amateurism over professionalism in diplomacy”
Chas W. Freeman, Jr. is one of those rare diplomats with brilliant language abilities who also was involved in an…
Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady
One of the most prominent political figures in Cold War history, Margaret Thatcher, led Britain as the only female prime…
The Assassination of Ambassador Spike Dubs — Kabul, 1979
Adolph “Spike” Dubs was a career diplomat who served in Germany, Liberia, and the Soviet Union. He became a noted Soviet expert, and in…
Early American Diplomacy in the Near and Far East
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Early American Diplomacy in the Near and Far East: The Diplomatic and Personal History…