With WWII at an end, the world soon faced a new challenge widely known as the Cold War. In 24 episodes, this series chronicles this war of ideologies, from its inception in the late '40s until the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. some forty years later. With Europe and Japan absorbed in rebuilding their cities and economies, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the world's superpowers and standard bearers for incompatible political philosophies -- Democracy or Dictatorship, Capitalism or Communism -- the line was drawn in the sand. This episode looks at the Communist regime after Stalin's death, when Nikita Krushchev rose to power and vowed to "bury the West under Communism." The program shows the resistance to Communist rule in the Eastern European nations, culminating with the Hungarian uprising in 1956. When America refused to intervene, the Soviets brutally crushed the rebellion.
by Rose of Sharon Winter
synopsis
