Other titles:NATO DOCUMENTARIES [Allocated Series Title]
Summary: A shortened television version of a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) documentary film showing aspects of post-war European history, and of how East and West were divided by "barriers", both figurative (the "Iron Curtain") and literal (the Berlin Wall). NATO is shown as a stabilising institution, protecting not only the territorial integrity of its members but also their common Western civilization and its democratic heritage.
Description: The film opens on a telex machine of Winston Churchill's telegram to President Truman warning of the forming of an "Iron Curtain" across Europe. The film then moves on to present the post-war history of NATO and its opponents, characterising the time as one of NATO member cooperation, and Soviet aggression and cohesion. Historical footage is used to illustrate the development of post-war tension and significant events, from the meeting of Soviet and United States troops on the Elbe river in 1945 through to the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. NATO is described in this period as the defensive shield to the economic impetus of European Aid Programme (Marshall Plan).
The film highlights the seizing of power by the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia and the repression of uprisings in Eastern Germany in 1953 and in both Poland and Hungary in 1956. International summits are briefly described: 1960's Big Four summit in Paris, 1963's Three Power talks in Moscow leading to a ban on nuclear testing, and the 1975 Helsinki Accords during the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. Soviet antagonism is suggested by the testing of a Hydrogen bomb by the USSR in 1953, the agreement of the Warsaw Pact in 1955 and the Cuban missile crisis.
NATO is shown to be have grown its membership - Greece, Turkey and the Federal Republic of Germany join during the 1950s while Spain joins in 1982. Czechoslovakia is however invaded by Warsaw troops in 1968, and martial law is declared in Poland in 1981 in line with the ban on the Solidarity trade union. Greece, the foundation of western democracy, is presented as within striking distance of the largest military arsenal ever assembled.
The film's concluding part focuses on the contrast between Western freedom (illustrated by marching socialists in Amsterdam) and Eastern oppression. The subdivision of Berlin is highlighted, with Conrad Schumann’s leap over the wire during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 shown together with the killing of Peter Fechter during his unsuccessful attempt to cross over the wall in to West Berlin. A final montage suggests the greater freedom enjoyed in the West and the desire to advance toward a better world.
Alternative Title:NATO DOCUMENTARIES [Allocated Series Title]
Colour:Colour
Digitised:Yes
Object_Number:NAT 2075
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:IWM NATO
Featured Period:
Production Date:1983
Production Country:
Production Details: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Information Service (Production company)
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Production sponsor)
Heston, Charlton1924-10-042008-04-05Co US Chairman, American Air Museum in Britain, c1991-1997 (Production individual)
