Larry Linderman
On March 29 in the DesertView Theater at 2 p.m., the SaddleBrooke World War II Roundtable will be treated to a talk by Don Smith on the transition from one war into another. After the Allies beat Hitler’s forces, old animosities between Russia and the U.S. resurfaced. The result was what became to be known as the Cold War.
One of the first “battlegrounds” of this war was in Berlin in late 1946.
From the speaker: “One of, if not the, first East-West confrontations in the Cold War occurred at the ballot box. In October 1946, Berlin, which was occupied by the four victorious Allied Powers (the U.S., Great Britain, France, and Russia), held citywide elections. Berliners had had a chance to live under both Soviet and Western Power rule; their votes would be seen by many as a de facto referendum on the Western vs. Communist ways of life. Pro-Soviet and pro-Western parties competed for seats in the city government. In the elections and the campaigns that preceded it, Berliners demonstrated their willingness to stand up to the Soviets, often at great personal risk, in order to vote for freedom. All four of the occupying powers were drawn into the election campaign, which was tumultuous and sometimes dangerous. The elections were truly one of the first ‘battles’ of the Cold War.”
Don Smith is a retired Army Reserve officer who served during the Cold War, in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and immediately after 9/11. He has a bachelors’ degree in history from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College (now the National Intelligence University). He has been published in Military History magazine, World War II magazine, Civil War Times magazine, and the U.S. Army Intelligence Center’s Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin. He teaches Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at Fort Huachuca. He lives in Tucson
Write it down: Wednesday, March 29, at 2 p.m. in the DesertView Theater.
The Roundtable does not charge dues. We ask for a $1 donation at the door to cover taking our speaker to lunch at one of our restaurants and to reimburse them for any travel expenses.