Download - Cold war sites

Introduction
Get more familiar with your neighbours
The main objecti ve of this book is to strengthen mutual
understanding between neighbouring countries around the
Balti c Sea through an exchange of informati on on their recent
history, not least an understanding between the former Soviet
countries (and their satellite states) and the western countries.
The idea is that history should be told from the historically
valuable sites at which historic events took place.
So plan a trip to your neighbouring countries and visit the
sites and museums that off er informati on on the region’s recent
history and experience the historic atmosphere that can be
found on the sites.
A selection of museums and sites that have an important
history to tell
The book contains only a selecti on of museums and historically
valuable sites that tell the history of the Cold War period from
1945 up to the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.
It includes the main museums and sites that have an important
history to tell but which, at the same ti me, are deemed likely
to be reliable in the future. Many are new and established only
since the Soviet Union’s collapse - largely initi ated and driven
by enthusiasti c individuals or voluntary organizati ons. It is oft en
people, their families or organizati ons that had a hard ti me
under the Communist regimes who feel strongly that they have
an important story to tell - and they have.
Their entrance fees and private contributi ons are usually
crucial sources of income. It is hard to say whether they will all
survive. Some of the museums and places described in this book
will probably therefore close in the coming years.
It is therefore recommended to check the museum’s websites
in advance. Most of these are listed in the book.
The countries and regions covered
For East Germany, Poland and Russia, the book covers only
the regions near the Balti c Sea. However, the capitals of these
countries are also included because of the many sites of nati onal
historical importance.
Iceland and the Murmansk area are also included, because
their post-Second World War history is of special signifi cance
to the region. Iceland as a key military monitoring site in the
North Atlanti c and the Murmansk area as a Soviet military
powerhouse.
The history of the balance of power and the Communist
regimes
The book includes museums and historical sites that tell the
history of:
• The military situati on, the balance of power, between East
(members of the Warsaw Pact) and West (members of NATO
and neutral states)
• The Communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and
its satellite states, including acti viti es relati ng to the
independence struggles.
This means that the following kinds of site and museum are
included (providing they are accessible to the public):
• In all countries: military sites, such as missile bases, heavy gun
batt eries, underground informati on centres, etc.
• In the former Soviet Union and the satellite states: sites
connected to the Communist regimes and the period of
independence struggles, such as KGB prisons, parti san
bunkers, closed military towns, executi on sites or simply sites
where historical events took place such as demonstrati ons.
About the text
Each country is introduced with a brief descripti on of topics from
the country’s recent history.
Descripti ons of the various museums and sites are given in the
form of arti cles, oft en with general informati on. Therefore some
factual repeti ti on between the arti cles can be found.
It should also be noted that the Balti c States largely had an
identi cal post-war history. In the introductory secti on to these
countries, it has been decided to illustrate diff erent aspects of
the consequences of Soviet infl uence.
Nearly all the museums and sites described have cooperated
on the texts and provided illustrati ons.
Abbreviations. KGB, DDR, NATO etc.
The following abbreviati ons are used in general:
The Soviet secret police is always described by the lett ers KGB
standing for Komitet Gosudarstvennoj Besopasnosti (Committ ee
for State Security), although the insti tuti on has, over the years,
had diff erent names and abbreviati ons (such as the Cheka, OGPU
and NKGB).
The two German states that emerged aft er the Second World
War are named East Germany and West Germany respecti vely.
Their offi cial names are Deutsche Demokrati sche Republic, DDR
(German Democrati c Republic) and Bundesrepublik Deutschland,
BRD (Federal Republic of Germany).
The Western Allies’ military cooperati on organizati on is always
described as NATO, although in the early years this cooperati on
was known as the Treaty of Brussels and the North Atlanti c
Treaty.
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