Britain’s Cold War: Culture, Modernity and the Soviet Threat (International Library of Twentieth Century History)

The cultural history of the Cold War has been characterized as an explosion of fear and paranoia, based on very little actual intelligence. Both the US and Soviet administrations have since remarked how far off the mark their predictions of the other's strengths and aims were. Yet so much of the cultural output of the period – in television, film, and literature – was concerned with the end of the world. Here, Nicholas Barnett looks at art and design, opinion polls, the Mass Observation movement, popular fiction and newspapers to show how exactly British people felt about the Soviet Union and the Cold War. In uncovering new primary source material, Barnett shows exactly how this seeped in to the art, literature, music and design of the period. Cover 1 Author Biography 2 Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 9 Acknowledgements 11 Introduction 14 Britain and the Cold War 15 Apocalypticism 18 Glimpsing and Encountering the Eastern European Other 22 Structure of the Book 29 1. Between West and East: Fellow-Travellers and British Culture in the Early Cold War 34 The ‘Red Dean’ and Early Cold War Culture 36 The World Peace Congress 46 Murder in Moscow and Cold War Allies and Enemies 53 Conclusion 58 2. ‘No Defence Against the H-bomb’: British Society and H-bomb Consciousness in 1954 60 The Emergence of the H-bomb in British Media 63 The Coventry Civil Defence Scandal 68 The Coventry Civil Defence Exercise 76 Conclusion 83 3. ‘The Iron Curtain is Melting Away’: Encounters with ‘The Thaw’ 86 A Camera in Russia 87 Sporting Engagements 97 Khrushchev in Britain 100 The Ponomareva Affair 105 Conclusion 110 4. ‘When are the British Coming to Help Us?’: British Responses to the Soviet Invasion of Budapest, 1956 112 The Crumbling of the Soviet Empire? 113 The Repression 119 Re-Stalinisation 127 Conclusion 138 5. ‘Russia Wins Space Race’: The British Press and the Launch of Sputnik, October 1957 140 The Soviet Sputnik 141 Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact 145 The First Earthling in Orbit 151 The Dog’s Death 155 Conclusion 159 6. The Thriller and the Cold War 161 The Cold War as a Game 164 Cold War Insecurity 169 An Agent Without Agency 177 Conclusion 185 7. Nuclear Anxieties and Popular Culture 187 Nuclear Anxieties and Protest Movements 189 Fiction and Mutually Assured Destruction 194 Criticising the Cold War 198 Conclusion 206 8. ‘The Greatest Story of Our Lifetime’: The Successes and the Limitations of Soviet Ideology 208 Modernity and Declinist Narratives 209 Yuri Gagarin in Britain 217 The Building of the Berlin Wall 219 Damn You England 228 Conclusion 231 9. Viewing the Soviet Union at the End of Khrushchev’s Rule 232 The ‘Matrix of Us and Them’ in The Ashes of Loda 235 After the Coup 240 Conclusion 244 Conclusion 247 Notes 255 Bibliography 286 Index 298 The cultural history of the Cold War has been characterised as an explosion of fear and paranoia, based on very little actual intelligence. Both the US and Soviet administrations have since remarked how far off the mark their predictions of the other's strengths and aims were. Yet so much of the cultural output of the period - in television, film, and literature - was concerned with the end of the world. Here, Nicholas Barnett looks at hart and design, opinion polls, the Mass Observation movement, popular fiction and newspapers to show how British people felt about the Soviet Union and the Cold War. In uncovering new primary source material, Barnett shows exactly how this seeped in to the art, literature, music and design of the period The Cultural History Of The Cold War Has Been Characterised As An Explosion Of Fear And Paranoia, Based On Very Little Actual Intelligence. Both The Us And Soviet Administrations Have Since Remarked How Far Off The Mark Their Predictions Of The Other's Strengths And Aims Were. So Much Of The Cultural Output Of The Period - In Television, Film, And Literature - Was Concerned With The End Of The World. Here, Nicholas Barnett Looks At Art And Design, Opinion Polls, The Mass Observation Movement, Popular Fiction And Newspapers To Show How Exactly British People Felt About The Soviet Union And The Cold War And How This Seeped In To The Art, Literature, Music And Design Of The Period.