Apocalypse: Cold War

Cert 12Cert 12
National Geographic
Apocalypse: Cold War

Synopsis

Summer 1945. Leaving the atrocities of war behind, the Allies wholeheartedly celebrate a return to peace. But behind the scenes of global reconstruction, a more drawn-out, insidious confrontation is in the making. Soon, an "iron curtain" will come down, dividing the Communist Eastern bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union, and the West, behind the United States. This is the Cold War, the War of Worlds. In a frantic arms race, the United States have invented the worst threat possible - the nuclear bomb. During the course of fifty years, the great heads of state, Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao, and Kennedy, face each other off in a precarious balance of terror. Beyond those who are in power, all of mankind can, at any time, be plunged into the Apocalypse.

Episodes

Season 1
  • The Big Rift

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    Summer 1945. The victorious nations celebrate a return to peace. But behind the scenes of global reconstruction, a more drawn-out, insidious confrontation is in the making between those who were formerly allies. The West is concerned about Stalin's growing power in the East.

  • The Escalation of Fear

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    1947. Fearing that a damaged Europe might fall prey to Communism, America launches the Marshall Plan, reconstruction aid for the European nations. The French also need help in Indochina, where Ho Chi Minh, hidden in the jungle, watches his army and his power grow?

  • The World Trembles

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    September 1950. In Korea, the conflict drags on. After a successful landing at Incheon, General MacArthur and his troops are once again defeated near the frozen Yalu river, where they face a new enemy: China. Truman considers the atomic bomb? In Indochina, the French are taking a beating.

  • The Conquest

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    March 1953. Stalin is dead. The Little Father of Peoples is now no more than an embalmed corpse that his potential successors eagerly flock to pay respects to. In East Berlin, a wave of hope comes over the German workers; it is swiftly repressed by the Soviets?

  • The Wall

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    The Wall: The USSR's new leader stuns the world by denouncing Stalin's crimes. But the Vietnam War is about to begin and President Kennedy is focused on retaliation. (S1, ep 5)

  • The Abyss

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    The Abyss: The players change, but the War of Worlds continues through the assassinations of global leaders to the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. (S1, ep 6). 12+