Demonstrating Cold War Historical Empathy through Propaganda

The Berlin Air Lift

Step 1: gather all materials needed to create your propaganda:

-propaganda handouts

-general Cold War notes

Emotional persuasion: Fear!

-Cold War illustrated timeline

Worst possible light

-Truman & Soviet-perspective notes/handouts

Step 2: decide group roles

-1^st pick a “recorder”

-artist

-spokesperson

-writer

-researcher, collector, gopher, etc

Step 3: brainstorm basic idea in group

-record the group thought-process as you talk through it

-what do you know about the specific event?

-what is its larger context (events surrounding it)?

-how would it be viewed from the Soviet/US perspective?

-as a US/Soviet leader, how would you want it viewed?

-what images/people/ideas/emotions should you use?

Step 4: create rough sketch on paper(s)

Step 5: create your final product

Step 6: propaganda display explanation

Minimum requirements:

1. poster or cartoon form within a “display”

2. use of 3 propaganda techniques (see handout)

3. use of 3 terms/ideas (written or graphic)

4. 1 line of text

5. process information (from recorder – on separate sheet)

6. 1 paragraph statement/explanation at bottom (like a plaque)

7. Title that addresses who is to blame for Cold War

#’s 6 & 7 are part of “display”

Potential Terms/Ideas to include (there are many more):

West v. East Capitalism

Encirclement Imperialism

Western invasion Marshall Plan

Card-stacking, emotional persuasion

Churchill (Great Britain) Atomic bomb

Truman (USA) Berlin

German unification Containment Policy

Communism Stalin