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The answer to the “What is it? Wednesday” question from August 27th is the tailhook on our F6F-3N Hellcat! Tailhooks like these are used to quickly slow down carrier based airplanes by hooking onto an arrester wire on the deck of their ship!Stay tuned for the next “What is it? Wednesday” question tomorrow, September 3rd at 10:00 am EST!#americanheritagemuseum #whatisitwednesday ... See MoreSee Less
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Col. Joe Peterburs, Legendary 101 Year Old WWII P-51 Pilot with Me 262 Victory, Headlines the Historic Aviation Weekend on September 13-14, 2025 at American Heritage Museum in Hudson, MA - Read More at: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/2025/08/history-takes-flight-wwii-ace-col-joe-peterburs-headlines-... ... See MoreSee Less
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Our T6 Texan is out stretching its wings today getting ready for our upcoming Historic Aviation Weekend, September 13th-14th! During this event, our Texan and other historic aircraft will take to the skies! Visit our website for more details and to book your tickets today!bit.ly/45m9ygK#AmericanHeritageMuseum #visitma #aviation ... See MoreSee Less
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Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - What is it?! Thanks to everyone who played last week… The answer for August 20th is part of the hood on our SdKfz Half-Track… see the previous post for the full details!Good luck on this week’s challenge! #americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma ... See MoreSee Less
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Cold War


T72G
– RUS | TANK

Berlin Wall Segment – GER/RUS | ARTIFACT

Cold War
During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union fought together as allies against the Axis powers. However, the relationship between the two nations was always a tense one. Americans had long been wary of Soviet communism and concerned about Russian leader Joseph Stalin’s tyrannical rule of his own country. For their part, the Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Russians. After the war ended, these grievances ripened into an overwhelming sense of mutual distrust and enmity.

Postwar Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe fueled many Americans’ fears of a Russian plan to control the world. Meanwhile, the USSR came to resent what they perceived as American officials’ bellicose rhetoric, arms buildup, and interventionist approach to international relations. In such a hostile atmosphere, no single party was entirely to blame for the Cold War.

The United States created the NATO military alliance in 1949 in the apprehension of a Soviet attack and termed their global policy against Soviet influence containment. The Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955 in response to NATO. Major crises of this phase included the 1948–49 Berlin Blockade, the 1927–50 Chinese Civil War, the 1950–53 Korean War, the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The USSR and the US competed for influence in Latin America, the Middle East, and the decolonizing states of Africa and Asia.

The 1970s saw an easing of Cold War tensions as evinced in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks that led to the agreements of 1972 and 1979, respectively, in which the two superpowers set limits on their anti-ballistic missiles and on their strategic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. That was followed by a period of renewed Cold War tensions in the early 1980s as the two superpowers continued their massive arms buildup and competed for influence in the Third World.

The Cold War began to break down in the late 1980s during the administration of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Gorbachev’s internal reforms had weakened his own Communist Party and allowed power to shift to Russia and the other constituent republics of the Soviet Union. In late 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed, and 15 newly independent nations were born including a Russia with a democratically elected, anticommunist leader.

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EVENT TICKETS ONLY FOR SATURDAY & SUNDAY - No General Admissions available this weekend during WWII Tank Demonstration Weekend special event.

There will be no General Admissions tickets available on Saturday, August 16th and Sunday, August 17th during the WWII Tank Demonstration Weekend - all visitors on Saturday and Sunday must purchase event tickets for access to the American Heritage Museum. $30 Adults | $25 Seniors/Veterans | $20 Children 3 to 16 years old.