Stories from the Cold War...
During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, the Pacific Northwest was home to an outpouring of citizen diplomacy, peace activism, and cultural exchange, directed towards building personal connections with the Soviet Union and reducing the risks of war.
This website is part of an ongoing project, based at the University of Washington, to preserve and retell some of the stories from this rich history of grass-roots, person-to-person action.
Featured Exhibits
Seattle Jewish Human Rights and Peace Activist Groups
On the map above, there are several marked places that represent the locations where Jewish human rights groups protested Soviet...
Amerika: Entertainment or Propaganda?
In 1987, ABC produced a miniseries entitled, Amerika. The plot of the show revolved around three major characters, all of...
Educational Exchanges: Accent on Understanding's Impact on the Future
Accent on Understanding was a non-profit, 501(c)(3)-designated organization in Washington from 1987 to the early 2000s that facilitated teacher and...
Seattle Peace Chorus
The mission of the Seattle Peace Chorus is to communicate through music the desire for a just and peaceful world;...
Seattle Peace Activism
A Seattle peace activist group travels to Tashkent to advocate for peace and unity during the Cold War. However, this...
Public Tenacity: Give Peace a Dance
Background: In 1983, a new push from Seattle peace activists emerged in order to resolve geopolitical tensions between the Soviet Union...
Life Over Trident: The Bangor Submarine Protests
During the 1970s and 1980s the arrival of submarines armed with nuclear Trident missiles at the naval base in Bangor,...