HomeHome Page

Home Page

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

Life Over Trident: The Bangor Submarine Protests

34015754_924958664374188_3288970373411897344_n.jpg

During the 1970s and 1980s the arrival of submarines armed with nuclear Trident missiles at the naval base in Bangor,...

Seattle Jewish Human Rights and Peace Activist Groups

Screen Shot 2018-05-28 at 8.27.40 PM.jpg

On the map above, there are several marked places that represent the locations where Jewish human rights groups protested Soviet...

Amerika: Entertainment or Propaganda?

Amerika.jpg

In 1987, ABC produced a miniseries entitled, Amerika. The plot of the show revolved around three major characters, all of...

Seattle Peace Activism

Screen Shot 2018-05-04 at 12.56.32 PM.jpg

A Seattle peace activist group travels to Tashkent to advocate for peace and unity during the Cold War. However, this...

The Goodwill Games and the Political Climate of the Cold War Era

1968_Olympics.jpg

How the Cold War political climate created the Goodwill Games and the inescapable nature of politics in the time period.

Public Tenacity: Give Peace a Dance

#9.jpeg

Background: In 1983, a new push from Seattle peace activists emerged in order to resolve geopolitical tensions between the Soviet Union...

New Opportunities: Europe America Space Flight 500

Спускаемый_аппарат_Ресурс-500.jpg

In 1991, the collapse of the Soviet Union signaled the end of the Cold War and changed the landscape of...

Educational Exchanges: Accent on Understanding's Impact on the Future

1987 | Accent on Understanding - Vision, Purpose, Name and Symbol.pdf

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

2013-02-15_Peace_Rally-SLC-SPC.jpg

The mission of the Seattle Peace Chorus is to communicate through music the desire for a just and peaceful world;...