In 1958 we were right in the middle of the Cold War – the threat of some form of confrontation between East and West was never far from people’s minds. The events prior to 1958 were signs stability anywhere in the world was tenuous at best. The situation in Hungary where Soviet influence was rejected in favor of non-Communist involvement brought swift and lethal reprisals (much the same as would happen ten years later in Czechoslovakia) and most were certain a similar situation was bound to happen in Germany, with Berlin as flashpoint.
It was a war of ideologies, but also a popularity contest with Chessboard overtones where one false move would have chaotic repercussions. Most likely it was the deciding factor in preventing World War 3, but at the time it was about influence and coming from positions of strength and pessimism over the future,
This episode of the popular radio discussion program Radio Beat focused on the atmosphere of potential confrontation and what strategies needed to be in place to prevent them from getting out of hand. The panel consisted of Adlai Stevenson, Pierre Mendes-France and Hugh Gaitskill; all considered the “loyal opposition” since all of them were from the opposite political parties currently in power.
Regardless of Political affiliation, the essence of Foreign Policy was an intricate and complex one; where one movement was the culmination of several similar but seemingly unrelated movements in order to achieve some measure of success before the next crisis broke out.
Involvement with NATO and increased presence of the United Nations were crucial elements during this time, since the Cold War was not confined to Europe but throughout Asia and the Middle East where Moscow was showing interest in forging ties with Egypt’s Nassar while an Arab Nationalist movement was taking hold in many of those countries that were former colonies and protectorates of Britain and France. And in North Africa where the former French Colonies of Algeria and Morocco were on the verge of civil war.
It was no simple time – and if you dive into the full hour of this program you will probably walk away with a better understanding of just how complicated these issues are – and of course made infinitely more complicated in 2025 by the presence of new players, particularly in the Middle East. But the pessimism is the same
But in 1958 it was fear of World War 3 and The Bomb which probably kept flashpoints to a minimum – no one wanted to be the one that ended it all.
Here is that episode of Radio Beat as it was broadcast on March 12, 1958 over the CBS Radio network.
