Glossary
A |
Agents | People who act on behalf of someone or an organisation; see spy |
| Anti-Communist | Against Communism | |
| Atomic bomb | A deadly weapon made from splitting the atom that emits dangerous levels of radiation | |
B |
Berlin Wall | The wall that separated East from West from 1961-1989 |
| Betrayal | Acting against one's country | |
| Blockade | A system to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving a country | |
| Brigade | A particular military formation of soldiers | |
| Bunker | An underground military construction to protect people or goods | |
C |
Capitalism | Economic and social system that supports private ownership of businesses and properties, and free trade |
| Central Intelligence Agency | An American intelligence organisation responsible for the country's security interests aboard | |
| Checkpoint Charlie | Crossing point in Berlin from the American sector of the city into the Soviet zone, later GDR | |
| CIA | see Central Intelligence Agency | |
| Clandestine | An action carried out secretly | |
| Communism | Belief in a system or society with equal class structure | |
| Concentration camp | A camp where someone is detained under harsh or brutal conditions, usually associated with Nazi Germany (1933-1945) | |
| Coup (or coup d'état) | When a government or leader is overthrown | |
D |
Defection | Going over to the enemy's side |
| Democracy | A free country with elected government and politicians | |
| Deterrent | Something to prevent action by the enemy | |
| Dictatorship | A country ruled by an unelected leader with no freedom for the people | |
| Diplomacy | Political relationship between countries | |
| Dollar | American currency | |
| Deutschmark | The former currency used in West Germany | |
E |
Eastern Bloc | A group of Communist countries in Eastern Europe |
| Economics | The way money, industry and trade is organised | |
| Embassy | A diplomatic office in a foreign country to represent a country's own nationals in matters abroad | |
| Espionage | The act of spying | |
F |
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G |
Glasnost | A more open policy (in the Soviet Union) |
| GDR | German Democratic Republic | |
H |
Hard-line | A tough approach |
I |
Ideology | A belief system |
| Infrastructure | Basic systems such as water supplies, energy/power and transport that enable a country to function | |
| INF | Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty | |
| Intelligence Corps | A British organisation that keeps the military secure and gathers information for security reasons | |
| Intercontinental ballistic missile |
A powerful weapon capable from flying from one continent to another | |
| Interrogation | Questioning someone | |
| Iron Curtain | An ideological barrier between East and West in the Cold War | |
J |
Journalist | A newspaper reporter |
K |
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L |
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M |
MAD | Mutually Assured Destruction |
| Manhattan Project | A research centre in the United States that produced the first atomic bombs | |
| Marshall Aid | An American plan to offer financial aid to help struggling economies grow after the Second World War | |
| Military Liaison Missions | Military organisations of a country that liaise with each other | |
| MI5 | British intelligence organisation responsible for security at home | |
| MI6 | British intelligence organisation responsible for security abroad | |
N |
NASA | National Aeronautical and Space Administration (USA) |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organisation | |
o |
One-party state | A country with only one political group, governed by a dictator |
P |
Perestroika | Economic restructuring (in Soviet Union) |
| Prison | A place to keep someone in custody | |
q |
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R |
Radiation | energy that comes from a nuclear reaction that kills everything within range |
| Rebel | A person who acts against authority or a system | |
| Reparations | Payment of damages/money to a nation, usually after a war, for causing that war and suffering | |
| Reunification | A once-divided county becomes one country again | |
| Revolution | An uprising against a government or political system | |
S |
Sachsenhausen | Concentration camp north of Berlin |
| Sanctions | Punishment for a country in response to it breaking international law | |
| Satellite states | Smaller countries that aligned themselves with the Soviets in the Cold War | |
| SAL | Strategic Arms Limitation | |
| Spy | Someone who secretly works for a government security service who collects information on the enemy or another country | |
| Stasi | German secret police in the GDR | |
| Stockpile | To amass supplies of something, e.g. food, weapons, etc | |
| Supersonic | Faster than the speed of sound | |
T |
Teleprinter | A machine to send out typed messages |
| Traitor | Someone who betrays their country | |
U |
USA | United States of America |
| USSR | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | |
v |
V1 | A flying bomb designed and launched by Germany in the Second World War |
| V2 | The first long-range missile, a deadly weapon designed and launched by Germany in the Second World War | |
| Visa | A special permit or document to enter a foreign country | |
W |
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X |
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Y |
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Z |