On May 1, 2011, a group of U.S. soldiers boarded helicopters at a base in Afghanistan, hoping to find a man named Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network, was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks around the world, including those of September 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.…

On Sunday, October 14, 1962, an American U-2 aircraft, flying a photographic reconnaissance mission over Cuba, took 928 images (one is included with this article). The next day, analysts at the National Photographic Interpretation Center concluded that the photographs showed evidence of Soviet missile site construction in Cuba and conveyed their…

On October 5, 1957, the headline on the front page of the "Baltimore News-Post" proclaimed "Russ "Moon" Circling Earth." The "Russ" Moon was Sputnik I, launched by the Soviet Union a day earlier. The launch had far-reaching and unexpected outcomes for the United States. Almost immediately, President Dwight…

William L. Shirer, author of Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, discusses a wide variety of subjects, including the personalities of Roosevelt and Hitler, why the Germans succumbed to Nazism, McCarthyism in the United States, and the heroic resistance of the Russians to German invasion. (CS)

The primary source document reproduced here consists of the first two pages of a briefing notebook prepared for President Eisenhower outlining the issues to be raised with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during his visit to the United States in 1959. Teaching activities are suggested. (RM)

Examines treatment of the United States in social studies textbooks used in the USSR, as reported by the US/USSR Textbook Study Project. Identifies major problems, including ideological bias, adequate coverage, balance of treatment, factual errors, distortion and bias by undue emphasis, omission of important details, and dependence on outdated…

How some nations are motivated by political or geo-political considerations when denouncing human rights abuses is examined. Examples from US and Russian foreign policies are discussed. (RM)

Asserts that the technology of interactive multimedia gives teachers the tools to help students acquire and use historical knowledge in a visual, active manner. Reviews two videodisks on the Cold War and the U.S. presidency. Concludes that both products would be effective instructional tools. (CFR)

Maintains that, over the past 50 years, the United States has had an unusually close and tumultuous relationship with the United Nations. Provides an historical review of world events since the beginning of the United Nations and describes the U.S. role in the organization. (CFR)

Introduces a special theme issue on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Asserts that the anniversary comes at a time when increasing demands are being made upon the UN to play a leading role in world affairs. Calls for teachers to incorporate the United Nations into courses throughout the curriculum. (CFR)

Presents a map indicating the path of the "Einsatzgruppen" (mobile killing units of the German SS) military assault through Poland into the Soviet Union in 1941. Provides a map of the six extermination camps in Poland. Offers two maps illustrating the Jewish population of Europe before and after World War II. (CFR)

Presents a map of Europe identifying the location of major concentration camps, extermination camps, and massacre sites during World War II. Maintains that only a few of the over 400 sites in the former Soviet Union where entire Jewish villages were exterminated are shown. (CFR)

A compilation of 13 social studies activities suitable for immediate application in the classroom includes teaching ideas for both elementary and secondary teachers. Activities comprise a simulated mapping expedition to Jamestown colony; a folktale illustration of moral dilemmas; taped interviews with Soviet citizens; simulated employment…