#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

Richard Nixon was made the chair of a subcommittee to determine who was lying in the Hiss case. Chambers publicly called Hiss a communist and a spy. As evidence, he produced the “Pumpkin Papers”. Even today, historians can’t agree on whether or not Hiss...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#237 – Hiss & the Rosenbergs

During the Cold War, hundreds of Americans spied on their own country for the Soviet Union. Only two of them were executed – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Why were they singled out? We delve into that story, which begins with the story of another famous American...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#236 – Monty

Our final NATO episode! The Pentagon is worried that there isn’t enough military budget to pay for both domestic and European defence. Until someone had the insight that the two might be closely related. So now the Western Union’s defense committee had to pick a...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#235 – Forging The Alliance

In the second last episode of our NATO series, where we are trying to understand the real story about WHY and HOW NATO came into existence, we look how the US and European ambassadors finally overcame the balance of power issues. There something secret here that only...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#234 – The Vandenberg Resolution

Everyone is trying to figure out a model for European co-operation. Secret meetings at the Pentagon between the US, UK and Canada in March/April 1948 explored three possible extensions of the Brussels pact. Churchill’s son-in-law, Duncan Sandys then put together a...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#233 – Big Stick Diplomacy

During 1947-48, England and France had been working on their own treaty as well as one involving the so-called Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg). That became the basis of discussions about a broader treaty creating a United States of Europe,...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#232 – Norway Wants The Money

The Soviets and Finland had a complex history including a non-aggression pact and a false flag operation used to break it. But the President of Finland after WWII, Paasikivi, signed a new one anyway. Norway, on the other hand, was reluctant to sign one. They went with...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#231 – Finlandization

The other countries that lead to NATO being formed were Norway and Finland. One signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR. The other did not. We discuss the reasons and history behind each decision. There something secret here that only members can see. Probably an...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#230 – The Communist “Coup”

As the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia dominated the 1946 election, former Catholic fascist Slovakia ministers conspire to overthrow the Benes government through acts of terrorism. This leads to a series of purges, protests, strikes, and finally the Communist...
#238 – The “Pumpkin Papers”

#229 – Peak Communism

After Benes took control of Czechoslovakia again after WWII, with the support of the Allies, he ran a program of ethnic cleansing, mostly targeting people of German ancestry. And the Czech Communist party became the most popular political party of any country in...