Cuban missile crisis: The world on the brink of war
Overview of the Cuban missile crisis and its effect on Germany, 1962.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail National Archives and Records Administration; United States. Department of Defense. Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
-
Public DomainLearn about Adolf Hitler's public speaking style by listening to him delivering the closing address at the 1934 Nürnberg Rally. Footage of this speech served as the climax of Leni Riefenstahl's film Triumph des Willens (1935; Triumph of the Will). This excerpt is translated as “The movement [National Socialism] is a living expression of our people and, therefore, a symbol of eternity. Long live the National Socialist movement! Long live Germany!”
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The time when “terror [was] the order of the day.”
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.It's a day to “never forget.” But what does remembrance look like 25 years later?
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.What happened on December 7, 1941?
-
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © 1962 Twentieth Century-Fox Film CorporationOverview of the Normandy Invasion.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.French defeat by Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu, northern Vietnam, 1954.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.From The Second World War: Triumph of the Axis (1963).
News •
Today in History: October 22
• Oct. 22, 2026, 9:06 AM ET (CTV News)
Transcript
NARRATOR: The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 - the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. on the verge of nuclear war. Secretary General Khrushchev deploys nuclear missiles on the allied socialist island of Cuba where they can reach large parts of the U.S.A. within just a few minutes. For Moscow, it is a question of the atomic and political balance of power.
SERGEJ CHRUSCHTSCHOW: "The whole crisis was based on the fact that the Americans did not want to acknowledge the Soviet Union as an equal player."
NARRATOR: If it had come down to a nuclear exchange between the super powers, the divided Germany and Berlin would have been affected. The Chancellor in Bonn is apprised.
ANNELIESE POPPINGA: "It was on Oct. 22, 1962. That morning Dowling, the American ambassador in Bonn, requested a most urgent meeting with Adenauer. Adenauer was shown close-ups which clearly show that launch pads for rockets armed with nuclear warheads were being erected in Cuba. Dowling further informed Chancellor Adenauer that aerial reconnaissance had detected 25 Soviet ships that were on their way to Cuba."
NARRATOR: President Kennedy announces a naval blockade in a televised speech, but only as a first step. If the Soviet ships loaded with more rockets didn't turn around and if the nuclear build-up was not stopped, U.S. forces were prepared for any countermeasures. Chancellor Adenauer recommends the U.S. government show strength. At home he orders military and civil vigilance. In West Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt calls for emergency meetings with his advisor Egon Bahr. Both know:
EGON BAHR: "If it is critical there, it will become critical in Berlin. It will become critical in Berlin, because it's the weakest and most geographically isolated point, surrounded by the armed forces of the GDR and the Soviet Union."
WOLFGANG KOPPENHAGEN: "So, we were told in the Cuba Crisis that it wasn’t just a higher state of alert, it was the real thing. We were told, World War III is about to start."
NARRATOR: Days of anxious waiting pass.
BAHR: "We can’t do anything, we’re completely helpless pawns of larger powers."
POPPINGA: At least it was my feeling that we didn't know, are we going to wake up tomorrow morning, are we even going to survive today? Everything was completely and utterly open."
NARRATOR: In Moscow there are increasing indications that the U.S.A. will not accept nuclear missiles in Cuba. Khrushchev fears an escalation, offering Kennedy negotiations in a personal letter. But the channels of communication are sluggish at the time. As the situation threatens to go out of control, Khrushchev backs down. He orders the withdrawal of the nuclear missiles from Cuba. President Kennedy responds by removing the Jupiter missiles from Turkey.
BAHR: "Both sides had withdrawn in horror after peering into the abyss."
NARRATOR: The world was never closer to the verge of nuclear war than in October, 1962.
SERGEJ CHRUSCHTSCHOW: "The whole crisis was based on the fact that the Americans did not want to acknowledge the Soviet Union as an equal player."
NARRATOR: If it had come down to a nuclear exchange between the super powers, the divided Germany and Berlin would have been affected. The Chancellor in Bonn is apprised.
ANNELIESE POPPINGA: "It was on Oct. 22, 1962. That morning Dowling, the American ambassador in Bonn, requested a most urgent meeting with Adenauer. Adenauer was shown close-ups which clearly show that launch pads for rockets armed with nuclear warheads were being erected in Cuba. Dowling further informed Chancellor Adenauer that aerial reconnaissance had detected 25 Soviet ships that were on their way to Cuba."
NARRATOR: President Kennedy announces a naval blockade in a televised speech, but only as a first step. If the Soviet ships loaded with more rockets didn't turn around and if the nuclear build-up was not stopped, U.S. forces were prepared for any countermeasures. Chancellor Adenauer recommends the U.S. government show strength. At home he orders military and civil vigilance. In West Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt calls for emergency meetings with his advisor Egon Bahr. Both know:
EGON BAHR: "If it is critical there, it will become critical in Berlin. It will become critical in Berlin, because it's the weakest and most geographically isolated point, surrounded by the armed forces of the GDR and the Soviet Union."
WOLFGANG KOPPENHAGEN: "So, we were told in the Cuba Crisis that it wasn’t just a higher state of alert, it was the real thing. We were told, World War III is about to start."
NARRATOR: Days of anxious waiting pass.
BAHR: "We can’t do anything, we’re completely helpless pawns of larger powers."
POPPINGA: At least it was my feeling that we didn't know, are we going to wake up tomorrow morning, are we even going to survive today? Everything was completely and utterly open."
NARRATOR: In Moscow there are increasing indications that the U.S.A. will not accept nuclear missiles in Cuba. Khrushchev fears an escalation, offering Kennedy negotiations in a personal letter. But the channels of communication are sluggish at the time. As the situation threatens to go out of control, Khrushchev backs down. He orders the withdrawal of the nuclear missiles from Cuba. President Kennedy responds by removing the Jupiter missiles from Turkey.
BAHR: "Both sides had withdrawn in horror after peering into the abyss."
NARRATOR: The world was never closer to the verge of nuclear war than in October, 1962.
Last Modification: