BBC History Magazine

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

“Are we in a second Cold War? Some commentators would like to think so”

COLD WAR ORIGINS • From the rise of Marxism to growing nuclear fears, explore the story of how the Cold War came to life on the global stage

HOW WAR TURNED COLD • Why was it called the Cold War? Was it inevitable? And who won? We answer these key questions and more about the decades-long rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union

THE GODFATHER OF REVOLUTION • Just how did a poverty-stricken dissident become one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the world? Here we chart the seismic impact of Karl Marx and his writings

NUCLEAR FALL-OUT • In 1945, the USSR was an ally of the west in the fight against Nazi Germany. But a mere 17 years later, the two sides stood poised to obliterate each other in a nuclear apocalypse. This, from a feature first published in 2016, is the story of how a relationship turned ugly

Winston Churchill ATOMIC WARRIOR, NUCLEAR PEACEMAKER • At the dawn of the Cold War, Churchill was one of the west's leading champions of the atomic bomb. But, as Britain found itself in the cross-hairs of a Soviet attack, his attitude changed, which set him at odds with the United States

CONFRONTATION & CRISIS • Discover the complex and vast reach of the Cold War, from the theatres of war in Korea and Vietnam to the Cuban missile crisis and the 1983 Able Archer incident

“The Suez crisis made Britain look incompetent and petty – a spent force” • In 2016, ALEX VON TUNZELMANN spoke to Matt Elton about her book on the twin crises of the autumn of 1956 – the Suez crisis and the Hungarian uprising – and how they pushed the world to the brink

HOW WE FORGOT THE KOREAN WAR • When conflict erupted on the Korean peninsula 75 years ago, many Britons feared the worst, anticipating a return to conscription and air-raids. So why did anxiety soon turn into apathy – and why has that sentiment dominated British attitudes to the war ever since?

“It was like trying to use a flamethrower to weed a flower border” • Over half a century ago, as a young reporter, MAX HASTINGS witnessed the horrors of the Vietnam War at first hand. In this 2018 interview, he spoke to Rob Attar about his major history of the conflict, and some of the big questions that arose from his research

Vietnam at war

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE BERLIN WALL • The Berlin Wall is the great icon of the Cold War. But how did it happen? Here we analyse the brinkmanship, machinations and top secret manoeuvres that led to its construction

How Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik helped to destabilise the GDR

On the brink of nuclear oblivion • The 1962 Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of war – and ended in embarrassment for the Soviet Union. In this visual history, we explore its escalation, the key players, and how disaster was averted

WAR WITH OUT END • The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 is widely viewed through the prism of the great Cold War confrontation between east and west. Yet, as we explore in this feature first published in 2022, the occupation also ignited a tinderbox of local grievances that continue to torment the country

AFGHANISTAN'S AGONY

The world faces Cold War nuclear...