New Documentary Delves Into The Most Dangerous Moment The World Has Ever Known: The Cuban Missile Crisis

 

Fifty years ago, the world held its breath as it was brought to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The situation, to the relief of the entire world population, was diffused. But what if? What would have happened if the two leaders had acted differently? What if a nuclear war had taken place? A new documentary called Clouds Over Cuba reveals all...

In April 1962, Soviet Union leader and Stalin's successor Nikita Khrushchev set up nuclear bases in Cuba, to allow their weapons to be in closer proximity to the US, in the event of an attack.

All hell broke lose on the 15th October 1962, when US reconnaissance photographs revealed the Soviet missiles under construction in Cuba and J.F.K, the US President at the time, imposed a naval quarantine to prevent the arrival of any more Soviet weapons. 

Over 13 days, tensions built between the nations, and the world held its breath, powerless. An agreement was finally reached on the 28th. Khrushchev would dismantle the missiles in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union, if the US agreed not to invade Cuba. 

This clip, giving a quick overview of the documentary, Clouds Over Cuba, uses old black and white footage and photographs from the time of the crisis and asks viewers to reflect on what would have happened if things had been different.

What if the missiles had remained undetected? What if there had been Clouds Over Cuba? What if Kennedy had ordered airstrikes, or Khrushchev had told his ships to run the blockade? What if there had been a world nuclear war?

To find out more about the closest the world ever came to nuclear destruction, and find the answer to all the 'What If's?, watch the full documentary on the Cuban Missile Crisis, Clouds Over Cuba, on their website. 

Disclosure: Unruly is distributing this video on behalf of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. This post is not part of the commercial plan and is written by the editorial team at Unruly, whose opinions are always independent, sometimes scurrilous, and never knowingly under-researched.