Events In History
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24 January 1980Soviet ambassador expelled
The New Zealand government ordered the Soviet Union‘s ambassador, Vsevolod Sofinsky, to leave the country within 72 hours after he allegedly delivered money to the pro-Soviet Socialist Unity Party. Read more...
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8 November 1936New Zealanders march into besieged Madrid
Griff Maclaurin and Steve Yates were part of the International Column of anti-fascist volunteers which marched into Madrid to bolster the city's defences against the assault of General Francisco Franco's rebel armies. Both men were killed in battle within two days of arriving Read more...
Articles
The Cold War
Although the origins of the so-called Cold War can be traced back to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, this intense ideological struggle between the Western powers and the Soviet Union really began after the Second World War.
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Page 2 – Overview
New Zealand’s participation in the Cold War was shaped by its decision to support the Western powers in their confrontation with the Soviet Union after the Second World War.
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Page 3 – Choosing sides
New Zealand backed Britain and the United States against the Soviet Union as the Cold War began in the late 1940s. Like the other Western Allies, New Zealand’s relationship
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Page 5 – South-East Asia
During the 1950s the focus of New Zealand’s defence strategy shifted from the Middle East to Asia.
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Page 8 – War at home
Apart from a period during the 1950s, New Zealanders remained relatively tolerant of communism.
The Spanish Civil War
While New Zealand had no official involvement in the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s, a small number of New Zealanders fought in Spain (six were killed there), or served as doctors and nurses. Many others supported the Republican war effort through fundraising efforts back home.
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Page 2 – Background
The Spanish Civil War was primarily a fight between the nationalist Fascists and the democratic Republicans.
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Page 3 – Attitudes in New Zealand
The deaths of at least six New Zealanders in Spain went largely unnoticed at home. But some groups within New Zealand saw Spain as more than a ‘far away side issue
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Page 4 – NZ combatants in Spain
Short biographies of New Zealanders who fought in the Spanish Civil War
Royal Visit of 1953-54
For those New Zealanders who experienced it, the visit of the young Queen and her dashing husband, Prince Philip, to New Zealand in the summer of 1953-54 was a never-to-be forgotten event.
- Page 3 - Popularity Why was the royal visit of 1953/4 greeted with such enthusiasm by New
Biographies
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Maclaurin, Griffith Campbell
New Zealander Griff Maclaurin was one of the first international volunteers to be killed in the Spanish Civil War.
Read more...
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Main image: Bren gun reward leaflet
A leaflet dropped on Malayan communist forces in 1953.