How a Nuclear World War 3 Almost Happened

How close were the United States and the Soviet Union to an all-out nuclear war that would have crippled the entire world? Find out in today's epic re-telling of a crisis that almost blew up into World War 3. The Cuban Missile Crisis.

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[harrietharlow]

I remember this. I was a child at the time, but I could sense the tension in my parents and other adults. We came really close to the brink. Thank God for Arkhipov. He literally saved the world.

[asifpanchbhaya]

it's insane like how the fate of life on earth is just dependent on decisions of just few peoples

[danilodiaz]

My grandfather was a farmer in Cuba in the 1950s and 1960s, he lived in Vinales Pinar del Rio which has loads of hills and its very rural. He told me that Fidel Castro and a huge convoy of people came to him, his brother and some neighbors to ask about the terrain because they were looking to build a military base.

[Johan-sotz]

"War is delightful to those who never experience it."

[ives]

"The survivors (of a nuclear war) would envy the dead." - Nikita Khrushchev
"The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us." - John F. Kennedy

[fh]

You need to do one about Able Archer. In fact, do a whole series on all the close calls we've had.

[simontrudeau-rocheleau]

I've always been baffled that this story wasn't one of the most known stories in the world

[soulman]

You forgot to mention Oleg Penkovskey the high ranking Soviet military officer who initially gave the western governments intelligence about the nuclear missiles located in Cuba.
It wasn’t the U2’s all by themselves.
Oleg Penkovsky literally gave his life to make sure that ours could continue to exist, and brought the nuclear brinksmanship to a halt.
He is a hero, and should he celebrated in the west for all he did for humanity.

[Awizard_on_the_internet]

I would never suspect the infographic show to swear yet I'm here for it

[parkerrose]

You had to experience it to realize just how scary it was then. I'm 72 years old now and I still remember every day during that crisis. I'll never forget it.

[ccmckernan]

Imagine if the distrust for the media that exists today existed during the cmc. How many military decisions were made based off of public media? Scary to think about something like this happening again in current political climate 😬

[LIVdaBrand]

Been to Moscow, St. Petersburg. I was treated with so much respect and love. Most people of a country like to distance themselves from their politics and have a beer. Great video.

[msaintjo]

I was familiar with the CMC except for the part of the elevator getting stuck. That's almost like a higher power saying go ahead and let them blow everything up, I'm done with these humans. Scarry stuff man.

[bowdiddly]

I have a feeling that we were a lot closer to nuclear war than we will ever know.

[adrianhernandez]

These events in history were the reason I exist.

[aryans]

I’m rewatching this and I just have to say, people 5 months ago were joking about war in the comments. Now we could be on the brink of WW3.

[distortionz_z]

Some people don’t understand how intense this situation was back then.

[FairhavenCreations]

And then Magneto yeets a submarine onto the beach. History is interesting

[diversejoe]

JFK: Let's blockade Cuba

USSR: *UNO reverse card*

[desleyvisser]

“5 months later…” Russia: Hold my beer.