Cold War Flags
At a conference in San Francisco in 1945 fifty nations signed a charter for a world peace organization called the United Nations. The goal was to create a forum for settling international disputes without armed conflict and to help prevent disease, improve education, protect refugees, and aid developing nations economically. Each of the United Nations organizations had its own organizational flag and they are shown here.
A cold war flags with a golden hammer and sickle. The hammer and sickle are the emblem of communism. The sharp point of the sickle symbolises urban industrial workers while the handle is symbolic of agricultural workers (peasants). The red star over the hammer and sickle represents the Communist Party. Its position above the hammer and sickle suggests that the Party leads all classes of society, including the working class, to enlighten and unite them under socialism.
Echoes of Tension: Cold War Flags and Their Political Significance
During the Cold War the United States and Soviet Union were locked in a bitter confrontation. In response the United States formed NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) with nine other western European countries in 1949 and the Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact (no flag) with seven of its satellite nations in Eastern Europe. Both of these organizations have their own special unit flags.
This Type #3 Viet Cong Flag was probably the first of these flags to be captured in a combat zone by a helicopter crew. The crew feared it might be booby trapped and exploded a hand grenade near it before swooping down to grab it.