The Cold War began following the end of World War Two in Europe and continued until 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved. While there were small wars fought during the Cold War (with separate pages on this site), the Cold War itself, was not one of combat but of tension and politics. But the militarys of the countries engaged in the Cold War were constantly training for actual war, and often were put on heightened states of alert as tensions between the West and East were inflamed. On this page you will find pictures of chaplain activity that don’t fit with the other pages of combatant wars but have a place in chaplaincy history as chaplains continued to minister and serve Service Members who sometimes found themselves eye-to-eye with forces who they could be at war with if the political wind blew in the wrong direction.

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“A young Jewish girl in the JDC-supported Berlin-Mariendorf DP Camp shares matzahs with Captain J. Robbins, Jewish Chaplain for Berlin. Berlin, c 1946.” (Photo from American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee)

“A chaplain improvises, using an M151A2 jeep hood as an altar on which to conduct his service, Beirut, Lebanon, April 1983. The service is being attended by two US Marines near their headquarters at Beirut International Airport. The Marines have been deployed in Lebanon as part of a multi-national peacekeeping force following confrontation between Israeli forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization.”