Almost everyone who lived in the 80s of the twentieth century knows the name of Samantha Smith from Maine (USA). A girl who, with her bold act, was able to attract the attention of a huge number of people to the issue of maintaining peace on Earth. But over time, her name was forgotten, and modern youth, probably, will no longer be able to answer the question of who Samantha Smith is. Why is her name often featured in various children's political and diplomatic forums? And some may have heard of Samantha Smith's Truth, the 2015 film, and they are interested in who this work is about. In order to open the veil of secrecy over the history of Samantha, this material was written.
Samantha Smith Who is that girl?
Born in June 1972 in an ordinary American family, Samantha Smith was a smart and inquisitive American girl from the state of Maine (USA). Like every child, she asked various questions about the world and the events that took place. Probably, a certain natural courage of Samantha prompted her to write a letter to the leader of the USSR, which turned her whole life upside down.
Samantha Smith Letter
The story of how a little girl decided on such an unexpected act for a child of 10 years old seems normal for our time, but for the eighties of the twentieth century it was a rather extraordinary step. The period of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain left its mark on the views of people and their actions. The people behind the curtain seemed different, vicious and full of treachery. The ideological machines on both sides worked to blacken each other and justify the buildup of military power.
Once, when she saw in The Magazine a photograph of the new leader of the USSR, Yuri Andropov, with material about his danger to the United States and the whole world, Samantha wondered why he wanted to destroy her country. In search of an answer, she turned to her mother, but she could not resolve her daughter’s complex request and suggested that she independently find out the answer directly from Andropov. Probably, Samantha’s mother did not expect her attempt to leave her daughter’s question unanswered would be an incentive to action.
The girl then wrote a letter to Yury Andropov, who was only elected to the post of General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, with a simple but at the same time complex question. She asked why Andropov wanted to take over the world and whether he would start a nuclear war against the United States. If it were not for the will of fate, then perhaps this letter would have remained dusty in the endless archives of the KGB. But some far-sighted and wise official found him. This man came up with how to use the message of an American schoolgirl in the ideologically correct direction.
There was a cold war, and both sides tried by all means to debunk and convict each other, each chance to prove the erroneous actions of the opponent was important. To achieve this goal, it was decided to use the letter of Samantha Smith. It was published on the pages of the all-Union newspaper "Pravda" and showed all the duplicity of the United States.
Invitation of Andropov
Probably, giving answers to the letter of the young American was not in the plans of the workers of the Politburo, but Samantha was persistent. She sent another message, but to the USSR ambassador to America, in which she decided to clarify whether she would be given an answer from the Secretary General. Most likely, this persistence forced Yuri Andropov to write an answer and invite Samantha to visit the USSR in order to verify the good intentions of the Country of Soviets.
The subsequent arrival of Samantha Smith in the USSR became one of those moments in history when, it would seem, an insignificant event changes the idea of ​​established concepts. So, the irreconcilable hostility of the USSR and the USA resulted in an unfriendly relationship between the population of these countries. Soviet people did not understand the Americans, and the Americans feared and considered the inhabitants of the Soviet Union strange. And the arrival of one girl who was able to examine the USSR through the eyes of an ordinary person made many think about a possible warming of relations. Many even believe that it was the arrival of Samantha Smith in the USSR that marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
Samantha's visit to the USSR
Of course, Andropov’s invitation to visit the Soviet Union was a chance for Samantha to find answers to her questions. And she gladly took the opportunity, and already in the summer of 1983 she visited the USSR. I visited Moscow and Leningrad, spent three days in the All-Union health resort "Artek". All Samantha’s visit to the USSR was carefully planned and ideologically verified. The busy program included visiting the main symbols of the Soviet Union and meeting with prominent people. For example, Samantha and her parents visited the Lenin Mausoleum and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A separate meeting was held with Valentina Tereshkova.
American guests were placed in the best rooms for foreign tourists, and even the selection of the menu was under control. Perhaps the only insurmountable circumstance to make Samantha’s visit to Russia complete was that Yuri Andropov himself was seriously ill.
Book about visiting the USSR
As a result of this trip, Samantha Smith was able to find answers to many questions about how people live in the USSR, and learn about their thoughts and feelings. She discovered that they are not much different from the Americans. She designed her observations and conclusions in the form of a book "Journey to the Soviet Union." The openness with which Samantha reacted to her new country, her desire to understand and prevent a possible war became a symbol of peace, and Samantha herself was called the smallest Goodwill Ambassador.
Life of Samantha after returning to her homeland
A visit to the Soviet Union by Samantha Smith was a high point for her, and her life changed dramatically. After the girl was closely watched by hundreds of video and photojournalists from all over the world for two weeks, she began to be recognized and invited to various popular shows. Offers began to appear in the series. Samantha was offered to interview the first persons and stars. Hundreds of film companies tried to get a recognizable girl in their own hands, and Samantha’s parents were able to successfully monetize her popularity, using the opportunities that opened up.
Plane crash
But it so happened that, once returning home, young Samantha died in a plane crash. Someone accidentally or so needed, but that day in 1985, Samantha was returning from the filming of the Lime street series. Circumstances were not in favor of the Smiths. The weather was disgusting with terrible visibility, and the landing was forcedly transferred to another airport. The place where the plane was supposed to arrive was unknown to the pilots. Complicated the situation and the dark. A whole range of reasons led to the fact that as a result, the plane, on board of which Samantha Smith and her father flew, crashed into a tree, having missed the runway. As a result, all six passengers and two pilots died. And given the fact that there were no black boxes on board small planes , the establishment of the exact cause of the crash became unrealistic. Of course, this state of affairs was the reason for raising questions about the fact that for Samantha Smith the secret work of the secret services was the cause of death. Many people wondered why this happened.
Causes of Samantha Smith death and versions
The death of a young person so famous around the world, of course, caused a large number of versions of what happened. Moreover, she became famous in a rather complex and insecure sphere of political games. Even to the end, not understanding with her young mind, Samantha crossed the road to many influential people. The whole world was set up for the Cold War. The two countries made great efforts to surpass their rivals, increased their military and intelligence capabilities, and carried on ideological developments. But in the end it turned out that thanks to one American schoolgirl, a large amount of work done was nullified, military programs were cut, the budget and personnel working on the development of the Cold War were reduced. Owing to all this and the inability to ignore Samantha’s frank appeal to take the path of peace, there were popular versions about the nonrandomness of the tragedy and the involvement of one of the special services - the United States or the USSR.
Of course, the idea that for Samantha Smith the cause of death was her activity, and not the pilot's mistake, is very attractive. Oil added to the fire and the fact that a small plane crashed, which was ideally suited for sabotage.
An investigation was conducted, and all commissions recognized the incident as a result of improper actions by the aircraft crew, but to this day this disaster raises many questions and versions. Probably, these questions will always be, because I do not want to believe that the life of the youngest Goodwill Ambassador could end due to a combination of circumstances, and Samantha Smith has the causes of death somewhere else, and not in a common mistake.
Memory
Immediately after Samantha’s death, the girl’s mother filed a lawsuit against the airline and won compensation, the size of which is still a secret. These funds were used to create the Samantha Smith Foundation to organize travel for Soviet and later Russian students in the United States. This fund ceased operations in 1995.
Paying tribute to the young Samantha, the official Samantha Smith Memorial Day was proclaimed in her home state, which takes place annually on the first Monday of June. Monuments and sculptures were erected in the USA and the USSR, alleys and parks were named. The contribution of a small person to the great cause of peace on earth was noted by many prominent figures in politics and culture.
If you are interested in the story of this girl, then perhaps you will be interested to see “The Truth of Samantha Smith” - a film of 2015 that will not only tell, but also show her story.