National History Day Winner 202x - winner name

“Operation xx”

After learning that this year’s National History Day theme would revolve around communication, I knew that I wanted to cover something related to espionage during the Cold War. I was intending to create a project based around the various communication methods used by famous spies in order to communicate their findings to their mother nations, but that theme was scrapped early on due to the lack of information yielded by the research I had done. After days of thorough research, I came across some articles on Cold War wiretapping, which eventually led me to Operation Ivy Bells. 

After discovering the initial articles on the subject, I began scouring Google for any information I could find about Operation Ivy Bells. As I collected resources, I noticed that a large amount of the information on the missions was still classified to the general public, and I found it increasingly difficult to find credible sources. Nevertheless, I continued my research on the topic and was able to find articles on the events of the campaign, blueprints for the submarines that were used during the operations, and even interviews with some of the divers that participated in the missions themselves. In the end, there was just enough information available to the public eye to enable me to create this project. 

I decided early on that I would be working alone this year, so I eventually concluded that I would create a website. I had all of the necessary information available to me, so it was only a matter of learning how to use the NHD website builder and making the site look presentable. Using the works of previous NHD winners as examples, I was able to learn how the program worked through experimentation, trial and error, and various guidebooks. Through this, I was able to give my website a simplistic, yet professional aesthetic.

Operation Ivy Bells fit this year’s theme of “Communication in History” in that it deals with the interception and utilization of communicated information. By the time World War II ended, the two global superpowers that were still standing were suspicious of each other’s activities. The American government jumped at a chance to gain the upper hand over the Soviets, who were equally as afraid of another global conflict as the Americans were, and created Operation Ivy Bells as a means through which to gather information. Using wiretaps and highly advanced rebreather equipment, the U.S. government was able to uncover a treasure trove of private Soviet data, which was eventually used to help ease the tension between the rival nations. Operation Ivy Bells was important in that without it, the Cold War could have either lasted even longer than it already did, or escalated further into a worldwide conflict.

Jack Brown
Senior Individual Website
Word Count: 1200 words

Process Paper Word Count: 471

THE COLD WAR

National History Day®(NHD) is a non-profit education organization based in College Park, Maryland. NHD sponsors the National History Day Contest that encourages more than half a million students around the world to conduct historical research on a topic of their choice. Students enter these projects at the local and affiliate levels, with top students advancing to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park.

The Naval Order of the United States supports this program through its individual Commanderies. It seeks to encourage historical research in the areas of maritime, naval and Marine Corps history. The San Francisco Commandery supports the NHD program in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, and offers up to $300 per year in awards to students whose projects excel at the state level competition. Students start their projects in their individual schools, and then compete through a series of local and county competitions to win the opportunity to compete at the state and then national level.

Start your inquiry about National History Day California at https://www.nhdca.org for the latest NHS news and information.









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