Ostermann Named Executive Director of National Cold War Center
Blytheville, AR (June 3, 2025) - The National Cold War Center (NCWC) announced today that Dr. Christian Ostermann, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Cold War, has become the organization’s executive director.
Ostermann, director of the History and Public Policy Program at Wilson Center in Washington D.C., has been working with NCWC in Blytheville, Arkansas since 2022 as co-chair of the National Advisory Board.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to lead the effort to build National Cold War Center as one of the world’s leading historical and educational resources on this pivotal chapter of American history,” Ostermann said.
Ostermann will work with the Center’s Board of Directors, and the National Advisory Board, chaired by Dr. Jillian Hartley, to carry out NCWC’s goals and objectives in becoming the premier educational and historical resource as it pertains to the Cold War.
“Christian brings close to thirty years of experience in Cold War research, public history, and public policy management to the Center,” said Mary Gay Shipley, chairman of the Board of Directors. “We’re thrilled for him to take a more active role in developing this national museum of the Cold War.”
Fundraising efforts are underway for the construction of a museum at the NCWC in Blytheville, which was designated in 2023 by the 118th Congress as the federal museum of the Cold War.
“The ideological and geopolitical battle between capitalism and communism defined our global politics for almost half a century, resulting in a nuclear arms race, regional wars, and cultural and technological changes that remain vital here in the 21st century,” Ostermann said. “Our vision is for a state-of-the-art museum that tells the story of the Cold War as lived history and connects with younger generations.”
The base served as a Strategic Air Command facility during the Cold War, a key element in the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal as well as the aircraft and missiles that delivered those weapons. The base was closed in 1992.