The international crisis which abruptly erupted between the USSR and the USA in the Autumn of 1962 precipitated the already tense relations between the two countries. The quick successions of events which unfolded in October of that year, however, made the previous Stalin-Truman tension pale in comparison. For a little over a week (16th - 28th October) the entire world stood on the verge of nuclear Armageddon. Never, since the end of WWII, had the two world superpowers ever come so close to an all-out confrontation. The military arsenal at disposal of both Washington and Moscow could annihilate the whole planet several times over. And yet, a semi-miraculous combination of cooler minds, sense of responsibility and narrowly avoided incidents prevented a catastrophe of unspeakable consequences. How come that the two countries which played such a vital role in defeating Nazi Germany came so close to fighting each other? What happened during those famous thirteen days? What was the strategy adopted by Kennedy and Khrushchev to deescalate tension without compromising national prestige? Join us on a journey that intends to critically investigate the greatest crisis of the modern era.