1958-1970 (Crises) Flashcards
What was the refugee problem in Berlin?
The long-term future of Berlin had never been sorted even after the formal division of East and West Germany. Young and ambitious East Germans were using East/West Berlin as a gateway to a Capitalist life.
The number of refugees doubled year on year.
Khrushchev and the East German authorities were concerned about the ‘brain drain’ from East Germany to West Germany (the most educated leaving the East)
This created a bad impression of life in East Germany under its hardline communist leader, Walter Ulbricht.
What was the importance of Khrushchev’s Berlin Ultimatum?
suggested another Berlin crisis would take place if a solution could not be found. USSR (Khrushchev) threatened force.
Khrushchev became troubled with refugee crisis, November 1958 he gave a speech in Moscow, he gave the West an ultimatum.
He demanded that Western powers should withdraw their troops from Berlin within six months.
led to the summit meetings as Eisenhower and Krushchev began to meet to try and come to an agreement over Berlin
What were the outcomes of summit meetings over Berlin?
First meeting led to a face to face at Camp David.
→ Camp David: Khrushchev and Eisenhower recognised a resolution should be found and Berlin could not drag on forever.
→ Paris (May 1960): The final decision was due to be taken but the meeting ended in disaster when an American U2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR.
→ June 1961: A new summit was held with a new American President, Kennedy, but he would not negotiate over the rights of the people of East Berlin.
How were the USSR and Cuba brought closer together by the Bay of Pigs invasion?
Cuba officially became a Communist nation.
A technology exchange was set up between the USSR and Cuba. This would eventually lead to the secret installation of nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba.
What was the background to the Bay of Pigs Invasion?
In 1959, Castro led a revolution to overthrow the ruler of Cuba, Batista.
The USA began drawing up a secret plan to train Cuban exiles to return to Cuba and overthrow Castro. They would land at the Bay of Pigs.
What was the importance of the Bay of Pigs invasion?
It made the USA look like hypocrites after years of criticising the USSR for interfering in the lives of other countries and their right to self-determine.
It brought Cuba and the USSR closer together and can be argued as a direct cause of the eventual missile crisis.
What was the story of the Prague Spring?
Similar to Hungary: Alexander Dubcek became leader of the country in 1968 and wished to improve the economy of the country by bringing about social reforms. He wanted “Communism with a human face”.
When freedom of speech and economic reforms were brought in, the USSR and other Warsaw Pact nations began doing military maneuvers on the Czech border.
The leader of the USSR (Brezhnev) met with Dubcek over the issue but eventually launched a surprise invasion with Warsaw Pact troops. The Red Army then stayed in the country until 1969 to make sure of no future protests.
What was the importance of the Prague Spring?
It led to the issuing of the Brezhnev Doctrine. This was a directive for the Satellite States that no debate over the type of Communist system to be followed could be had.
What were the reasons for the Berlin Wall?
The problems for East Germany created by young people, combined with the failure of the summit meetings led Khruschev to order the fencing off of West Berlin in August 1961.
The Wall eventually circled 75 miles around West Berlin
What were the consequences/importance of the Berlin Wall?
It was a propaganda success for the USA, which was needed after the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
It actually calmed Berlin as a crisis zone for the Cold War.
What were the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
In October 1962, US spy planes identified nuclear sites being installed on the island of Cuba.
Excomm was formed by Kennedy and the decision was taken to not ignore, not bomb, but quarantine the island with ships.
The USSR was surprised with US knowledge of the missiles and given an ultimatum to stop their boats before reaching the quarantine line or face the sites being bombed.
Nuclear war seemed a certainty, but after two letters sent by Khrushchev; a deal was struck where the missiles would be removed and, 6 months later, the USA would remove similar missiles stationed in Turkey.
What was the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
It demonstrated both how dangerous the Arms Race had made the world but also revealed how neither the USA or the USSR wanted to be responsible for starting a nuclear third world war.
It led to the beginnings of Detente with both the installation of a hotline between Moscow and Washington and the Outer Space Treaty.
What did the Brezhnev Doctrine mean for the Cold War?
It prevented, for a short-while, the spread of liberal democratic socialist ideas across Eastern Europe - however it also stored up anger against the USSR.
The economy of the USSR and the Satellite States was actually made worse with even more restrictions placed on the Satellite States - in the long-term, it added to the impending collapse of the Warsaw Pact in the 1980s.
The Doctrine was used to justify an invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The USSR felt they needed to invade Afghanistan to ensure Communism and not an Islamist takeover.
What was the impact of the Berlin Wall on US/Soviet relations?
Both sides were satisfied in a realpolitik sense. It made East Berlin less likely to be a flashpoint in the Cold War.
The resonance of the Wall was it was the embodiment of an Iron Curtain that Churchill had spoken of in 1946.
What was the importance of Kennedy’s visit to West Berlin in 1963?
It reassured Western Europe of the USA’s commitment and added to the propaganda victory that the existence of the wall handed the West.
