1960's : Crisis of the cold war Flashcards
What was the brain drain
skilled workers leaving East Germany to West Germany by travelling through Berlin
What were the causes of the construction of the berlin Wall
-The brain drain : to prevent this
-Life in West Germany was significantly better : more freedom and luxuries
-Krushchev gave Kennedy his Berlin Ultimatum at Vienna Summit (June 1961) which gave the USA 6 months to leave West Berlin
On what day did the USSR began building the wall between East and West Berlin
13th August 1961
What did the USA do to stop the USSR
nothing, apart from sending an official complaint
What were the consequences of the construction of the Berlin wall
-The wall separated families and friends and people’s livelihoods
-The city remained divided for the next 30 years
-Kennedy looked like he had been beaten by Krushchev
-Krushchev looked weak because he had to build a wall
When did Kennedy give a speech to 120,000 West Berliners
1963
What was the USA trade embargo on Cuba
USA refused to buy Cuban sugar as they were becoming communist - USSR agreed to buy it from them improving their relationship
When was the Bay of Pigs invasion
17th April 1961
What was the Bay of pigs invasion
USA’s attempt at over-throwing Fidel Castro. However, it was a disaster as out of the 1500 troops USA sent: 200 were killed and 1197 were captured. The USA and Eisenhower denied involvement
How many times did the CIA try to assassinate Fidel Castro, with all of them being unsuccessful
638 times
On what day did a USA U2 spy plane photograph a USSR missile site in Cuba
14th October 1962
When did Kennedy begin a naval blockade of Cuba
20th October 1962
What DEFCON did Kennedy declare on the 22nd October
DEFCON 3
On what day did USSR’s ships approach the USA blockade - creating a very high level of tension
23rd October
What DEFCON did Kennedy declare on 24th October
DEFCON 2
On what day did US soldiers board the Soviet ships but only to realise that they were only transporting oil
25th October
On what day did Kennedy receive a letter from Krushchev stating that they would take their missiles out of Cuba if USA didn’t invade Cuba
26th October
On what day did Kennedy receive a 2nd letter from Krushchev stating that they would take their missiles out of Cuba if USA took their missiles out of Turkey
27th October
What did Kennedy do on the 27th October
Call of the Blockade. The crisis was over
What did the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty ban
the spread of nuclear technology
What were the causes of the 1968 Prague Spring
-many people in Czechoslovakia didn’t like life under communist rule
-The economy wasn’t successful - people were very poor
-They demanded change and more freedom
Who was Novotny (Czechoslovakia’s leader) get replaced by in JAN 1968
Dubcek
What did Dubcek do
-Removed control over businesses
-allowed public meetings and free speech
-allowed people from Czechoslovakia to visit non-communist countries
-said Czechoslovakia would stay loyal to the Warsaw pact
On what day did Brezhnev order 500,000 soldiers to invade Czechoslovakia
20th August 1968
How many Czechoslovakians died and what happened to Dubcek
-500 people
-he was arrested
What were the consequences of the Prague Spring
-In Nov 1968, Brezhnev made his ‘Brezhnev doctrine’ speech saying the USSR would any amount of military force to keep communist governments on Europe and any country that refused would face the same consequences as Czechoslovakia
-A student called Jan Palach set himself on fire as a protest in 1969
-USA didn’t get involved due to the Vietnam war
