2 - Cold War Crises 1958-70 Flashcards
What caused the Berlin crisis 1961
The soviet unions desire to remove western allies from Berlin
What did the Berlin crisis lead to
The construction of the Berlin Wall
When did west Germany join NATO
1955
What had west Germany joined in 1957
The European economic community - seen as economically stronger then east Germany
Why was Krushchev worried about West Berlin
- symbol of capitalist prosperity in a communist territory
- Krushchev claimed USA was using West Berlin as a ‘base for espionage’
- refugee problem
When was the refugee problem in Berlin
From 1949
What was the refugee problem
- between 1949 - 1961 = 4 million East Germans fled to west - dissatisfied with economic + political conditions Eg. Forced collectivisation + lack of consumer goods
- from January - numbers rose to more then 20,000 a month
Why were people deflecting from east to west
- dissatisfied with economic + political conditions
- lack of consumer goods
- forced collectivisation + agriculture
- no private trading
Refugee problem lead to the…
Brain drain
What was the brain drain
Large numbers of refugees which deflected were intellects/ professional individualsz
- eg. Whole maths department of university of Leipzig defected on one day
Famous example of brain drain
Whole maths department of university of Leipzig defected on one day
What was so worrying about the brain drain
- drain of labour
- threatened economy
- scientifically fall behind
When was Krushchevs Berlin ultimatum
1958
What was Krushchevs Berlin ultimatum
- accused allies of breaking Potsdam agreement
- suggests they leave Berlin in six months and it should be a free neutral city
President Eisenhowers response to Berlin ultimatum
- ready to negotiate
- didn’t want to start a war
Eisenhower and Krushchev were meant to sort this out at..
The Paris summit 1960
Why did the Paris summit not happen
- 9 days before - U2 Crisis (Soviet Union announced it had shot down a American plane near Sverdlovsk)
- Eisenhower refused to apologise
- Krushchev stormed out of preliminary meeting
Where was the U-2 plane shot down
Near Sverdlovsk
Eisenhowers successor
JFK - Kennedy
When was the Vienna summit
June 1961
Why was Krushchev more hopeful for the Vienna summit
- new leader - Kennedy
- hoped to use his experience to push young Kennedy around
What had Krushchev failed to note about Kennedy
- re-asserted Truman doctrine
- was not going to surrender
What happened at Vienna summit - 1961
- Khrushchev again demanded that western forces leave West Berlin.
- said he would make a treaty with East Germany which would end all occupation rights, including Western access to Berlin.
- Kennedy refused to withdraw western forces
Results of Vienna summit
- increased US defence spending by $3.5 billion the following month .
- July - Khrushchev announced that the Soviet defence budget would increase more than 30%
How did situation deteriorate further
- 13 August - Khrushchev closed the border between East and West Berlin
-.Streets near to the border - torn up by East German troops so that they could erect a barbed wire entanglement around the 43 km
which separated the two Berlins.
When did Krushchev close border between east + West Berlin
13th August 1961
Barbed wire was used to create a..
Temporary wall
Germans replaced temporary wall with…
Something much stronger - 3.6m High + 1.2m thick
Why was the area beyond the wall virtually impossible to cross
- patrolling soldiers + dogs
- floodlights
- trip wire machine guns
Consequence of wall for US - Soviet relations
- led to serious stand off between two superpowers
- USA disputed the rights of soviet troops to patrol checkpoints + check passports of American officials
- Americans stations their own troops/ tanks on west side - so Germans did same on east
- Kennedy - scared of war
- promised Khrushchev that if the Soviet Union removed its troops, the USA would do the same.
ENDED STANDOFF
Impact of Berlin Wall for Germans
- deflection to west was very difficult
- some deflected by tunnelling/ swimming/ jumping out of windows
- families split up between east + west
- travel restrictions - can’t see each other
Famous soviet checkpoint
Checkpoint Charlie
How did some people still leave east Berlin
- tunnelling + swimming + jumping out of windows
- many shot dead
How did the wall end the Berlin crisis
- flow of refugees stopped
- economic crisis of east Germany slowly recovering
- still didn’t remove western forces from Berlin
- tension eased
When did Kennedy visit Berlin
1963
What did the wall become a symbol of
The divide
What was Cuba referred to
The playground of the USA
How much did America control over Cuba
By 1950, USA controlled most of cubas railway + electricity production
Why was Cuba referred to as americas playground
- many people had holiday homes there
- casinos
- money to be made from sugar + tobacco production
Who was Cuba ruled by in the 1950s
Fulgencio Batista - unpopular dictator
Why did America view Cuba as part of its sphere of influence
- only 145 km from mainland
- proximity
When was the Cuban Revolution
1959
Who overthrew Batista
Fidel Castro
What did Castro want/do
- socialist
- wanted greater independence from America
- removed US capitalist industry
- seized control of all American property
How did the USA respond to the Cuban Revolution
- banned imports of Cuban sugar - threatened to bankrupt economy
- refused to recognise Castros Government
Why was Krushchev happy to buy Cuban sugar
- delighted to have an ally so close to America
- offered to buy sugar
How did Krushchev use Castro and Cuba
- sent weapons at end of 1959
- September 1960 - openly promised to send military assistance
- wanted to out manoeuvre JFK and gain Cuba
How did USA react to soviet involvement with Cuba
- broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in JAN 1961
How did USA deal with Cuban exiles
- trained them in preparation for the invasion of Cuba
Aim of Cuban invasion
- remove Castro
What did the Cuban invasion plan consist of
- land in Cuba + create national uprising
Who were the exiles trained by
CIA - in Florida + Guatemala
What did the exiles call themselves
La Brigada 2506
What was the budget of Cuban invasion operation
$45 million
How many people were in La Brigada 2506
About 1500
Key event of the Cuban invasion
15th April - US planes bombed part of the Cuban airforce
16th - Planned second wave of bombings called off. The remnants of the Cuban airforce fought the next day
17th - La Brigada 2506 landed at Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) and encountered forces of about 20,000 men from Castro’s army
19th - Fighting ended. About 100 of La Brigada were killed and 1100 imprisoned
1962
December -
La Brigada prisoners released after $53 million worth of food and medicines given to Cuba by organisations and ordinary people in the USA
How many people were in castros army
20,000
How many La brigada members were killed
100 killed + 1000 imprisoned
When did fighting in Cuba end
19th April
When were La brigada prisoners released
December 1962 - released after $53 million worth of food and medicines given to Cuba by organisations and ordinary people in the USA
Why did the La Brigada invasion fail
- failed to understand that Castro was very popular - no uprising
- Castro knew attack was gonna happen - exiles were overhead discussing it in Miami
- US decision not to attack Cuban airforce on 16th April - crucial to their failure
- Their supply of ships had been sunk by Cuban planes
- Cuban ground forces - 20,000 - better organised + armed
Significance of invasion
- Castro had been loosing support before - increasingly severe economic crisis - Cubans feeling to USA = invasion strengthened castros position
- USA lost support from rest of Latin America
- embarrassment for Kennedy - set up operation mongoose - remove Castro
- pushed Castro closer to Soviet Union
- Castro felt confident to declare his conversion to communism
- increased soviet involvement
How did Kennedy still try and remove Castro
Operating mongoose
How did the invasion increase soviet involvement in Cuba
- by end of 1961 - soviet military advisors + combat units stationed in cuba
- perhaps spread of communism in Latin America
- could put missiles in cuba + Claim it was ‘for defending Cuba from future attacks’
When was the U-2 crisis
1960
Before 1956 - U2 crisis
- 1950 - US strategic air command carried out illegal spy flights over USSR
- when Truman found out he banned them - violated soviet air spaces
After 1956 - U2 crisis
- president Eisenhower recommenced flights in 1956
- a new plane used - U-2 PLANE
- plane flew extremely high - could not be shot down by soviet planes/ anti ballistic missiles
- carried sophisticated listening devices + very powerful cameras = could read newspaper from ground at 23,000 m
Features of U2 crisis
- plane flew extremely high - could not be shot down by soviet planes/ anti ballistic missiles
- carried sophisticated listening devices + very powerful cameras = could read newspaper from ground at 23,000 m
Military build up in Cuba - after revolution
Soviet put IRBMS in Cuba - estimated ti be operational by November
- could hit almost all US cities
- great threat
- THIS FACT DISCOVERED ON THE 14TH OCTOBER - U2 PLANE TOOK PICS
Kennedys reaction to Cuban / soviet IRBMS
- set up a committee of 12 advisors + discussed his options
Options
- bomb Cuba + soviet with nuclear weapons
- invade Cuba
- use an air strike to destroy missiles
- blockade Cuba
- do nothing
What did Kennedy decide to do about Cuban missiles crisis
- place a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent soviet troops delivering military materials
- blockade would stretch 3300 Km
- Polaris submarines made ready + 156 ICBMS
- hundreds of thousands of soldiers placed on combat altert
When did Kennedy tell the people about the Cuban blockade
- 22nd October
Events of Cuban missiles crisis
22nd October -Kennedy’ television address
24th - 18 Soviet ships approaching Cuba turned around to avoid confrontation with the US blockade . Kennedy demanded the removal of all missiles; failure to do so would lead to the invasion of Cuba.
26th October - Khrushchev sent Kennedy a letter, offering to remove the missiles if the blockade was removed and there was a promise not to invade Cuba.
27 -Khrushchev sent a tougher letter. He promised to remove the missiles if the USA removed its missiles from Turkey U-2 spy plane shot down over Cuba by Soviet missile.
U2 CRISIS
28th - Kennedy, ignored second letter and accepted the terms of first + added that if there was no positive Soviet response by 29 October, the US forces would invade Cuba - Khrushchev
accepted the offer. The USA agreed to remove missiles from Turkey, but this would take place well after the removal of the missiles on Cuba.
U- 2 crisis - when was the U2 plane first shot down
1st may 1960 - by USSRs new s-75 anti- aircraft missiles
Who was the pilot of the plane and what happened to him
Garry powers - captured by the soviets
Results of the U2 Crisis
Krushchev walks out of summit meeting as Kennedy refuses to apologise
When was the U2 crisis
May 1960 - 9 DAYS BEFORE PARIS SUMMIT
Consequences of the crisis
Increased rivalry -
- Kennedy seemed to have one the war of words + Krushchev backed down
- Krushchev criticised - Chinese leader - Mao Zedong mocked him
Hotline
- relief that superpowers did not go to war + kill everyone with nuclear weapons
- Hotline telephone link set up between White House ( Washington D.C ) + Kremlin (Moscow)
- ensure faster communication + no letters
Treaties
- limited test ban treaty - august 1963 - USA + USSR agreed to stop testing nuclear weapons in atmosphere
- outer space treaty - 1968 -agreed space used for peaceful purposes - no nuclear weapons orbiting
- Nuclear non-proliferation treaty - 1968 - stop spread of nuclear weapons
- arms Limitation talks - 1969
When did the soviets invade Czechoslovakia
1968
When did opposition start to grow against soviet control
1960s
When did Novotny start ruling Czechoslovakia
1957
Why was Novotny unpopular
- hard-line communist
- slavishly followed soviet lone
- refused to introduce reform
- slow to follow Krushchevs policy of ‘de-stalinisation’
- slow to release prisoners jailed under Stalin
Why did opposition grow in Czechoslovakia
- Novotny
- declining economy
Czechoslovakian economy
- serious decline in 1960s - standard of living dropped
Why was Czechoslovakian economy declining
- Soviet Union forced Czechoslovakian industry to produce materials (steel) for the soviet economy BUT they acc needed these raw materials
- soviet Union stopped Czechoslovakian factories from producing consumer goods
- 1962-63 - national income fell
When did national income fall in Czechoslovakia
- 1962 - 63
When did Novotny try and reform the economy
1965
What was Novotnys reforms known as
New economic model
Was the new economic model successful
No - produced a surplus of consumer goods that few people could afford
Famous Czechoslovakian reformer
Alexander Dubek
After failure of the new economic model what did the reformers do
OCTOBER 1967 - number of reformers - including Dubcek + economist Ota Sik
- they challenged Novotny leadership at central committee of the communist party meeting.
When did dubcek invite Brezhnev (soviet leader) to Prague
December 1967
Why was Brezhnev shocked
because of so much opposition to novotny
When was novotny replaced as first secretary of communist party
5th jan - 1968
Who replaced Novotny as first secretary of the communist party
Dubcek
When did novotny resign as president of Czechoslovakia
March 1968
Who replaced Novotny as president
General Ludvik Svoboda
What were Dubceks reforms called
Prague springs
When were the Prague springs introduced
Spring of 1968
What were the Prague springs referred to
Socialism with a human face
What were the Prague springs
- Greater political freedom, including free speech and the abolition of press censorship. By March 1968 the newspapers were printing uncensored discussions of political and social problems.
- 10-year programme for political change which would bring about democratic elections, a multi-party state and create a new form of democratic socialism.
- reduction in the powers of the secret police to imprison without trial.
- creation of works councils representing the workforce to improve working conditions in factories
What did greater political freedom in the Prague springs refer too
Greater political freedom, including free speech and the abolition of press censorship
- By March 1968 the newspapers were printing uncensored discussions of political and social problems.
- The coverage of news by Czech radio and television became fuller.
- Corruption and bureaucratic delays were exposed by the media.
- Communist party leaders were ‘grilled’ on live TV
Reactions to the Prague springs
- Opponents to communism wanted even more radical reforms - 1968 SDs formed a separate party to rival communist party
- Ludvik Vaculik - leading journalist - published the manifesto ‘Two thousand words’ - encouraging Czechoslovakian people to force even more reforms
Soviet reactions to the Prague springs
- suspicious
- Czechoslovakia was one of the most important countries in Warsaw Pact
- centrally placed in eastern bloc
- had strongest industry
- worried they would leave Warsaw Pact, allowing nato to move in + advance natos frontier by 700km
- it would then border Soviet Union
Reasons for the invasion
- Prague springs - worried about leaving Warsaw Pact
- worried new ideas may spread to European countries
- Brezhnev came under pressure from East German + polish leaders to stop their reforms
- Vasil Bilak - leader of Slovakian communist party - opposed Prague springs - signed a letter to Brezhnev stating that communism was under threat there - needed to stop the reforms
- soviet afraid that Czechoslovakia was becoming too close to west germany - industrial relations strengthening
Events of the invasion
June - Soviet tanks remained in Czechoslovakia after Warsaw Pact military exercises
July - Brezhnev met with leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries in Warsaw - shared his concerns over events in Prague. days later Brezhnev met with Dubcek + he agreed not to allow a new SD + to remain in the Warsaw Pact. BUT insisted on going ahead with his reforms = Soviet Union reassured + tension eased
3rd August - Brezhnev + representatives from Warsaw Pact countries met with Dubcek in Bratislava and signed the Bratislava Declaration + declaring faith in communism.
9th august - leader of Yugoslavia, Tito, who was distrusted by the Soviet Union, was given an enthusiastic reception during a visit to Czechoslovakia - seemed that Dubcek was moving towards independence from the Soviet Union
15th - 18th august - 3 -day meeting of the Soviet Politburo - Brezhnev spoke to Dubcek on the phone, shouting at him that his actions in Prague would bring down the Warsaw Pact
20th August - The Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia
How many troops entered Czechoslovakia
20 -21st august 1968 - thousands of soviet troops backed by units from Bulgaria + east Germany + Poland
How did Czechoslovakia react to invasion
- people threw petrol bombs at soviet tanks
- buildings set on fire
- Protestors assembled at Wenceslas square
- barricades set up in streets
- students tore down street names to confuse invaders
- students climbed onto tanks + argued with soviet soldiers
OVERALL - no armed resistance from Czechoslovakian army - fewer then 100 people killed
How many people were killed in the Czechoslovakian invasion
Fewer then 100
What happened to dubcek and other leaders in the invasion
- were arrested + taken to Moscow
- forced to accept the end of Czechoslovakian move to democracy
Who replaced dubcek
Hard line communist officials
When was the Brezhnev doctrine
Autumn 1968
When did Brezhnev become leader, after Krushchev
1964
What was the Brezhnev doctrine
- used to justify Czechoslovakian invasion
- stated that..
- ‘Soviet Union had the right to invade any country in Eastern Europe whose actions appeared to threaten the security of the whole eastern bloc’
Eg, dubcek actions threatened Warsaw Pact + eastern bloc
ALSO
- doctrine redefined communism as a one party system + declared all member countries had to remain part of the Warsaw Pact
- stated that if NATO country attached Warsaw country - had the right to all back them up
Consequences of Czechoslovakian soviet invasion - in Czechoslovakia
- demonstrations went on until April 1969
- jan 1969 - a student set fire to himself in Wenceslas square in protest
- Czech communist party was purged
- dubcek forces to resign + sent as an ambassador to turkey + then forced to resign from Czech communist party
Famous example of protest in Czechoslovakia
Jan 1969 - Boy set himself on fire in Wencelas square
Consequences of soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia- soviet + USA relations
- temporarily worsened relationships
- western countries (especially Britain + USA) protested about soviet actions
- didn’t really effect relations
- USA was in the middle of a presidential election in 1968 + was preoccupied with Vietnam war
- ALSO Brezhnev and Lyndon B Johnson (American president), had an unspoken deal that the USA would not intervene in Czechoslovakia if they wouldn’t in Vietnam
- reduced national criticism of USA in Vietnam war - soviet seen as much worse
- Brezhnev doctrine
Consequences of soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia- Western Europe
- western countries - like America - condemned actions but offered no military help
- Western European communist parties in Italy + France were appalled of soviet invasion and declared themselves independent of the soviet communist party
- Europeans developed - euro communism
Consequences of soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia- communist countries
- increased rivalry between china + Soviet Union
- china criticised use of force against fellow communist nation - scared for themselves
- other communist countries moved away from Moscow
+ President Ceausecu of Romania refused to send troops to invade Czechoslovakia
+ Albania did the same + left Warsaw Pact in 1968
+ Yugoslavian + Romanian gov condemned + distanced themselves - after 1968 - Yugoslavian + Romanian communists formed alliances with china
camp David summit 59
Camp David Summit - September 1959
The fact that Eisenhower had invited Khrushchev to the official US presidential residence at Camp David, and that Khrushchev had agreed to set foot on US soil, demonstrated the respect the two leaders had for each other.
At this summit Eisenhower said: Because of our importance in the world, it is vital that we understand each other better.
Although no agreement on the long-term fate of Berlin was reached, the ultimatum on Berlin was withdrawn by Khrushchev, and it was agreed that further negotiations would take place in Paris the following year.
Paris summit - consequences
There was no agreement on a Test Ban Treaty.
America was embarrassed as it was shown to have lied about the U2 plane’s mission, and to be using methods of espionage which were morally suspect. They no longer held the ‘moral high ground’ in the Cold War. This would lead the young John F Kennedy to campaign as a tough anti-communist warrior in the 1960 presidential election campaign.
Nothing was resolved on the issues of Berlin and Cuba. Both would remain major sources of tension in the Cold War.
The relationship between the USA and the USSR deteriorated even further, heightening Cold War tensions.
unresolved issued at Paris summit
Nuclear weapons and the need for a Test Ban Treaty: both sides knew the potential destructive power of nuclear weapons and were keen to avoid turning bits of the planet into radioactive no-go areas.
Berlin: the Soviets were exasperated that East Germans were continuing to escape to the West.
Cuba: the Americans were concerned that the recent revolution in Cuba had created a communist government on their doorstep.
