"3 Cold War Crises: Berlin, Cuba, Czechoslovakia" - 1957-1969 Flashcards

1
Q

U2 Incident

A

1960

  • Paris Conference
  • May 1, 1960: U2 Plane shot down over USSR
  • USSR capture pilot (Gary Powers) who admits to spying
  • USA denies it ‘he strayed into Soviet territory’
  • USSR develop U2 film = prove he was spying
  • K demands USA must:
    1. apologise 2. stop ALL flights 3. punish those responsible
  • Eisenhower stops flights BUT no apology
  • USSR imprison GP for 10 years
  • Consequences = plane shot down + lying = damaging
  • USSR gains ‘propaganda points’
  • Drop in relations
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2
Q

Causes of the Berlin Crisis?

A

1959-61

  • High standard of living in West contrast with EG - people unhappy
  • Western civilisation = symbol of success over Communism
  • ‘49-‘61: 6 million people flee to WG [Jan ‘61: 20,000 a month]
  • ‘55: WG joins NATO
  • Mainly skilled workers eg. Dr = shortage in East [embarrassing] which could’ve brought collapse of EG!
  • USSR did not stop people because USA Nuclear Advantage
  • USSR announced EG Communist + USA should leave
  • USA objected: Conferences [‘59: Geneva + Camp David ‘60: Paris ‘61: Vienna] 1+2=X 3=U2 4=X NUCLEAR WAR??
  • Kennedy increased defence budget to $3.5 billion
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3
Q

Consequences…

A
  • Krushchev seemed to back down
  • Allies stayed in WG
  • But suddenly EG Police blocked all road + set up barbed wire fences
  • Through the day concrete walls were built
  • By August a wall surrounding WG had been built
  • Anyone trying to cross WAS SHOT
  • K saw this as a victory: WALL (Stopped refugees)
  • He had avoided war but still looked strong!
  • But had failed to remove the Allies
  • Families were split; Wall = Symbol of Division
  • JFK visited Berlin (loved by all) “Ich bin win Berliner”
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4
Q

Arms Race Developments

A

‘53: USSR + USA had ‘H’ bomb
‘57: USSR Sputnik
‘57-59: USA:
inc. missile spending by 20%; NASA; inc. B52s; increased training for engineers + scientists; SLBMs + more missiles in Europe
- BOTH superpowers decreased production of non-nuclear weapons

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5
Q

Superpower Weapons

A
USA vs USSR
ICMB: 63  50+
SLBM: 96  0
MRBM/IRBM: 90  200!
Long-range bombers: 600  190
Carriers: 24  0
Nuclear Subs: 21  2
Subs: 174  428
Troops: 2,606,000  3,800,000
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6
Q

Causes of Bay of Pigs/Cuban Missile Crisis

A

1961

  • USA had helped Batista take power
  • Batista and leaders were corrupt: Overthrown by Castro
  • USA refused to buy Cuban sugar [retaliation]
  • USA broke of diplomatic relations
  • Agreed a sugar deal with SU (appointed Communists)
  • SU also agreed to give machinery + tech to Cuba
  • Cuban exiles treated like heroes in USA
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7
Q

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A

1961

  • Eisenhower has created a scheme to train ex-Cubans for an invasion
  • JFK carried on this…
  • CIA trained them in Florida: Budget = $45 million
  • La Brigada 2506 (1,500 men) were to invade Cuba and create a national uprising
  • US planes bombed Cuban airforce [2nd wave called off]
  • Cuban airforce regrouped
  • La Brigada met a force of 20,000 men
  • 100 men dead: 1,000 captured
  • Swapped in 1962 for $53 million worth of food + medical supplies
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8
Q

Results of Bay of Pigs Invasion

A
  • Humiliation for Kennedy + USA
  • JFK determined to resist growth of Communism in USA
  • Castro’s position strengthened in Cuba: EXAMPLE
  • Cuba pushed further towards SU
  • USA began Operation Mongoose: [Remove Castro]
  • USA seen as imperialist nation
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9
Q

Cuban Missile Crisis

A

1962
- USSR military advisor + combat station in Cuba
- K concerned by US missile bases in Turkey + Italy
- Cuban stations would restore balance [defending Cuba from USA]
- SU continued sending equipment
- SU sent ICBM missiles [all cities but Seattle]
BLOCKADE:
- Polaris Subs put on stand-by
- 156 ICBMs ready for action
- Air-Force bombers patrolling + hundreds of thousands of troops on COMBAT ALERT
- JFK spoke on TV + told K any ships containing military equipment would be turned back

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10
Q

Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline:

14th; 16th; 20th; 24th; 25th; 27th; 28th

A

14th: U2 Spy Planes take photos of missile sites in Cuba
16th: JFK told about Cuban missile sites
20th: JFK decided against attack; 200km blockade [quarantine enforced by US Navy]
24th: USSR says blockade is ‘act of aggression’
26th: K sends letter saying missiles will be removed if USA removes blockade and doesn’t attack
27th: K sends 2nd letter; remove missiles from Cuba if USA removes them from Turkey; U2 plane shot down by SU missile
28th: JFK takes advice from brother; accepts 1st letter but not 2nd + no +ve outcome by 29th US invades Cuba; K accepted [secret deal to remove missiles from Turkey]

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11
Q

Results of Crisis

A
  • JFK had won; K humiliated; sacked in ‘64 -> Brezhnev
  • Direct Hotline set-up
  • ‘63: Partial Test Ban Treaty [no testing in atmosphere]
  • Followed by Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
  • JFK ‘common interest’ speech
  • MAD Theory
  • ‘Detente’
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12
Q

Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Czechoslovakia?

A
  • Czechs hated Novotny (hard line Communist)
  • Slow to introduce de-Stalinisation; no reforms
  • Czech economy fell: So did Living Standards
  • SU forced Cz to produce raw materials for SU
  • SU stopped factories producing consumer goods
  • Novotny’s New Economic Model FAILED
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13
Q

Prague Spring Reforms

A
  1. Greater Political Reforms
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