Chapter 10: Cold War Rivalries 1955-63 Flashcards
Space race, arms race, Berlin crisis
1
Q
Describe the space race chronology in the 1950s
A
- 1957 - 4 Oct - Sputnik
- Nov - Sputnik 2 (with dog)
- Dec - Flopnik
- 1958 - NASA set up, $1 billion programme developed
- 1959 - Soviet satellite to the moon
2
Q
Describe the space race events in the 1960s
A
- 1960 - Aug - US Discoverer programme set up
- 1961 - 12 Aug - Yuri Gagarin = 1st man in space
- 1962 - US = 63 missions, USSR = 15 missions
- 1969 - US first man on the moon
3
Q
Why was the space race such a concern for the superpowers?
A
- Rockets could be used to send missiles around the world and pose a greater threat
4
Q
How did the beginning of the race concern the US?
A
- Beginning = USSR ahead so US try to catch up –> flopnik = absolute fail
- US increase funding and set up NASA and begin to flourish and have more missiles
5
Q
Describe the arms race in the 1940s
A
- 1945 - 6+9 Aug - bombs dropped on Japan
- 1946 - 21 March - set up strategic air command
6
Q
Describe the events of the arms race in the 1950s
A
- 1954 - March - US test first lithium bomb
- 1957 - 26 Aug - first USSR ICBM tested
- Nov - Gaither report
- Bermuda conference
- 1959 - 9 June - nuclear submarines deployed by the US
7
Q
Describe the arms race in the 1960s
A
- 1962 - 14-28 Oct - Cuban Missile crisis
- 1963 - Hotline set up between Kremlin and White House
- 5 Aug - nuclear test ban treaty
8
Q
What was the Gaither report and what did it mean?
A
- Suggested the USSR was superior in the arms race
- Contradicted by U-2 spy plane data that showed the same potential as the US but were developing more slowly
- Chose to believe planes (Eisenhower) - actually a more limited threat
9
Q
What was decided at the Bermuda conference?
A
- Used Gaither report to persuade Britain to let US IRBMs be stationed in Britain
9
Q
What was West Germany called and who was the leader?
A
- FRG - Federal Republic of Germany
- Konrad Adenauer
10
Q
What was East Germany called and who was the leader?
A
- GDR - German Democratic Republic
- Walter Ulbricht
11
Q
What was the current situation in West Germany?
A
- Economically larger, larger population
- Larger industrial output
- Received Marshall aid
- Rapid increase in standard of living
- Democracy
12
Q
What was East Germany like at this time?
A
- Collectivisation of land - bad for economy
- Declining standard of living
- Lost people to the west
- No free elections since 1946
- 1953 workers riots - had to be crushed by Soviet tanks
13
Q
What caused the Berlin Crisis? (4 things)
A
- USSR scared of a strong Germany - especially now FRG joined NATO - could have nuclear weapons in Germany
- Open border allowed people to compare the sides and see the prosperity - caused increased emigration from 1955 especially of skilled workers and the educated (brain drain)
- USSR scared they were losing control after Polish and Hungarian uprisings
- China challenging Soviet dominance - need to show power
14
Q
What was the Hallstein Doctrine?
A
- Made in 1955
- Khrushchev recognised the GDR as a separate state
- West Germany had relations with the USSR but did not want to inadvertently recognise the GDR
- Doctrine said any country other than the USSR who recognised it would be seen as unfriendly and diplomatic relations would stop
