Cold War

Question 1

Reasons for the Cold War

Answer 1

Ideological differences between communism and capitalism
- The capitalist West disapproved of the then-Bolshevik government’s communist beliefs after they came to power in 1917
- Forces were sent to Russia after they announced that they’d drop out of the war, so the Bolsheviks believed that the West wanted to take them down
- After they changed their name to the Soviet Union and officially ran it as a communist country, relations between the powers to deteriorate in the 1920s-1930s, catalyzed by events like Hitler’s takeover of Czechoslovakia and the signing of the Nazi-Soviet pact
- The Soviet Union feared that the West wanted to impose their capitalist beliefs on the Soviet people and the West feared that the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism worldwide
- These opposing ideologies led to tension in the Grand Alliance
Conflict arose about how Europe would be managed after the war (e.g. redistribution of land in Poland)

Russian Revolution
- In WW1, Russia was part of the then-allied powers, including Britain, France and the USA
- A revolution took place in 1917 in response to poverty and citizen dissatisfaction, and the Bolshevik government took over
- Since the Bolsheviks couldn’t afford to fight both a civil war and an international war at the same time, they made a peace treaty with Germany and dropped out of WW1
- The allied powers were furious as they disapproved of the Bolsheviks’ communist beliefs and Russia’s decision to make peace with Germany, so they sent forces to support the Bolshevik opponents
- While the powers failed, the Bolsheviks now thought that the West wanted to see them overthrown

WW2
- SU and the West only came together on the same side after Hitler broke off the Nazi-Soviet Pact to invade the SU
- The Soviet Union feared that the West wanted to impose their capitalist beliefs on the Soviet people and the West feared that the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism worldwide
- Roosevelt and Churchill didn’t trust Stalin and vice versa
- The delay of opening a second front and the US hiding the fact that atomic bombs had been developed gave Stalin more reasons to be suspicious of the two
- Ideological differences led to conflict about how Europe would be managed after the war (e.g. redistribution of land in Poland)

Question 2

Two effects of the Tehran Conference

Answer 2

(Date: Nov 1943)
Decreased suspicion between Stalin and the USA
- Stalin thought that the USA and Britain were deliberately delaying the second front
- Pleased to reach agreement on opening one in Germany to ease pressure for the Soviets on the Eastern front
- Stalin also agreed to join the war against the Japanese
- Had been suspicious but was now more reassured as Soviet troops were suffering heavy losses

Increased tensions between the USA and Britain
- Roosevelt viewed British colonialism to be a greater threat to world peace than the Soviet Union
- The British had a long imperalist history, and America, having been a colony once, was critical of this
- Roosevelt hadn’t sided with Churchill in opening a second front in the Balkans and instead sided with Stalin who wanted it in the East
- Disagreements between the two made it so that the Big Three was becoming the Big Two, meaning that only the US and the SU would be global superpowers

Question 3

Two effects of the Yalta Conference

Answer 3

(Date: Feb 1945)
Decided how WWII would end
- Germany was to pay $20 billion in reparations (half of it would be paid to the SU) and split into four zones controlled by different powers - USA, Britain, France and the SU
- UN would be set up, with its first meeting on 25 April
- Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan and that future governments of Eastern European countries would be decided in free elections
- Plans happened accordingly as Stalin declared war on Japan in August and WWII finally ended when two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Increased tensions between the SU and US
- All 16 Soviet republics were not given individual membership in the UN that was agreed to be set up
- Stalin wanted the free elections to bring about a pro-communist government but the British and the US supported the non-communist London Poles, a Polish government in exile which was set up in France and moved to London in the 40s
- However, Poland was not given political freedom and SU troops that had already taken over the country quashed any opposition to the provisional government
- Truman, Roosevelt’s successor, became more suspicious about the SU and sought to gain an edge over Stalin in the Potsdam Conference that came after

Question 4

Two effects of the Potsdam Conference

Answer 4

(Jul-Aug 1945)
Increased tensions between the SU and US
- Truman was new to diplomatic discussions and was more suspicious about Stalin’s motives than Roosevelt was
- Believed that Stalin was trying to take over the world using communism and by bringing down capitalist democracy
- Used a “get tough” approach by delaying the date of the conference until the atomic bomb was ready, which he thought would give him an edge but Stalin had already known about this through his spies
- The atomic bomb made Stalin even more determined to make the Soviet Union secure by creating a buffer zone in the East (known as the Eastern Bloc), and they created another bomb of their own in 1949, just 4 years after the US made theirs

Agreement on what to do with Germany reached
- Germany and its capital Berlin would be divided into four zones administered by the SU, USA, Britain and France, but the economy would be run as a whole
- Every administering country would take reparations from its own zone
- Since the SU controlled the poorest zone, it was allowed to take 1/4 of the industrial equipment from other zones
- Germany would eventually be separated into two separate countries and they stayed divided until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989

Question 5

Two effects of the Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe

Answer 5

Establishment of the Eastern Bloc
- Stalin used Eastern European countries as a buffer zone between the SU and Germany after the creation of the atomic bomb threatened Soviet safety
- Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were conquered and treated as part of the Soviet Union, and six other countries were turned into satellite states with little genuine independence from the Soviet Union
- An “Eastern Bloc” was established as Stalin continued to invade other Eastern European countries
- Helped Stalin to secure his position

Increased tensions between the SU and US
- Truman saw the creation of satellite states as evidence that the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism worldwide
- SU had also set up communist governments in Czechoslovakia after rebels overthrew their presidents, and in Hungary and Poland where voters were threatened into voting for the communist party in “free elections”
- Went against agreement made in the Yalta conference about actual free elections in Eastern Europe, which increased suspicions as it seemed like modern imperialism to Truman

Question 6

Two effects of the Long Telegram

Answer 6

1946
Solidified the American policy of containment
- Kennan reported that Stalin wanted to see the destruction of capitalism and felt the world outside the Soviet Union wanted to destroy communism
- He also said that the Soviet Union would relent if faced with strong opposition
- Since Kennan’s views were taken very seriously, the government agreed to adopt the policy of “containment” to stop the spread of communism
- (list examples of containment here (e.g. Vietnam War))

Led to the Truman Doctrine
- The Long Telegram confirmed Truman’s fear that the SU intended to spread communism throughout Europe
- Since he knew that many European countries’ economic situations became dire after WW2, a lot of poorer people would find communism more attractive
- As part of the “containment” policy, Truman decided that he just needed to appeal to the poor to support capitalism like what Stalin had done in Eastern Europe
- $400 million in aid was sent to Greece and Turkey in an attempt to demonstrate that capitalism could help too

Question 7

Two effects of the Iron Curtain speech

Answer 7

(Mar 1946)
Increased tensions between the East and the West
- Churchill had enormous influence over the public even though he wasn’t prime minister anymore
- Made a speech in Missouri about how he thought the Soviet Union was a threat to freedom and world peace in response to communist governments being set up in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria
- In response to this, Stalin strengthened his forces and stepped up his anti-West propaganda campaigns to establish security
- That seemed like an act of hostility to the West

Increased Stalin’s suspicions about the US
- The Nikolov telegram proved to Stalin that the USA wanted to use its massive military power to dominate the world and that since Roosevelt’s death, the Americans no longer wanted to co-operate with the SU
- That, and because of what Churchill said about the SU, Stalin was convinced that Churchill was reflecting American beliefs about communism
- This confirmed his suspicions about the US, who seemed to be very hostile towards communism and was working towards world domination

Question 8

Two effects of the Truman Doctrine

Answer 8

(Mar 1947)
Solidified US involvement in the Cold War
- Truman believed that choosing democracy over communism was like choosing good over evil, as democracy offered majority rule and freedom from political oppression
- Said that the USA was prepared to send troops and economic aid to those countries trying to resist communism
- This set the USA up as the leader of fight against communism, and they fully abandoned their policy of isolationism that was adopted pre-WW2 for containment

Turned Western European countries away from communism
- USA had hoped that Britain, one of Britain’s wealthier countries, could help other countries rebuild their economies but Britain was going bankrupt after 6 years of war
- Could not support the Greeks with their civil war so the US sent $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey, as well as military personnel which were able to defeat the communists in 1949
- Communism seemed less attractive to war-torn Western European countries as they saw that the US was willing to give them generous support

Question 9

Two effects of the Marshall Plan

Answer 9

(1947)
Successfully tied Western European countries into supporting the USA
- The Plan aimed to provide aid to help war-torn countries in order to stop communism from spreading (containment)
- $13.7 billion of aid given to countries such as Greece and Turkey, in addition to $13 billion already given by the USA before the Plan
- Britain received more than 1/4 of the total aid package
- Economic impact on Western Europe was enormous, although it took until the 1950s for the full effects to be seen
- Communism seemed less attractive to war-torn Western European countries as they saw that the US was willing to give them generous support

Formally established SU and US as enemies
- Stalin believed that the Plan was a way of using economic might to divide Europe in two and establish an American empire - “dollar imperialism”
- Any belief of a “Grand Alliance” was gone as the US, and Western Europe, had set themselves up in direct opposition to the communist Soviet
- Stalin set up Comecon, his own economic plan for Eastern Europe, which divided Europe into two economic and political camps
- The history of Europe for the next 50 years became one of extreme rivalry between the two superpowers as they tried to gain leverage over one another

Question 10

Two effects of the formation of Cominform and Comecon

Answer 10

Date: 1947 (Cominform) and 1949 (Comecon)
Strengthened ties between satellite states and the SU
- Comecon was an economic organisation that was in direct competition with the Marshall plan
- Delivered similar things and aimed to support economic development. Ensured that the satellite states depended on the SU
- Cominform helped to boost this public image by spreading propaganda about America, comparing them to the Nazi government. Gave Stalin a way of controlling the governments

Countered American displays of strength
- Stalin did not want eastern European countries to receive aid from the Marshall plan, so he created the Comecon
- Prevented US from becoming a powerful force in Eastern Europe, and made sure the communist states were not dependent on the capitalist funding
- Helped Russia maintain a good public image, as it showed they were capable of providing just as the US did
- Cominform also helped end opposition to Moscow and ensured loyalty from the Eastern European governments

Question 11

Two effects of the disagreements over Germany/formation of Trizonia

Answer 11

(Mar 1948)
Accepted that there were two Germanys
- After the French merged their part of Germany with ‘Bizonia’, the three allies (US, Britain, France) created the Deutschmark to give Trizonia economic unity
- This decision was made in an ACC meeting in Berlin
- The Deutschmark meant that West Germany’s economic unit was separated from the East’s, which solidified Germany’s split

Motivated Stalin to start the Berlin Blockade
- Soviets were furious about the West’s decision to split the German economy in two
- Stalin saw the formation of Trizonia as a means of developing the three zones effectively and deliberately forcing the Soviet zone into poverty
- Became more determined to stand firm and protect Soviet interests, as he believed that Germany should be one united communist country

Question 12

Causes of the ‘49 Berlin Crisis

Answer 12

Formation of Trizonia
- Soviets were furious about the West’s decision to split the German economy in two by creating the Deutschmark, as it accepted that Germany had been split into two
- Stalin saw the formation of Trizonia as a means of developing the three zones effectively and deliberately forcing the Soviet zone into poverty
- Became more determined to stand firm and protect Soviet interests, as he believed that Germany should be one united communist country
- By shutting off the land routes across Soviet-controlled Germany into Berlin, Stalin could show the USA, France and Britain that a divided Germany wouldn’t work

Marshall Plan
- $26.7 billion of aid was given in total to Western Europe and this demonstrated to countries that they did not have to turn to communism to save their economies
- Stalin believed that the Plan was a way of using economic might to divide Europe in two and establish an American empire - “dollar imperialism”
- As a result, he created Comecon (his version of the Plan for Eastern Europe) and this divided Europe into two economic and political camps
- This split marked the start of rivalry between the two Europes and completely shattered the uneasy truce the two sides had with each other

Question 13

Events of the ‘49 Berlin Crisis

Answer 13

• Jun 1948, Stalin shut off the land routes across Soviet-controlled Germany into Berlin as he wanted to show the USA, France and Britain that a divided Germany wouldn’t work
• Was a direct challenge to Truman as he had spoken about defending the world from communism in the Truman Doctrine
• Western Allies began the Berlin Airlift on 26 June as they knew that an attempt to force supplies into Berlin would be a potential act of war
• Essential supplies was flown into Berlin from the Allied zones
• West Berliners and troops created a new airport so that supplies could be unloaded - at least 1000 tonnes of supplies were delivered every day and at its peak, >170k tonnes of supplies were flown in in January
• Soviets lifted the blockade a year later on 9 May (my birthday >:D)

Question 14

Effects of the ‘49 Berlin Crisis

Answer 14

The creation of East and West Germany
- It was clear that the division of Germany would continue
- USA, Britain and France permitted their zones to come together as the Federal Republic of Germany with a new capital, Bonn, just three days after the blockade
- Stalin responded by creating the German Democratic Republic three months later and only the communist bloc countries recognised it as a nation
- For the next 40 years, each German regarded their own state as the only real one and Germany’s split would result in many families being torn apart

The creation of NATO
- The communist takeover in Czechoslovakia and Stalin’s threat to Berlin proved to Western powers that they needed a formal military alliance to protect themselves from the SU
- NATO created in April 1949 and agreed that if any member was attacked, all members would come to its assistant
- Served as a message to Stalin about their determination to contain communism
- Showed that the US was certain to get involved directly in the defence of Western Europe, and bases were kept in Europe throughout the Cold War that still last to this day

Question 15

Two effects of the Korean War

Answer 15

Date: 1950-1951
Solidified full US involvement in containing communism worldwide
- A UN army had been set up to stop the communists, most of which were American
- The US had also spent $67 billion on the war, showing that the US had now committed itself to supporting countries in Asia that were trying to resist communism
- This can also be seen by how the US tripled their defence budget after the war, and how it strengthened its land forces in Europe
- The US would later have a significant role in containment in Asia, such as the Vietnam War

Increased hostility between the US and SU
- SU was worried by the USA strengthening its armed forces so they increased the size of its army
- Soldiers increased from 2.8 million in 1950 to 5.6 million in 1955
- The Warsaw Pact was formed after West Germany joined NATO, which was the SU’s version of a Eastern European NATO
- As the superpowers tried to gain military advantage over one another, their suspicions about each other increased
- This led to an arms race that happened between 1950-58, where both sides tried to develop better nuclear bombs than the other

Question 16

Effects of the nuclear arms race on superpower relations

Answer 16

Date: 1950-58
Increased tensions between SU and US
- The US’s atomic bomb made Stalin more sus of the US, as they created and used it without informing the SU, who were their allies in the war at that time
- Both tried to stay ahead in the race because military superiority could help in any disagreement with each other
- SU stole information from the US and made their own nuclear weapons suspiciously soon after the US’ breakthroughs, heightening suspicions between the two

Decreased possibility of actual war
- The bombs they developed were so powerful that the consequences would be too terrible if they were to be used
- Both sides were reluctant to engage in an actual war, so the nuclear weapons acted as deterrents to war instead, and it resorted to an intelligence battle
- This “Mutually Assured Destruction” would keep the peace because no one wanted to risk a war that was also certain to lead to their own country’s destruction

Question 17

Two effects of peaceful co-existence
NOTE: STALIN DIES IN 1953!!!!! TRUMAN IS G ON E!!! KHRUSHCHEV AND EISENHOWER ARE THE PEOPLE IN POWER!!!

Answer 17

(Date: 1953 onwards)
Temporarily decreased tensions between the US and SU
- Peaceful co-existence was the belief that the SU’s communism was so superior that capitalism would eventually collapse
- So there was little point having open confrontation which could lead to a destructive war with the West, and Khrushchev acted much friendlier with the US than Stalin
- Caused improved relations until West Germany joined NATO in May 1955

Led to hope about the thaw of the Cold War
- Khrushchev’s focus on peaceful co-existence showed that he wanted to reduce hostility, and combined with other factors at the time, such as the end of the Korean War (in which the SU and US had supported different sides), the acceptance of the new map of Europe, and both countries reducing spending on armed forces, things were looking up
- The hope was strengthened by the atmosphere of cooperation during the Jul 1955 Geneva Summit, though they failed to agree over disarmament and Germany’s future
- As a result of Khrushchev’s more positive approach, it was hoped that the two could find a way to move towards the thaw of the Cold War

Question 18

Two effects of the formation of the Warsaw Pact

Answer 18

Date: 1955 (Stalin IS DEAD)
Increased SU’s power over its satellite states
- Warsaw Pact formed one week after West Germany joined NATO, and consisted of the Soviet Union and countries of the ‘Eastern Bloc’ (e.g. Hungary, Czechoslovakia)
- Leadership was entirely Soviet and the alliance was under the command of the Soviet Union
- Like NATO, whenever one country of the pact was invaded, other countries had to step in and help
- Countries were not allowed to leave the Pact and had to do whatever the SU commanded them to do

Increased hostility between the West and East
- The two military alliances proved that Europe was now divided into two,
- One was under the protection of the USA and worked to defeat communism, while the other was led by the SU and sought to extend communist control
- Hostility between the two camps drove international relations for the next 35 years
- The Warsaw Pact would be the subject of two events that worsened relations: the Prague Spring and the Hungarian Uprising

Question 19

Impact of Soviet rule on Hungary

Answer 19

• Non-communist parties banned
• Key officials in government, police and army were chosen by Stalin
• Rakosi (Hungarian Communist Party leader) dealt with opponents of communist rule strongly, resulting in the execution of 2k people and imprisonment of 3k people

Question 20

Reasons for the Soviet invasion of Hungary

Answer 20

De-Stalinisation
- Khrushchev’s speech about de-Stalinisation gave the SU’s satellite states the opportunity to push for relaxation of Soviet control. They believed that his criticism of Stalin would lead to a “softer” approach with the satellite countries
- Poland’s new leader Wladyslaw Gomulka introduced a series of moderate reforms. Inspired, Hungarians began to push for change and regarding political freedom, fuel shortages and poor harvests
- Riots in Budapest made the policy of de-Stalination look like it would destabilise the Warsaw Pact
- Khrushchev sent the Red Army to restore order, but agreed to replace Rakosi with Nagy, a communist who believed in more personal freedoms

Nagy’s demands
- At the end of Oct 1956, Nagy proposed for Hungary to leave the Pact to become a neutral country, as well as sharing power with non-communist groups
- Khrushchev became concerned as if Hungary broke away, other Eastern European countries would follow, which would put the entire strategy of achieving security for the SU by surrounding it with pro-communist governments under threat
- As a result, he ordered a Soviet invasion of Hungary, and on 4 Nov tanks rolled into Budapest. He described Nagy’s execution as “a lesson to the leaders of all Socialist countries”

Question 21

Effects of the Soviet invasion of Hungary (including international reaction)

Answer 21

Date: 1956
Reflected badly on the West
- USA and Western Europe offered no military support to the Hungarians as “containment” meant that it was not ready to interfere in the affairs of an already communist country
- Also because a military attack on a Soviet satellite state could start a nuclear war
- Existence of Radio Free Europe, a US government-funded station which encouraged Eastern European countries to rebel, further made the US look bad as they couldn’t back up their words with military support
- Khrushchev now realised that dealing with the US would be much easier because he knew that they were unlikely to risk taking military action

Strengthened Khrushchev’s position in the Soviet Union
- Khrushchev couldn’t allow any threat to Soviet security, and Nagy’s execution was described as “a lesson to the leaders of all Socialist countries”’
- Members now knew they must do as they were told, and knew that they couldn’t expect military support from the US
- They learnt that the Soviet Union wouldn’t take a softer approach to the satellite states, even though Khrushchev had critisized Stalin in his “de-Stalinisation” speech, and would crush any attempts at rebelling

Question 22

Two effects of the U2 incident (1960)

Answer 22

Date: 1 May 1960
Caused the Paris Summit Conference to not go through
- At the previous meeting, they did not reach a full agreement about the way forward for Berlin, but agreed that further talks would be held the following summer
- When the SU announced that they had shot down an American U-2 spy plane as it flew over, this ruined any chance that the talks would be successful
- Khrushchev walked out of the meeting and it ended with no decisions being made

Worsened the reputation of the US
- The US tried to claim it was a weather aeroplane that had blown off close, but Gary Powers admitted to being on a spy mission when interrogated
- Eisenhower was embarrassed but refused to apologise, saying that spying operations like this could not be avoided
- Showed the world that not only did the US lie to avoid blame, but when the truth came out the US was not even sorry

Question 23

Reasons for the construction of the Berlin wall (1961)

Answer 23

Refugee problem
- Since West Germany received Marshall Aid, it became a wealthy country where most people had high standards of living
- East Germany was the opposite: had no economic aid and policies were unsuccessful
- This, and in addition to the little freedom they had, made the communist government unpopular
- Many East Germans decided to move across the border, and 3 million East Germans had crossed to the west by 1958
- Khrushchev could not allow this situation to continue as specialist people were moving away (the people that could rebuild East German economy) and demonstrated that Germans preferred capitalism over communism
- Provided a reason for Khrushchev to take measures to stop the Germans from leaving

Berlin ultimatum
- Was a result of the refugee problem, which showed Khrushchev that he had to stop people moving into West Germany
- Knew that the US, Britain and France would have to be forced to leave Berlin
- Demanded that Berlin should be demilitarised and Western troops withdrawn, and that it should become a free city
- The West was angered by Khrushchev’s demands and saw it as another example of how the SU was seeking to extend communism, which increased hostility between both sides as Khrushchev thought what he was doing was necessary
- Laid the ground for the summit meetings, which increased tensions even more

Worsening tensions between the East and West
- The Berlin ultimatum resulted in a series of talks where the two sides tried to solve the “Berlin problem”
- Summit meetings in Geneva and Camp David didn’t lead to any resolutions, but the second meeting appeared to establish better relations between the two leaders
- Shattered when the U-2 incident revealed American spy missions over the Soviet Union
- Eisenhower refused to apologise and said that operations like these could not be avoided, which resulted in Khrushchev walking out of the meeting with no decisions being made
- Tensions worsened after Kennedy went into office and refused to make any concessions in the Vienna meeting
- Strained relationship between Kennedy and Khrushchev and made Khrushchev realise that harsh measures had to be taken, as the US wouldn’t agree to any resolutions and the meetings had been futile in sorting things out
- Also made more Germans cross the border, and was the final straw to make Khrushchev start construction as 40,000 East Germans crossed the border to the West in just one day

Question 24

Two effects of the Berlin Wall on relations between East and West Germany

Answer 24

Relations worsened
- The West had been hoping for a reunification of Germany (since the chancellor at the time didn’t consider East Germany to be a real country), and for a while it seemed that the Soviet Union was considering it
- Many desperate attempts were made by people to cross the wall, but were unsuccessful as the ‘no-man’s land’ zone was packed with booby traps and were guarded by hundreds of lookout towers
- >130 people were killed in that process and families became separated for more than 50 years
- The wall solidified the separation of Germany and any hope of reunification was quashed

Relations improved
- Issue of refugees crossing into the West had been a problem which had strained relations since 1945
- Many of East Germany’s skilled personnel like engineers and teachers had left the country in pursuit of higher standards of living and salaries, which was a detriment to East Germany’s already weak economy
- Since immigrants weren’t citizens of the West Germany, the refugees couldn’t work, and were regarded with suspicion by the West Berliners who saw them as immoral and unhygienic (and commies as well lol)
- Now that the stream of refugees had been cut off, once the protests were over, improving relations seemed possible

Question 25

Two effects of the Berlin Wall on relations between the Superpowers

Answer 25

Worsened relationship between US and SU
- Khrushchev had closed the border without consulting the USA
- Since people who wanted to escape communism were no longer able to do so, this seemed to the US like an example of the SU trying to spread communism worldwide
- On the other hand, Khrushchev now realised that he had to “lock” people into East Germany to make them stay, and they seemed to prefer communism over capitalism
- Proved to Khrushchev that the West had successfully “indoctrinated” people to capitalist ideologies and that he had to take more decisive measures into stopping people from turning to capitalism

Made Kennedy more confident in handling Khrushchev and the SU
- The Wall showed that Khrushchev had been forced to accept Western control in West Berlin
- Khrushchev didn’t think that he could get away with bullying Kennedy anymore, as he had thought that Kennedy’s wealth and inexperience made him ignorant to how the real world worked
- West Berlin became a symbol of freedom and defiance against communism, and this improved Kennedy’s reputation following his failure in the Bay of Pigs invasion
- West Berliners treated Kennedy as an idol when he visited Berlin in ‘63 to make his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech
- This would continue as he gained success in the Cuban Missile Crisis

Question 26

Two effects of the Bay of Pigs invasion

Answer 26

Date: 1961
Humiliating and embarrassing failure for the USA
- Kennedy had originally planned with the CIA to train a group of Cuban exiles to launch an invasion to overthrow Castro (the new pro-communist dictator of Cuba) as he didn’t want communist allies near US territory
- Failed because volunteers had little military experience and Castro had already found out about the invasion
- USA seemed hypocritical as they had previously accused the SU of trying to build an empire in Eastern Europe, and now it looked like the Americans were doing the same thing in a country which was happy under a communist, non-corrupt leadership
- Did the opposite of what was intended to happen: Cuba was now a firm ally of the SU

Stronger relations between Cuba and Soviet Union
- Previously, Castro had begun appointing communists to his new government and had made a deal with the SU in which Khrushchev agreed to buy Cuban sugar and provide economic aid
- Castro declared himself to be a communist and asked Khrushchev to help him defend Cuba from future US attacks
- Khrushchev announced that he’d provide arms to Cuba
- Newly established trust allowed Castro to let Khrushchev build missile launch sites in Cuba to deter any future invasion attempt

Worsened relations between Cuba and USA
- Relations had already been deteriorating prior to the invasion, as Castro and accommodates had overthrown the corrupt pro-American government
- Eisenhower was concerned as American businesses had invested heavily in Cuba and much of its land were owned by Americans
- Americans cut diplomatic relations with Cuba and events of the invasion further increased hostility, as Cuba was now a SU ally
- Now that Cuba would have modern military equipment and training from the SU, it became very worrying as it was very close to American territory and the USA would be under direct threat if nuclear bombs were to be placed

Question 27

Causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 27

Date: 1962
Bay of Pigs invasion
- Kennedy had originally planned with the CIA to train a group of Cuban exiles to launch an invasion to overthrow Castro (the new pro-communist dictator of Cuba) as he didn’t want communist allies near US territory
- Failed because volunteers had little military experience and Castro had already found out about the invasion
- This increased suspicion between the US and Cuba, so Castro declared himself to be a communist and asked Khrushchev to help him defend Cuba from future US attacks
- As a result, Castro agreed to Khrushchev building missile launch sites which could protect Cuba from future US invasions
- The discovery of the launch sites by an American U2 plane caused Americans to worry as the missiles were within range of most US cities
- Without the creation of the launch sites, which were in close proximity to America, fear would not have been garnered as this directly concerned the lives of US citizens and the world if nuclear warfare were to happen

Missiles placed in Cuba and Turkey
- NATO had missiles based in Turkey, which was in close proximity to the Soviet Union
- This was threatening to the SU as the missiles could easily destroy most Soviet territory, and was a danger to Soviet security established by the creation of satellite states and the Warsaw Pact
- Since the SU had developed nuclear technology as powerful as the US had in the nuclear arms race, Khrushchev wanted Kennedy to feel what it was like to be under threat
- He wished to use this to pressure Kennedy into removing Turkish missiles
- This was highly provocative to the US, and the threat of having powerful missiles placed in such short distances to both nations quickly spiraled into fear of mutually assured destruction in the face of nuclear warfare

Khrushchev’s personal ambitions
- The building of the Berlin Wall was presented by many Soviet critics as a failure for Khrushchev
- Khrushchev did not want to lose popularity so if he could outwit Kennedy over Cuba, it would restore his reputation
- He may have decided to put bases in Cuba as he feared another American attack, and if the Americans overthrew Castro, this would be seen as another defeat for communism
- This is because events of the ‘61 Berlin crisis demonstrated that people were choosing capitalism over communism
- Putting missiles in Cuba would reassert his power and make him seem more critical and decisive in his foreign policies

Question 28

Events of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 28

• ExComm was called together by Kennedy and met every day for 13 days to discuss how the USA should react
• Kennedy decided not to launch an attack, but instead he set up a naval blockade around Cuba, where no ships would be allowed to pass through without US permission
• Kennedy knew that Americans expected Soviets to ignore the blockade, which would result in war, so he prepared 54 bombers equipped with nuclear warheads to anticipate the worst
• Khrushchev did not want to start a nuclear war so he ordered Soviet ships to turn around, but the Americans didn’t know this until one day after the Soviet ships retreated
• The SU agreed to remove Cuban missiles in return of the US not invading Cuba through telegrams, and the US later agreed to remove Turkish missiles in a secret deal

Question 29

Reasons for the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 29

Khrushchev refused to break the blockade
- Wanted to take action without starting a nuclear war, so the US did not attack but set up a naval blockade around Cuba
- Many Americans expected the SU to ignore it, then the US would have to sink their ships and war would follow. Kennedy had prepared 54 bombers in case war broke out
- However, Khrushchev also did not want to start a nuclear war, and ordered the ships to turn around
- When the US heard of this, they were extremely relieved, and even more eager to peacefully resolve the situation

The USA agreed to move missiles from Turkey
- NATO had missiles based in Turkey, a short distance from the SU. Wanting to make the US feel what it was like to be under threat was one of the reasons the SU put missiles in Cuba
- Khrushchev sent a telegram offering to remove the missiles if US missiles in Turkey were also removed. Kennedy agreed
- Robert, Kennedy’s brother, had met the Soviet ambassador in Washington the day before and agreed to remove the Turkish missiles, but this part of the deal was kept secret
- Now that neither side felt threatened, they were more willing to come to an agreement

Kennedy refused to bomb Cuba
- An American U-2 plane was shot down over Cuba, and the Hawks demanded military action, but Kennedy refused to
- Instead, as well as agreeing to Khrushchev’s proposal, he promised not to invade Cuba
- This showed Khrushchev that Kennedy did not want to cause war any more than he did, improving their relations

Question 30

Causes of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia

Answer 30

Date: 1968-69
Opposition to Soviet control
- Life under communist rule was difficult for the Czechs
- Had no freedom of speech, had high censorship and the economy was run for the benefit of the Soviet Union
- Purges were conducted and victims included military leaders, Catholics, Jews and even high-ranking communists
- Protests and student demonstrations showed how unhappy the people were with low QoL and the unpopularity of the government
- Because of this, the Soviets elected Dubcek to replace the previous leader (Gottwald) and trusted him to make the government less unpopular and more effective

Dubcek
- Dubcek was a devoted communist who believed that communist governments should offer “socialism with a human face”
- A series of reforms were introduced (known as the Prague Spring), which included relaxing censorship, allowing criticism of government actions and giving more power to the Czech regional governments
- Brezhnev disapproved of many of the proposed measures as they would lose control over Czechoslovakia, and other countries would want to follow

Warsaw Pact
- The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance established by the SU in response to the creation of NATO
- Like NATO, if one country in the pact was invaded, other members would have to send military support
- SU used the Warsaw Pact as an excuse to establish control over its satellite states, and members had little say in what to do (were essentially following SU lead)
- Was important for establishing Soviet security as the West and NATO poised as threats to the SU
- At the time, Romania was refusing to attend Warsaw Pact meetings and the Yugoslavian leader, Tito, refused to accept control from Moscow
- If Czechoslovakia tried to break away like Hungary, the SU’s buffer zone would lose members and thus its security would be destroyed
- Was the main reason why Brezhnev was so worried: he couldn’t allow there to be any threat to SU security

SU knew that the US wouldn’t do shit about the invasion
- The USA was involved in a costly war in North Vietnam and was beginning to adopt a less confrontational approach towards the Soviet Union
- Like Hungary, the USA’s policy of containment meant that even though they would encourage Eastern European citizens to rebel against their communist governments, they weren’t ready to deal with the affairs of already communist countries
- The Hungarian crisis was evidence that the USA would not do anything about the invasion so Brezhnev knew that there would be no risk in invading Czechoslovakia

Question 31

Events of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia

Answer 31

• Brezhnev ordered Warsaw Pact troops to carry out manoeuvres in Czechoslovakia to threaten Dubcek
• 500,000 troops invaded Czechoslovakia after Dubcek invited Romanian and Yugoslavian leaders to Prague for talks
• Little opposition faced and Czech people couldn’t do much against a powerful army, but there were some individual acts of bravery
• Invading forces were told that they were invited to help restore law and order by the Czech government, and were shocked by hostility encountered
• Dubcek was arrested and threatened to reverse his reformed, but was removed from office and replaced by Husak, an extreme communist

Question 32

Effects of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia

Answer 32

Brezhnev Doctrine
- SU justified the invasion as necessary to protect the unity of the communist movement in Europe
- Brezhnev did not want the same thing to happen again, as the Hungarian Crisis and now the invasion of Czechoslovakia showed how risky it was to let more liberal leaders come into power in satellite states
- Stated in an article (which is now known as the Brezhnev Doctrinne) that actions of any individual communist country affected all communist countries, and that it was the duty of other countries to take steps to stop those actions
- Expressed that all communist countries would be prevented from introducing reforms to make their country more liberal

Worsened relations between the SU and other communist parties
- Yugoslavia and Romania condemned the Soviet invasion, straining relations between their governments and Moscow
- Communist parties of Italy and France cut links to Moscow
- China denounced the invasion and said that the SU had betrayed their communist comrades, and the Soviet action was dubbed as a sign of Soviet socialist imperialism, socialist fascism and colonialism

Worsened relations between the SU and US
- USA and other Western governments were angered by the invasion and many of them made strong protests to the Soviet Union
- An attempt to pass a formal resolution critisising the invasions in the UN was made, but was vetoed by the SU

Question 33

Two effects of the Hotline

Answer 33

Date: 30 Aug 1963
Improved relations between the US and the SU
- Cuban Missile Crisis showed how easy it was for leaders to lose control of events, and the US and SU were dangerously close to all-out nuclear war
- The following highly tense diplomatic exchange was plagued by delays caused by slow and tedious communication systems, so they considered ways to reduce the threat of nuclear war
- Immediately after the crisis, a system of direct communication (a “hotline”) was established between the White House and the Kremlin, so messages could be sent within minutes instead of hours and didn’t have to be bounced between several countries
- Allowed for discussion in times of crisis and prevent any misunderstanding. Showed that the US and SU were willing to work together, and was one of the factors that led to the thaw

idk lol the chapter is so short

Question 34

Effects of the Limited Test Ban Treaty

Answer 34

Date: 1963
Reduced the risk of radioactive fallout
- USA and SU had carried out tests in the atmosphere, but both grew worried about contaminating the environment as scientific understanding of the dangers of radioactive fallout increased
- LTBT was drawn up, and the three countries agreed not to carry out any nuclear explosion in any environment if the explosion would cause radioactive debris to be present outside the borders of the state conducting the explosion
- These limitations would ensure that nuclear testing would be much safer from then on

Improved relations between the US, SU, and Britain
- Treaty showed that all three countries wanted the same thing: to reduce the risk of nuclear war
- Signing the treaty showed that the three could work together to reach an agreement
- Limitations also slowed the development of nuclear weapons, which slowed the arms race as a result, so the SU and US were less focused on competing

Question 35

Effects of the Outer Space Treaty

Answer 35

Date: 1967
Improved relations between the US, SU, and Britain
- USA and SU had carried out tests in the atmosphere, but both grew worried about contaminating space as scientific understanding of the dangers of radioactive fallout increased
- Outer Space Treaty was drawn up by the US, SU, and Britain, which prevented the arms race from spreading into space
- Showed that the three could work together to reach an agreement

Ensured that space would be a peaceful zone
- Terms stopped space from being used for military purposes, and that states should not place nuclear weapons in orbit or on celestial bodies
- Set out that no one could claim to own the Moon, stating that it, and other planets, should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes
- Made sure that exploration and use of outer space would be carried out for the benefit of all countries

Question 36

Effects of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Answer 36

Date: 1968
Prevented the spread of nuclear weapons
- Divided countries into nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states
- Stated that NWS would work towards disarmament and play no part in helping other nations develop such weapons, and the NNWS agreed not to be involved in developing nuclear weapons
- SU, US, Britain, and 59 other states signed, so the development of nuclear weapons was slowed

Improved relations between the US, SU, and Britain
- Cuban Missile crisis showed how easy it was for leaders to lose control of events
- Worried that the risk of all-out nuclear war was increasing and considered ways to reduce the risk
- The fact that all three countries signed the treaty showed that they could work together to reach an agreement, and none of them wanted a nuclear war

Question 37

Reasons for Detente

Answer 37

US and SU
- Though treaties in the 60s seem positive, actual relations were abysmal, however, it did show a thaw in the relations
- By the end of 1960s, more attempts at stable relationships were being made, and détente was sought for by both parties
- 1968, Nixon was determined to stop the Vietnam War, which costed billions and 60,000 soldiers’ lives. The war showed that military might wasn’t the best, and that war was unpopular within the US itself. Many Americans thought the US should be less active in international affairs
- Many social problems also arose due to the cost of war, and urban rioting was high due to the death of MLK. Less money was spent on weapons and more on solving social problems
- Nixon himself was more interested in foreign policy than domestic affairs, and wanted to establish relations with China. The growing power of China was worrying and two communist countries against the US was a major threat
- SU thought they had the power to be equal with USA, so they hoped to be recognised as in control over East Europe. Soviets were facing economic problems and wanted to cut spending on weapons for raising living standards. Almost 30% of its GDP were spent on defence, so they were falling behind on other aspect like technology

The role of China
- Nixon was worried that the SU and China would reach an agreement, but relations were actually worsening. 1 Oct 1949, communists won the civil war and Mao became the new leader
- Mao visited Moscow in 1950 to sign the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance. Though the Chinese government seemed friendly, Mao was offended by treatment Chinese delegates had received in Moscow. Despite this, they worked together in the Korean War
- Relations declined further when Khrushchev replaced Stalin in 1953. Mao did not like the De-Stalinization speech and viewed peaceful coexistence as a betrayal to communism
- 1958, Khrushchev visited Beijing, but the leaders did not get on and he later criticised Mao’s policies. Mao accused Khrushchev of cowardice during the Cuban Missile crisis, and that the invasion of Czech was an attack on a fellow communist state. Mao was concerned that the SU would attack
- 1969, fighting broke out between troops along the Chinese-Soviet border and there was a genuine risk of all-out war. As a result, Mao was friendlier to the SU’s rival, the USA
- Back in 1949, relations were really poor especially due to the Korean War and threat to Taiwan. However by 1969, American and Chinese joint suspicions of the Soviets led to them seeking to improve relations
- Apr 1971, American Table Tennis team was invited to China to play after a cordial meeting in the Japanese world championships. Henry Kissinger, the US secretary of State also went to China where he and the Chinese Prime Minister met and established friendly relationships which led to Nixon’s visitation to China
- Feb 1972, Mao and Nixon signed the Shanghai Communique where they agreed to peacefully resolve the Taiwan problem

Ostpolitik
- Improving relations between the East and West were happening in Europe. Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia worried many politicians, so Willy Brandt chancellor of Germany enacted Ostpolitik, an attempt to ease tensions in Europe by establishing links between the two sides

Question 38

Two effects of the SALT talks

Answer 38

Date: 1972
Restrictions placed on weapon usage
- Nuclear bombs had been the subject of earlier conflicts (e.g. Cuban Missile Crisis, arms race)
- The CMC had demonstrated how dangerous it could be if the USA continued to follow a policy of brinkmanship with mutually assured destruction happening
- Therefore, to decrease tensions and to decrease the threat of nuclear bombs to the world, a series of treaties were signed after difficult negotiations between the US and SU
- E.g. ABM (each country only allowed 100 ABMs each), Interim treaty (restrictions on the number of ICBMs) and Basic Principles Agreement (rules for conduct of nuclear warfare)

Improved SU-US (hehe sus) relations
- USA and SU wanted to reach agreement and wanted to demonstrate better relations publicly
- This was because the two countries did not want to continue their rivalry - the US because of Nixon’s ambitions and SU because of increased military expenditure - and sought to reach Detente
- After signing SALT 1, Brezhnev and Nixon visited each other and negotiations began for SALT 2 to reach agreements that hadn’t been reached
- It seemed like the two nations could finally gain truce and put aside their rivalry after over 70 years of conflict