Cold War: Chapter 4 [Three Crises: Berlin, Cuba and Czechoslovakia] Flashcards
1
Q
BERLIN’S REFUGEE PROBLEM [1958]
A
- West receiving Marshall Aid and becoming wealthy with high living standards
- East suffering due to no aid and unpopularity of communist regime with secret police and limits on what to do and say
- 1953: anti-gov riots restored by the Soviet army
- 1958: 3 million East crossed West
- Khrushchev concerned about ‘brain drain’ and propaganda disaster
2
Q
BERLIN ULTIMATUM [27 NOV 1958]
A
- Khrushchev demanded West recognize East as nation but West refused because determined to reunite Germany
- Ultimatum issued: Berlin to become free city and demilitarised with Western troops withdrawn
- 6 months to do so before control of all Berlin routes handed to East German gov.
- intelligent = West forced to talk to East German authorities and so accept East as legitimate
- BUT both nations didn’t want nuclear war [not even West German Chancellor Adenauer]
- 1959-1961: talks to solve Berlin Problem
3
Q
GENEVA [MAY 1959]
A
4
Q
CAMP DAVID [SEP 1959]
A
- Eisenhower and Khrushchev’s first face to face meeting
- Soviets agreed to withdraw Ultimatum
5
Q
PARIS SUMMIT CONFERENCE [MAY 1960]
A
- 1 May 1960: U-2 shot down over USSR
- Americans claimed it a weather plane blown off course
- pilot Gary Powers admitted to spy mission when interrogated by Soviets
- Eisenhower refused to apologize
- Khrushchev walked out
6
Q
VIENNA [JUNE 1961]
A
- Kennedy elected Jan 1961
- believed inexperience by Khrushchev and suffered reputation after Bay of Pigs
- Khrushchev renewed Ultimatum
- Kennedy refused
- Kennedy added $2 billion to arms spending preparing for war
7
Q
BERLIN WALL [12 AUG 1961]
A
- more East crossed West fearing closed borders
- Aug 1961 : 40,000 crossed in single day]
- Khrushchev ordered Walter Ulbricht to close borders
- East troops built barbed wire fence
- work started on 165km concrete wall
8
Q
BERLIN WALL
A
- woman threw mattress into West Berlin and jumped through window
- West’s fire service caught jumpers in blankets
- 43km of wall was actually 2 walls with no man’s land, minefields and car barriers between
- East border guards ordered to shoot any escape attemptees
- 130 killed
- Aug 1962: Peter Fechter shot, fell back into East and bled out for 45 mins as West yelled ‘murderers’
9
Q
IMPACT ON EAST AND WEST GERMAN RELATIONS
A
- outrage
- East protests quashed by secret police
- but refugee problem solved
10
Q
IMPACT ON USA AND USSR
A
- Khrushchev abandoned plans of unified Soviet Germany
- wall showed East had to be ‘locked’ in and that they preferred capitalism
- refugee crisis ended
- communism would survive in Berlin message sent by wall
- no Soviet consultation of USA over border closing
- no longer an escape for Communist haters
- wall showed Khrushchev forced to accept Western control and to stop bullying Kennedy
- West = symbol of freedom and defiance against communism
- 1963: JFK visited, showered by flowers and rice and chants and said ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’
11
Q
THE CUBAN REVOLUTION [JAN 1959]
A
- rebels led by Castro and Guevara overthrew pro-American head of gov Batista
- Eisenhower concerned: lots of American investment and land in Cuba and refineries and electricity and telephones were American controlled
- USA gov reluctantly recognized new gov but refused economic aid unless IMF guidelines followed
- May 1959: Cuban gov took all foreign land and paid compensation and USA refused to recognize this but Castro continued
- Casto appointed Communists to gov
- Feb 1960: Khrushchev agreed to buy sugar and provide aid and arms [secret]
- USA reduced sugar imports, banned all trade and cut diplomatic relations
12
Q
BAY OF PIGS INCIDENT [17 APRIL 1961]
A
- JFK agreed to Eisenhower and CIA’s premade plan
- 1400 Cuban exiles trained by CIA landed at Bay of Pigs
- attacked looked like Cuban counter-revolution with no US involvement
- FAILURE: Cuban revolutionary army was comparatively very experienced, no US ground forces or supplies or air strikes, Cuba had discovered plans and prepared 20,000 soldiers and ordinary Cubans were happy with Castro and didn’t support coup
- Castro showed wrecked aeroplanes to international jounralists
- American defeat and public humiliation
13
Q
EFFECTS ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
A
- Americans looked foolish trying to restore influence in independent Cuba after criticizing USSR of doing same
- USSR quick to point at peoples happiness in communism and their reluctance for the old, corrupt gov’s return
- Castro declared himself communist
- Sep 1961: Khrushchev announced arms to Cuba
- Kennedy concerned by Cuba having modern military equipment and Soviet expert training
- Kennedy warned Khrushchev no nuclear weapons in Cuba and Khrushchev assured so
- discrepancies discovered
14
Q
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS [14 OCT 1962]
A
- US spy plane showing Soviet construction of missile launch sites in Cuba
- US intelligence said Soviet ships en route with supplies to enable missiles
- USSR wanted nukes in Cuba because NATO had them in Turkey and Khrushchev wanted them to feel same threat
- Khrushchev feared attack on Castro and communism and wanted to outwit JFK after Berlin Wall disaster
- missiles in Cuba = blow to US pride, poor run for Democrats in Congress elections and trouble in Germany
- OPTIONS: - 1. Invade Cuba
- 2. Bomb missile sites
- 3. Sink approaching Soviet ships
15
Q
THE 13 DAYS [16-28 OCT 1962]
A
- 16 Oct: JFK called Executive Committee to discuss and they met for 13 days
- attack decided against
- naval blockade set up around Cuba [blockade called ‘quarantine’ because blockade was act of war]
- no ships allowed through without US permission
- Kennedy informed public on TV
- Americans expected Soviet ignorance of blockade and consequent war so prepared 54 bombers each with 4 nukes
- 23 Oct: Khrushchev ordered Soviet ships to turn around
- 24 Oct: news reached Kennedy and team
- US Secretary of State told Kennedy ‘we are eyeball to eyeball and I think the other guy just blinked’
