Cold War Crisis, 1958 To 1970 Flashcards
What are the summits that took place to try to stop the Berlin crisis in order
The Geneva Summit – May 1959
Camp David Summit - September 1959
The Paris Summit – May 1960
The Vienna Conference – June 1961
What are the causes of the Berlin crisis?
The failure to come up with a long-term solution after the Berlin Blockade meant that inevitably tensions would continue over what to do with Berlin.
To prevent the ‘Brain Drain’ of well-educated professionals from defecting to the West
To prevent people ‘spying’ on East Berlin
Khrushchev thought it would give him the ‘upper-hand’ in East-West relations.
What was the result of the Geneva 1959 summit meeting
No real agreement but arrangements made for Khrushchev to visit US
What was the result of the camp David 1959 summit meeting
No solution but agreed further summit meetings – Khrushchev withdraws ultimatum.
What was the result of the Paris 1960 summit meeting
A disaster. Khrushchev storms out after Eisenhower refused to apologise about U2 incident
What was the result of the Vienna 1961 summit meeting
Neither side back down, Khrushchev tries to exploit Kennedy’s inexperience and repeats 6 month ultimatum.
What are the key information of the formation of the Berlin wall
During the night on 12 August 1961, the East German government surrounded Berlin with barbed wire, closed the border between East and West Berlin. On 15 August construction of the Berlin Wall began. The Wall remained in place until November 1989, during which time more than 300 people were killed trying to cross it.
Why was the Berlin Wall a good resolution for the Berlin crisis for khrushchev
It stopped the refugee problem.
It allowed Khrushchev to avoid war whilst appearing strong
Why was the Berlin Wall not a good resolution to the Berlin crisis for Khrushchev
Khrushchev had been unable to force the West out of West Berlin
Humiliating that the Soviets had to build a wall to keep the people of East Germany in!
Why was the Berlin Wall A good resolution to the Berlin crisis for Kennedy
It avoided a war
Khrushchev had admitted he was not able to force the West out of Berlin
it was a propaganda victory for the West
Why was the Berlin Wall not a good resolution for the Berlin crisis for Kennedy
West Berlin was now encircled by a wall which limited their freedom and America had not done anything to stop this being built.
What were the consequences of the building of the Berlin Wall
It stopped the refugee problem
Avoided war
Could be seen as a propaganda victory for the west but the US could do nothing to stop it
The Berlin Wall remained the symbol of the Cold War and the division of Europe for nearly 30 years
What were the events of the Cuban revolution in 1959
Fidel Castro came to power and tried to seize control of Cuban businesses and industry from the US.
The leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, developed an alliance with the USSR
This gave Khrushchev an ally within the American sphere of influence.
Showed that capitalism wasn’t that popular
What was the Bay of pigs invasion
April 1961 - 1300 Cuban exiles, armed with U.S. weapons, landed at the Bay of Pigs.
The invasion was easily defeated by Castro’s army. The failure of the invasion seriously embarrassed the young Kennedy administration.
The invasion made Castro wary of the U.S. He was convinced that the Americans would try to take over the island again.
This fear pushed Castro even closer to the USSR
How was the tension of the Cuban missile crisis decreased
US agreed to remove missiles from Turkey
USSR agreed to remove missiles from Cuba
What are the consequences of the Cuban missile crisis
Hotline set up communication between two sides made easier
Limited Test Ban Treaty – all overground nuclear tests banned
Khrushchev’s authority affected eventually replaced in 1964
USSR more determined to catch up in Arms race
What was the events of the Prague spring
Antonin Novotny was unpopular:
Secret police were feared.
No political opposition was allowed.
Economic problems and poor living standards.
Next Replaced by Alexander Dubcek:
Friend of Brezhnev but wanted to make a more popular form of Communism.
‘Socialism with a human face’.
Opposition groups allowed, less censorship, political criticism, some aspects of Capitalism allowed.
Finally Brezhnev could not allow changes and tried to persuade Dubcek to reverse them. When he refused to do so Brezhnev:
Ordered invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Brezhnev Doctrine – USSR will invade any East European country if the security of Eastern Bloc is threatened.
Dubcek forced to sign Moscow Protocol and reverse most of his changes.
What were the results of the prague spring
Further evidence of unpopularity of Soviet style control
Showed Soviet commitment to protecting Eastern Bloc
Condemned by US but no military help
Other Communist parties across Europe condemn it – showed that Soviet Communism had lost support and authority
What are the effects of the Prague Spring?
The Brezhnev doctrine was established where USSR claimed the right to invade any Eastern European country that was threatening the security of the whole of Eastern Europe.
The USA condemned the invasion but did nothing to stop it because the USA feared a war against USSR
Western European communist parties were horrified about a communist country invading another communist country and declared themselves independent from the Soviet Communist Party
Yugoslavia and Romania became less friendly with the USSR weakening the USSR’s grip on Eastern Europe
What was Brezhnevs response to the Prague spring
Brezhnev could not allow the reforms as any weakness in control over the satellite states of Eastern Europe could mean the breaking up of the Warsaw pact
Czechoslovakia cannot be allowed to have more control as then Poland, Hungary, Romania etc… will all want their own control
Brezhnev failed to convince Dubcek to stop through diplomacy
In August 1968 the USSR sent tanks to Prague and Dubcek was arrested.
Czechoslovakia returned to being under strict Soviet control
