Cold War Unit 2 Flashcards
Refugee Crisis in East Germany
- West Germany got Marshal Aid, east did not
- Funds from Comecon were not enough
- West Germany thrives, while QoL is much lower in East Germany
- This, along with the suppression of the communist regime = migration
- 1/6 of East Germany left - 3 million people
- East Germany lost skilled workers
Result:
- Khrushchev had to take action to stop this
Khrushchev’s Ultimatum - 1958
- Khrushchev demands that East Germany is recognized by West
- Because they think Germany could still be united, they refuse - Ultimatum issued
- Berlin demilitarized
- Western troops withdrawn
- Berlin to be a free* city
*communist
- Or else…
- Khrushchev will ‘allow’ (tell) East Germany to repeat the Blockade
- This forces the west to negotiate with East Germany, therefore recognizing its existence
Impact:
- Relations suffer as the west see a spread of communism, while USSR saw a solution to migration
- Both sides really didnt want to go to war and nuke each other to bits
Consequence:
- Summit meetings arranged to talk it out
Summit Meetings 1959-61
- Geneva, May 1959
- In neutral Switzerland
- No agreement
- Khrushchev invited to Camp David - Camp David, September 1959
- First time a soviet leader visits the US
- No agreement, but Ultimatum withdrawn
- Paris arranged
- Paris, May 1960
- Before talks, a U2 spy plane was shot down
- Eisenhower was embarrassed, but didn’t apologize
- Khrushchev storms out - no agreement
- Vienna, June 1961
- Kennedy appointed, wants to talk with USSR
- Khrushchev thinks JFK is weak, and knew his reputation suffered after the Bay of Pigs
- Takes tough line, Ultimatum renewed
- To not appear weak, JFK makes no agreements
Consequences:
- Relations are very poor
- JFK announces extra $2bn defence spending
- Seemed like JFK was prepared to fight for Berlin
The Cuban Revolution
- Fidel Castro and Che Guevara lead am anti-USA revolt
- This was bad because…
- Lots of Cuba was owned by US landholders
- This was bad because…
- Oil, electricity, railways and phone networks were all US controlled
- USA was a buyer of Cuban sugar
- Areas of tension
- USA reluctantly recognized the new government, but sent no aid
- Cuban government took all land owned by US and other foreign nationals
- Castro works with Khrushchev
- Communists in government
- USSR buy sugar and send arms secretly
This is all very bad for the USA - a soviet influenced state is just off their shores
- Eisenhower breaks diplomatic relations, then buys less sugar, before banning trade all together
The Bay Of Pigs
- The CIA (backed by Eisenhower, and then JFK) had an idea
- Lets train up and send 1,400 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba under the guise of counter-revolution, so we can stop Cuba being communist
Huge Faliure
- Exiles were no match for battle hardened revolutionaries
- No US land, sea or air forces could help because that would blow their ‘cover’
- Castro knew about the invasion plans anyway
- 20,000 soldiers awaited the exiles
- The US assumed the Cubans would support the US
- They were just fine under Castro
- American involvement was made clear in the media - bit of a humiliation
Consequences:
- USA are hypocrites, opposing soviet expansion but attacking a sovereign state
Impacts of the Berlin Wall
- Built to stop the 3,000,000 people migrating to West Germany
- The people were, given the choice, choosing Capitalism- This couldn’t do
- Wall built, with no mans zone between the two sides
- Remained for 27 years
Impact on the people
- Escape attempts common
- 130 were shot dead by Eastern guards
- Families split for years
Impact on the USSR
- Khrushchev gives up on a full, communist Berlin
- Wall demonstrated that East Germans had to be boxed in to stop them turning to capitalism
However…
- Migration was stopped
- Message sent that communism would survive in Berlin
Impact on the USA
- Border closed without consulting of the USA
- People who wanted to escape communism couldn’t
However…
- Wall demonstrated that Khrushchev had to accept capitalist control in Berlin
- West Germany becomes a sign of freedom
- JFK does ‘I am a citizen of Berlin speech’ = lots of popularity and freedom loving etc
Impact on international relations
- Germany arguments got so bad a wall had to be built
- Shows state of relations, Wall is symbol of East/West hostility
However…
- A wall is better than a war, so in some ways the Wall improved relations
- Relations that were soon ruined by the Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis and the 13 days
After Bay of Pigs
- Khrushcev points out how no public supported the invaders
- They must like communism then, lmao
- Castro declares himself a communist, lots of arms sent publicly to Cuba
- All a bit worrying for the US
The CMC
- 14th October - U2 spots nuclear launch pads in Cuba
- Soviet ships with warheads inbound
Why put missiles in Cuba?
- NATO had missiles in Turkey capable of hitting the USSR, wanted to give the USA a taste of their own medicine
- Berlin wall seen as a fail for Khrushchev, so he needs to get his reputation back
The 13 Days
- 16th October - Executive Committee (ExCom) set up to talk
- A naval blockade was decided, almost anything else is an act of war
- America expected the USSR to ignore the blockade, therefore starting war
- 54 bombers on standby just in case
- 24th October
- USSR reach blockade and go home
Ending the Cuban Missile Crisis
- 2 days later, a telegram sent from Moscow
- Don’t invade Cuba, and we will remove our conventional missiles
- Before JFK even reads that
- ‘We will remove missiles if Turkey missiles are removed as well as you not invading
- JFK ignores 2nd telegram, goes with first, and this was accepted
- Secretly, the missiles in Turkey were removed by JFK’s brother, so the US doesn’t look publicly weak
Consequences of the CMC
Steps to prevent war
- 1963 - ‘Hotline’ telephone line set up between Moscow and Washington
- 1963 - Test Ban Treaty (UK, USA, USSR) - banned nuclear tests in outer space, underwater or in the atmosphere
- 1967 - Outer Space Treaty - so the space race doesn’t become military
- Outer space not to be used for
military purposes (eg nuclear
weapons launching)
- 1968 - Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - countries can not share nuclear tech, to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons
Consequences for JFK:
- Stood up to pro war cabinet members (The ‘Hawks’) and Khrushchev
- Gained popularity and
confidence when dealing with
USSR
Consequences for Khrushchev:
- Tried to advertise CMC as a win - he had secured Cuba’s safety as a communist state
- Moscow felt the military had
been humiliated
- CMC played a role in his
eventual dismissal
Why did the Czechoslovakians oppose Communist rule?
- Stalin had led a coup to establish power, where a communist government was set up with no elections
- Ruled by USSR, secret police used to monitor people
- Economy ran for USSR’s
benefit, few luxuries
- Economy ran for USSR’s
- Censored radio, news, TV
- Multiple purges by Stalin backed Czech soldiers, killing Jews, Catholics, military leaders, democratic politicians
The Prague Spring (1968)
1968 - Dubcek elected head of government
- Soviet backed, there to restore support
- Reforms he announced:
- Censorship relaxed
- Trade unions given more
power, state control of
industry reduced
- Trade w/West up
These reforms were the Prague Spring
- Moscow didn’t like
- When Brezhnev replaces Khrushchev, he really doesn’t like
- Yugoslavia under Tito and Romania are not co-operating at this time
- What if he loses
Czechoslovakia too?
- What if he loses
- Warsaw Pact troops ordered to do drills on Czech border
The End of the Prague Spring
Soviet invasion kicked off by Dubcek inviting Tito and Romanian leader to talk
- 500,000 soldiers storm Czechoslovakia
- Little opposition, Brezhnev told Czech troops not to fight
- Dubcek arrested and replaced by a hard-line communist, Raoski
- Reforms reversed, end of Prague Spring
The Brezhnev Doctrine
The invasion was seen as aggressive by the West, so he needed to justify it
- Doctrine set
- Actions of one communist state affect all
- States basically can’t do liberal reforms
Impacts of the Czech invasion
For Communist States
- Yugoslavia and Romania condemned invasion, creating more tension
- Communist parties in Italy and France cut ties to Moscow
- In total, greater control of satellites
For the USA/USSR
- West outraged, and protested
- Attempt to internationally condemn invasion in the UN failed
- Vetoed by USSR
- USSR saw that USA would protest, but not actually do anything
For USA’s reputation
- Seen to be a bystander, and not want to actually intervene
