Conflict and Tension 1945-1972: The 'thaw' Flashcards
When was the Hungarian uprising?
1956
When did Hungary fall within the Soviet sphere of influence?
After WW2
How did the Soviets ensure communists came to power?
By tightly controlling the elections.
Who became the Hungarian leader in 1949?
Mátyás Rákosi
Who was Mátyás Rákosi?
A hard-line stalinist who did not tolerate any opposition.
The ______ ______ helped him to keep a firm grip on the country.
secret police
What did many Hungarians resent about being Rákosi rule?
He used brutality and the country was under tight control of Moscow.
Who’s arrest upset many Hungarians seeing as Hungry was a strongly Catholic country?
Cardinal Mindszenty
When did Stalin die?
February 1956
Who was the new Soviet leader ?
Nikita Khrushchev
Describe the process known as de- Stalination.
Khrushchev criticized Stalin’s brutality and suggested a more open and peaceful approach from the government.
Describe the process known as de- Stalination.
Chris chave criticized stalin’s brutality and suggested a more open and peaceful approach from the government
On what day did students in Hungary take to the streets of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, to list their demands?
The 23rd of October 1956
What did the students list of demands include?
. Greater freedoms and civil rights
. The removal of Rákosi and return of Imre Nagy
. The withdrawal of Soviet troops
Who was Imre Nagy?
A communist who supported reform.
What happened to Soviet tanks after the small protests grew and violence began to spread? How did they respond?
Soviet tanks were set alight and, in response, some fired at the protesters.
As Nagy called for calm who did he pledge support for?
The Hungarian Communist Party
Why did Khrushchev order the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungery?
He wished to avoid violence.
When did Khrushchev order withdrawals of the Soviet troops?
October 29th to 31st
With _______ tanks gone and ___ as prime minister it seemed that life in the country would ______.
- Soviet
- Nagy
- improve
When did Nagy announce that Hungry was now an independent and neutral country?
The 1st of November 1956
Although Khrushchev was willing to give some ground why did the decision to leave the Warsaw Pact worry him?
He was worried that other countries might be inspired to follow Hungry’s example.
Despite many hungarians beliefs why did the USA not interfere?
Hungry was in the Soviet sphere of influent, do Eisenhower didn’t want to risk direct conflict with Moscow.
When did the UN discuss the issue of Hungary?
4th of November
What did the USSR do when the Security Council held a vote calling them to withdraw?
They simply vetoed it.
Finish the sentence: Despite his calls for peaceful co-existence between east and west, Khrushchev had shown he was willing to do anything to…
Keep countries under Moscow’s control.
How did the Hungarian uprising strengthen the USA’s and USSR’s relationship?
The USA had established that it would not interfere in events behind the Iron Curtain.
What cause the thaw in relations between the USA and the USSR to come to an abrupt end?
The U2 Crisis
What were U2 spy planes?
The USA’s most effective method of gathering intelligence- able to photograph weapons development without detection.
What height did the U2 spy planes fly at?
23,000
What caused The U2 crisis?
A U2 plane was shot down by USSR’s anti-aircraft guns.
Who was the pilot of the plane that was shot down?
Gary Powers
When was the plane shot down by the USSR ?
The 1st of May 1960
What claim did the Americans make about the plane that was later proved to not be the case ?
That the plane shot down was a weather plane that had strayed into Soviet territory.
After being put on trial, how many years of imprisonment was powers sentenced to?
10 years
What did President Eisenhower refuse to apologize on the behalf of the US government for?
The US government admitted that it was a spy plane.
What was the Paris peace summit and when was it scheduled to happen?
A meeting between Eisenhower and Khrushchev that was supposed to represent a step towards improved relationships, in May 1960.
Why didn’t the Paris Peace Summit happen on its set date?
Khrushchev walked out of the summit before any discussions could take place, describing Eisenhower as a ‘thief court red-handed in his theft’.
When did Khrushchev cancel the Paris peace summit?
June 1960
Eisenhower promise to only ‘_______’ spy flights and Khrushchev refused to meet the president again
suspend
Seeing as there was no Paris Peace Summit Khrushchev’s call for ‘peaceful _________’ and ___________’s hope to end his presidency by _______ the USA and USSR’s relationship didn’t go through.
- co-existance
- Eisenhower
- improving
Why did some people argue that Khrushchev wanted the summit to fail regardless of the U2 Crisis?
To show his political opponents that in Moscow but he was a tough leader on the world stage.
When did Eisenhower leave office ?
The start of 1961
Finish the sentence: As tensions ran high abroad, the USA was in a growing state of fear about…
Communism
Throughout the 1950s, who led a campaign to root out communism in the USSR?
Senator Joseph McCarthy
Which committee investigated anyone with the suspicion of links to communism?
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
Many Americans began to believe that there were indeed ‘____ under the ___’.
- reds
- bed
Which State Department official was found to have past secrets to the USSR in 1950 ?
Alger Hiss
_____ and ______ Rosenberg were also executed for being Soviet spies.
- Julius
- Ethel
