Impacts of the post-Stalin thaw, 1953-1962

Question 1

When did Stalin die?

Answer 1

1953.

Question 2

When was the Warsaw Pact established? Why?

Answer 2

May 1955 in response to NATO.

Question 3

When was the Geneva summit between Khrushchev and Eisenhower?

Answer 3

July 1955.

Question 4

When did the Second Berlin Crisis start?

Answer 4

1958.

Question 5

When was the Vienna summit between Khrushchev and Kennedy?

Answer 5

June 1961.

Question 6

When was the Berlin Wall built?

Answer 6

August 1961.

Question 7

What was the Secret Speech?

Answer 7

A speech delivered by Nikita Khrushchev in 1956 where he heavily criticised Stalin.

Question 8

What is peaceful coexistence?

Answer 8

A policy established by Khrushchev that focused on coexisting with the West instead of confrontation, because according to him the collapse of Capitalism was inevitable.

Question 9

What policy did Eisenhower introduce?

Answer 9

The ‘New Look’.

Question 10

Which events greatly affected Soviet foreign policy in 1948-49?

Answer 10

The failure of the Berlin Blockade
The formation of NATO
The defection of Yugoslavia from Cominform

Question 11

Who succeeded Stalin as Premier?

Answer 11

Georgi Malenkov.

Question 12

When did Khrushchev become the Soviet leader?

Answer 12

1957.

Question 13

Which factors contributed to the development of peaceful coexistence in the Soviet Union?

Answer 13

Consolidation of positions and spheres of influence
Military and economic context (arms race)
Stalin’s death

Question 14

Who was Lavrenti Beria?

Answer 14

He was in charge of the secret police. He tried to become Premier but offered the West a proposal for a neutral, reunified Germany. This caused communist concern and outrage. He was arrested and executed for being a British spy. (He wasn’t, this was an excuse to have grounds for execution.)

Question 15

What was De-Stalinisation?

Answer 15

Khrushchev’s policy of removing many of Stalin’s policies and going against his ideas.

Question 16

Which Treaties and agreements were part of the impact of peaceful coexistence?

Answer 16

-Austrian State Treaty, 1955
-Soviet withdrawal from Finland, 1956

Question 17

What were the differences between Truman’s and Eisenhower’s foreign policy approaches?

Answer 17

Eisenhower was critical of Truman’s foreign policy for failing to stand firmly against communism.
Eisenhower believed in a more diplomatic approach, even if it looked hard-line on paper.

Question 18

Outline the key points of the New Look

Answer 18

-Belief that the USSR had expansionist tendencies
-Policy of massive retaliation against communist aggression
-Brinkmanship in the use of nuclear weapons
-Increased use of covert operations
-Willingness to negotiate when appropriate
It was advertised as more hard-line than it was to get more voters.

Question 19

Which pressures did the US face during this time?

Answer 19

-Destructive force of nuclear weapons
-Economic resources that could be used for improving living standards were going into building weapons
-Eisenhower was confident in the US’s nuclear superiority (this is fundamental to a lot of his policies)

Question 20

What was the name of Kennedy’s foreign policy?

Answer 20

Flexible Response.

Question 21

What were the key points of Flexible Response?

Answer 21

-Less focus on nuclear weapons, more traditional military
-Economic aid and covert operations
-Reversion of cuts in expenditure introduced by Eisenhower
-Development of special forces like the Green Berets
-Willingness to negotiate when appropriate

Question 22

What were some achievements of the Thaw?

Answer 22

-Korean armistice
-Geneva Conference, 1954, France agreed to remove troops from Indochina
-Geneva, July 1955. The first meeting between Soviet and US leaders since Potsdam.
-Khrushchev accepted an invitation to the US in 1959.
-Sino-Soviet split

Question 23

When did West Germany join NATO?

Answer 23

1955

Question 24

When was the Hungarian Uprising?

Answer 24

1956

Question 25

Briefly outline the Hungarian Uprising.

Answer 25

Calls for liberation were encouraged by Khrushchev’s De-Stalinization.
Hungarians protested and put pressure on the government. Soviet troops in Budapest were forced to leave.
The new leader left the Warsaw Pact and introduced multi-party democracy.
The Soviets didn’t like this and sent in troops.
The Soviet reaction to the uprising showed that independence of Eastern European countries was limited.

Question 26

Why did Khrushchev agree to have the Berlin Wall built?

Answer 26

He proposed an ultimatum: Berlin became a free city and East Germany was recognised, or a wall. Eisenhower and later Kennedy didn’t accept it.

Question 27

Why did Khrushchev initially drop the Berlin Wall Ultimatum?

Answer 27

Eisenhower invited him to the US.

Question 28

What is the Thaw an example of?

Answer 28

How leadership influences foreign policy and how interpersonal diplomacy between leaders is paramount to progress.

Question 29

What was the official and actual purpose of the Wall?

Answer 29

The official line was that it kept capitalism out. In reality, it was to keep their people in. They were escaping by the thousands.