Key Topic 1.3: The Cold War intensifies

Question 1

The death of Stalin

Answer 1

Stalin died in 1953. After a short struggle for power, in 1955 Khrushchev
became the new ruler of the USSR. At first, the western powers hoped that
Khrushchev would be the start of a ‘thaw’ in the Cold War.

Question 2

Who was Khrushchev ?

Answer 2

-Khrushchev met western leaders at ‘summit’ meetings and even travelled to
the USA.
- -In the ‘Secret Speech’ Khrushchev attacked Stalin, saying that Stalin was a murderer and a tyrant. Khrushchev began to ‘de-Stalinise’ Russia - political
prisoners were set free and the activities of the secret police were reduced.
-Khrushchev said that he wanted peaceful co-existence with the West. Western leaders hoped
this meant the end of the Cold War.
Given hope that Stalin’s era of repression and fear had come to an end,

Question 3

Why was the arms race important for the development of the cold war

Answer 3

• Balance of terror
• each side felt threatened by the other
• had to try stay ahead of the game
• stained relations and each side made more alliances and weapons
• 1957 - sputnik launched by USSR could orbit the earth in 1 1/2 hour
• constant fear of what would happen

Question 4

Why was there hope relations might cool off?

Answer 4

• Change in leadership ( Eisenhower ) made people hopeful
  tensions would be reduced between SU and USA
• War in Korea in which USA an SU supported different sides ended
• reducing spending would be good for their economies
• Geneva reduced some tensions
• West 1955 - West Germany joined NATO

Question 5

The Hungarian Uprising, October 1956
Causes of the uprising

Answer 5

1. Poverty
   Hungarians were poor, yet much of the food and industrial goods they produced was sent to Russia.
2. Russian Control
   The Hungarians were very patriotic, and they hated Russian control – which included censorship,
   the vicious secret police and Russian control of what the schools taught.
3. Religious issues
   The Hungarians were a religious people, but the Communist Party had banned religion, and put the
   leader of the Catholic Church in prison.
4. Help from the West
   Hungarians thought that the United Nations or the new US president, Eisenhower, would help them.
5. De-Stalinisation
   When the Communist Party tried to de-Stalinise Hungary, things got out of control. The Hungarian
   leader Rakosi asked for permission to arrest 400 trouble-makers, but Khrushchev would not let
   him.

Question 6

The Hungarian Uprising, October 1956

Answer 6

• People of Hungary began to protest about their lack of political freedom and problems caused by bad harvests and problems created by fuel
• Riots in Budapest
• SU troops restored order
• Khrushchev replaced Rakosi with Nagy ( Communist )
• Nagi announced a set of proposed reforms
• Ended one party state in Hungary
• Persuaded Khrushchev to withdraw SU troops from Hungary

Question 7

Events of the uprising

Answer 7

• 23 October: Riots of students, workers and soldiers. They smashed up the
  statue of Stalin, and attacked the Secret Police and Russian soldiers.
• 24 October: Imre Nagy took over as Prime Minister. He asked Khrushchev to
  take Russian troops out of Hungary.
• 28 October: Khrushchev agreed, and the Russian army pulled out of
  Budapest.
• 29 October – 3 November: The new Hungarian government introduced
  democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion (the leader of the
  Catholic Church was freed from prison). Nagy also announced that Hungary was
  going to leave the Warsaw Pact.
• 4 November: At dawn, 1000 Russian tanks rolled into Budapest. By 8.10 am they had destroyed
  the Hungarian army and captured Hungarian Radio – its last words broadcast were ‘Help! Help! Help!’
  Hungarian people – even children – fought them with machine guns. Some 4000 Hungarians killed
  fighting the Russians.
• Khrushchev put in Janos Kadar, a supporter of Russia, as Prime Minister.
• Nagy was executed

Question 8

Outcomes/Consequences of the Hungarian Uprising:

Answer 8

1) 200,000 Hungarian refugees fled into Austria.
2) Russia stayed in control behind the Iron Curtain.
3) People in the West were horrified – many British Communists left the Communist Party.
4) It was clear to Eastern Europe that the West would not come to their aid to help them
overturn communism.
5) However, whilst they would not intervene in countries that were within the Soviet sphere of
influence, Western leaders became even more determined to ‘contain’ communism