Key topic 2: Cold War crises, 1958–70

Question 1

specification: 1 Increased tension between East and West

Answer 1

● The refugee problem in Berlin, Khrushchev’s Berlin ultimatum
(1958), and the summit meetings of 1959–61.
● Soviet relations with Cuba, the Cuban Revolution and the refusal of
the USA to recognise Castro’s government. The significance of the
Bay of Pigs incident.
● Opposition in Czechoslovakia to Soviet control: the Prague Spring.

Question 2

specification: 2 Cold War crises

Answer 2

● The construction of the Berlin Wall, 1961.
● The events of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
● The Brezhnev Doctrine and the re-establishment of Soviet control in
Czechoslovakia.

Question 3

specification: 3 Reaction to crisis

Answer 3

● Impact of the construction of the Berlin Wall on US-Soviet relations.
Kennedy’s visit to West Berlin in 1963.
● The consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis, including the ‘hotline’.
Attempts at arms control: the Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963); the
Outer Space Treaty (1967); and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (1968).
● International reaction to Soviet measures in Czechoslovakia.

Question 4

When is Khrushchev’s Berlin ultimatum?

Answer 4

Nov 58

Question 5

When is the Geneva summit?

Answer 5

May 59

Question 6

When does Khrushchev visit the USA?

Answer 6

Sep 59

Question 7

When is the U2 crisis?

Answer 7

May 1960

Question 8

When does Kennedy become President?

Answer 8

Jan 61

Question 9

When was the Cuban Revolution?

Answer 9

1959

and it worried the US

Question 10

What was the Bay of Pigs?

Answer 10

Where a group of Cuban exiles are trained to launch an attack on Castro and overthrowing him. He did this to make it look like a cuban revolution making America not involved. However Castro already knew about the plan therefore making Castro get ready (20,000 soldiers ready to fight 1400 invaders)

Question 11

What happened in April 1961

Answer 11

1,400 exiles cubans landed on cuba

Question 12

what was Cuba like before the Revolution? Who ruled it and what did he do?

Answer 12

since 1952 Cuba was ruled by a ruthless military dictator

he allowed US businesses and mafia to make huge profits in a country where most people lived in poverty

Question 13

Who is Fidel Castro

Answer 13

He was a rebel;

in 1956, he began a guerrila war. (small military unit uses tactics like raids to fight a larger opponent)

By 1959 he had enough support to take Cuba’s capital, Havana, and successfully overthew the Batista’s government

Question 14

How did USA react to kruchev putting weapons on cuba

Answer 14

Kennedy realised that if Cuba had missiles then they would he in under threat. Kennedy warned kruschev that he couldnt allow the soviet union to use cuba as a base to threaten USA

Question 15

Why was the US worried about the Cuban revolution?

Answer 15

USA had long economic history with Cuba

It owned half of the Cuba’s land and held most of the shares in all Cuban industries.

Therefore they felt that they had the right to be involved in cuba’s affairs. But cubans grown to resent American influences.

Question 16

How did USA push cuba closer to USSR?

Answer 16

When castro came in to power in 1959,

he increased taxes on goods imported fro america, which angered the USA

Eisenhower threatened to stop importing cuban sugar. Sugar was cuban’s main source of wealth

Instead Castro signed a trade agreement with USSR - USSR promised to buy all sugar exports

All american property in cuba was confiscated

by Jan 1961 USA severed all diplomatic relations with Cuba and the new president kennedy nolonger recognise Castro’s government

Question 17

What was the bay of pigs?

Answer 17

Kennedy couldn’t let a communist state emerge next to America so he intervened

in 1961, Kennedy authorised and invasion of Cuba anti-Castro rebels trained to overthrow him.

CIA trained 1500 anti-castro exiles

kennedy send 6 planes to bomb cuban air force (did not turn out well), so he canceled air support

supply ship also got destroyed

Castro was told that there would be an invasion but did not know the scale of it so he mobilised all troops (20,000 soldiers ready to fight 1400 invaders)

all exile captured within 7 hours

this lead to Castro decide that they need soviet military support to defend it’s self

Question 18

consequences of the Bay of Pigs

Answer 18

for usa
humiliating and embarrassing failure
doing what they condemn ussr for
fresh plan to get rid of castro

for ussr
closer relationship with cuba
propaganda victory
august 1961 khrushchev placed nuke in cuba

for cuba
become communist
military support from USSR
Castro felt vulnerable

Question 19

cuban missile - cause

Answer 19

The reason why Khrushchev placed missile in Cuba was because NATO had missile in turkey and so they have to have a deterrent near America

Question 20

cuban missile - consequences

Answer 20

• Hotline established so Moscow and Washington could communicate more directly and more quickly in event of a crisis
• all nuclear missile removed from Cuba, then from Turkey by 1963
• Kennedy emerge from the crisis as a hero who stood up against thread of communism
• Khrushchev was discredited, he forced the USA to remove missile from Turkey but agreed to keep the deal a secret. In the eyes of the public he failed and resigned in 1964
• in the long term it also prompted new measure to bring the build up of of missile under control, eg test ban treaty, outer space treaty, nuclear non proliferation treaty.

Question 21

discovery of missiles in Cuba

Answer 21

on 23 October 1962

An American U2 spy plane took picture of the missiles in Cuba that was discovered on the 14th oct.

Question 22

order of events happend on “the 13 day “

Answer 22

16 oct 1962
Kennedy called the Executive comitee (ex comm) to discuss how America should react to the missile, they met every day for 13 days,

22 oct 1962
Kenedy decide to not launch an attack,
he set up naval blockade and announced about the missle on TV

24 oc 1962
USSR agree to remove missiles in cuba if they agreed to not invade them,

27 oct 1962
an U2 spy plane shot down
Khrushchev would remove the missiles if America remove theirs in Turkey

28 oct 1962
America ignored the second proposal and agreed to the first, however they later agreed in private they would remove their missile in turkey

Question 23

What were the Hawks and Doves in CMC

Answer 23

Members of the excom
Hawks are the ones wanted to attack Cuba
Doves are the ones who wanted to negotiate

Question 24

importance of CMC

Answer 24

it forced everyone to face up how quickly a tense situation could escalate to absolute catastrophe,

Question 25

Why had the refugee issue in Berlin become such a problem for the USSR by 1957?

Answer 25

• the flow of refugees was humiliating for the USSR
• Many were skilled workers, important to the economy
• the existence of West Berlin as an island of capitalism within East Germany had always been resented by the USSR

Question 26

What was the Berlin ultimatum

Answer 26

A statement by Khrushchev that the west had 6 months to demilitarise Berlin or “els”

-Berlin should become a “free city”

Question 27

Geneva 1959

Answer 27

No real agreement but arrangements made for Khrushchev to visit US

Question 28

The Berlin Wall August 1961

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

‘The Berlin Wall was a successful resolution to the Berlin Crisis’

Answer 29

For Khrushchev

Yes
It stopped the refugee problem.
It allowed Khrushchev to avoid war whilst appearing strong

No
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!

For Keneddy
Yes
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

No
West Berlin was now encircled by a wall which limited their freedom and America had not done anything to stop this being built.

Question 30

Consequences of Cuban Crisis

Answer 30

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
Theory of MAD widely accepted

Question 31

when was Krushchev’s Berlin Ultimatum?

Answer 31

27th Nov 1958

Question 32

What was Khrushchev’s Berlin Ultimatum and what was it’s impact

Answer 32

Stalin gave west 6 months to:

• Berlin should demilitarise,
• Berlin should became a free city

major impact as:

• West outraged and action seen as attempt to spread communism
• Khrushchev saw the demand as necessary to stop the flood of skilled citizen

Question 33

when was Geneva summit

Answer 33

may 59

Question 34

Geneva summit

Answer 34

first summit,

• both sides made proposals
• but no agreement was reached
• Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to the USA for further talks

Question 35

Krushchev visit the USA

Answer 35

sep 1959

Khrushchev visited USA

• enjoyed himself as he met ordinary people and ate hotdog
• however after a meeting Eisenhower conviced was not convinced that soviet policy on Berlin had changed

Question 36

camp david

Answer 36

May-60

first time face to face at presidential ranch
- Soviet agree to withdraw the Ultimatum.

improved relations

Question 37

U2 crisis

Answer 37

1st may 1960
soviet shot down an American U2 spy plane
- Gary Powers admitted it being a spying mission

Question 38

paris summit

Answer 38

May-60

Eisenhower embarrased by what happened but refued to apolegise

no decision made by Khrushchev”

Question 39

Vienna summit

Answer 39

Jun-61

“January 1961, John F kennedy beame president at age 41

• Krushchev attempt to exploit his inexperience and he knew that his reputation has suffered due to bay of pigs
• Krushchev renewed the Berlin Ultimatum 1958
• no final decision on Berlin, personal relationship between the two is damaged”

Question 40

causes of the building of the Berlin Wall

Answer 40

12th August 1961

“Khrushchev’s tough line on berlin forced Britain and France and the USA to get involved.

• it leads to tension between the west and East.
• Just in case Khrushchev will close the border
• August 1961, 40,000 east Germans crossed to the west

Walter Ulbricht urged Khrushchev to close the boarder. So on 12 august 1961 barbed wires are put up.
soon 165km concrete wall splited the west and the east”

Question 41

Berlin wall was a successful resolution t the Berlin Crisis

Answer 41

12th August 1961

many escape attempts for example Peter Fechner was shot and left dead for 45 minutes.

for Khrushchev
positive:
- stopped the refugee problem
- Khrushchev appeared strong whilst avoiding war
negative:
-unable to force the west out of berlin
-humiliating as communism had to lock their own people in

for Kennedy:
positive:
- avoided war
- propaganda victory
- admitted west was unable to be forced out
negative:
- West Berlin is now encircled by a wall that limited freedom and democracy yet USA cant do anything

Question 42

Kennedy’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner speech

Answer 42

26 June 1963

Meaning I an a citizen of Berlin but the way he said it makes it means that he is a doughnut. Despite this Berliner loved Kennedy’s message and that he tried to say that he is German.