The Cold War 1956–1984

Question 1

the polish uprising

Answer 1

1956
demonstrators protesting against increased work quotas in poznan (showed the economy was failing) and communist leader beriut
wanted the return of leader Gomulka
Kruschev was going to send in the red army but decided against it at the last minute

Question 2

hungarian uprising

Answer 2

In Hungary there was lots of opposition to leader Rakoski, and Kruschev’s plan to replace him with Gero another socialist leader

Popular support was gaining for the Polish demonstrators, which caused demonstrations in October for them, encouraged by Nagy. Nagy wanted to withdraw from Warsaw pact, democracy and free press

Kruschev and Gero allowed Nagy to go into power

Radio free Europe and Nagy encouraged Hungarians to strike

Kruschev as going to send in the red army - instead agreed on a framework of developing and strengthening of friendship. kadar replaced nagy as prime minister and red army crushed uprising

Nagy threatened to leave the Warsaw Pact meaning Hungary would become independant from the Warsaw Pact

Hungarians were under the impression that the USA would intervene but they didnt as they didnt want nuclear war (dulles - eisenhower)

180,000 refugees fled to the West

Question 3

eisenhower/dulles

Answer 3

‘new look policy’ 1953-61
hard line cold war diplomacy
however he wanted to curb defence spending and ensure no nuclear war

Question 4

SALT talks

Answer 4

1970-74
five year freeze on the construction of missile launchers
end to construction of ICBMs, submarines and long range missiles. USA and USSR were only allowed two missile defense screens which reestablished MAD, meaning the likelihood of each other attacking was very low.

degree of compromise as the nuclear capabilities of the USSR and USA were imbalanced. eg. USA had MIRVs therefore USSR were allowed more nuclear missiles

Question 5

SALT 2

Answer 5

1979
Brezhnev
breakdown in negotiations due to Afghanistan
SALT 2 was never ratified by the Senate as it was too difficult to understand
Nixon didn’t trust the USSR

Question 6

moscow treaty

Answer 6

1970
FGR accepted the ‘non-volability of Germany and Poland’s borders
FGR and USSR recognised that they had no territorial claims over each other
FGR accepted the UN and further treaties

Question 7

four power treaties

Answer 7

1971
FGR keeping its links with NATO/the west
FREE ACCESS FROM WEST TO EAST BERLIN (but not the other way round) meant that families could visit each other and more communication

Question 8

nixon

Answer 8

1968-1972
Security advisor ‘Henry Kissinger’ = nixissinger
wanted a tougher approach on Communism accompanied with signing of arms limitation treaties

Question 9

why was detente needed?

Answer 9

• USA involved in Vietnam war
• Sino-USSR relations failing
• Brezhnev / Nixon
• inbalance in the arms race with USA winning

Question 10

test ban treaty

Answer 10

1963
Britan, USSR, USA
excluded france and china
banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater - fairly big measures

Question 11

nuclear non - proliferation treaty

Answer 11

1968
the superpowers would not transfer nuclear weapons to other countries or assist other countries in developing nuclear weapons (containment of nuclear weapons and curbing over superpower’s powers)

Question 12

Brezhnev

Answer 12

1968 - 1982
main actions:

invasion of Czechoslovakia
Helsinki accords
Afghanistan

Question 13

Ostpolitik

Answer 13

‘East Politic’
Led by Willy Brandt
Involved better relationships between the GDR and FGR as well as the aim of the eventual reunification of Berlin

treaties included:

• moscow treaty
• warsaw / prague treaties 1970
• four power negotiations 1970
• basic treaty 1972

Question 14

prague spring

Answer 14

1968
led by Dubcek leader of Czechoslovakian Communist party. Wanted to preserve socialism but let people choose their own form of it (precedes the Sinatra doctrine)
proposed a plan for the modernisation for the economy
- end to censorship
- democracy and free elections

Question 15

invasion of czechoslovakia

Answer 15

1968
20 warsaw countries provided troops
Brezhnev worried about Czehoslovakia leading the way for reforms in the rest of the Eastern bloc

Question 16

Brezhnev doctrine

Answer 16

1968
provoked by the Prague spring
any threat to communism in the eastern bloc was a threat to anyone and therefore USSR would invade

not abandoned until 1989 by Gorbachev, showing USSR still wanted to assert their control on the whole of the Eastern bloc despite not really having the resources to do so

Question 17

warsaw / prague treaties

Answer 17

improvements in relations in the eastern bloc, primarily led by the FGR

• czechoslovakia and Poland recognised the oder-neisser border
• freedom of movement for germans living in Poland

Question 18

basic treaty

Answer 18

aim of the social democratisation of GDR and FGR
better diplomatic relations between the two states

• freedom of movement for west berliners
• more communication
• recognition of both states
• both joined the UN in 1973

Question 19

helsinki accords

Answer 19

1975
‘high point of detente’
signed by USA, Canada and 33 European states

3 baskets
1 - security in Europe (west achieved more as they negotiated the possible movements of borders) overall didn’t accomplish very concrete changes but better diplomatic relations and solutions to solving conflicts which would help in future negotiations
2 - cooperation in the field of economics, science, technology and the environment
3 - human rights

broke down in 1976 when ussr placed missiles in europe,

Question 20

attempts to solve the divisions in the communist bloc

Answer 20

moscow conference of international communist leaders 1957 (reaffirmed soviet bloc’s faith in the ussr as well as assuring them that they could appeal to USSR for aid)
brezhnev doctrine
helsinki accords

Question 21

USSR space race

Answer 21

1957 - first ICBM launched
1957 - laika first dog in space
1957 - Sputnik first satellite to orbit in space
1961 - Yuri Gagarin, first man in space

Question 22

the situation in the GDR before the wall

Answer 22

1955 -FGR joins NATO
1956 - GDR joins the Warsaw Pact
Totally dependant on aid and security from Moscow - ig soviet influence within the city
1/6th of the population fled to West Germany between 1945-61 ‘brain drain’
Kruschev needed to strengthen GDR and put pressure on the West
Symbol of Soviet power and the cold war
GDR + FRG didn’t recognise each other as legal states

Question 23

berlin ultimatum

Answer 23

november 1958
signified Krushchev’s need to strengthen the GDR
demanded:
removal of western troops from FRG
no armament of FRG
otherwise he would:
block access to FRG by creating land corridors
conclude any peace agreements between USSR and East Berlin, recognising only the GDR

seen as a turning point in the construction of the Berlin Wall
Kruschev threatened by rearmament which was going against agreements at Potsdam (USSR had already done so - ironic)

Question 24

geneva conference

Answer 24

May 1959
response to berlin ultimatum

Recognition that something needed to be done over the ‘Berlin question’ but no agreements

East:
- confederation which would turn into a state

west demanded:
- free elections

Question 25

U2 spy plane shot down

Answer 25

1961

American plane shot down whilst flying over Soviet territories to take photos of missile bases
Proved the West’s nuclear superiority as USSR had fewer nuclear bases than thought

made relations worse between east and west
stopped negotiations over Berlin - more important matters to deal with

Question 26

kruschev constructs the berlin wall

Answer 26

East Germany’s economy failing due to collective farming and shortage of bread, butter and meat
1960 - 200,000 fled
1961 - 103,000 fled
1961, August - wall constructed

Question 27

Cuban missile crisis

Answer 27

1962
America attempts to stop socialist revolution in cuba by assasinating leader Fidel Castro with the FBI

ex-cubans trained to overthrow castro

leds to public humiliation for the USA and weakening of their power with the bay of pigs incident

impact?
Cuba was an important area
showed west’s commitment to the overthrowing of manifesting communism
very nearly sparked nuclear war so consequently led to a reduction of arms and détènte

Question 28

arms in cuba

Answer 28

1962
USSR placed medium range missiles in Cuba
balanced impact of US missiles in Turkey and Western Europe

US ordered the removal of nuclear weapons but USSR refused.
Naval confrontation began as US set up a quarantine zone of 500 miles around Cuba

Eventually USSR agreed to remove missiles as long as missiles were removed by the US from Turkey

hot line set up from USA to USSR

Question 29

situation in poland 1980

Answer 29

prime minister - Kania

summer 1980 - strikes in industrial area Gdansk due to increased prices
solidarity movement (trade union) legalised and threatened a national strike, strengthened by the influence of pope John Paul the 2nd
Some economic/political concessions meant Brezhnev planned to invade. However changed plan at last minute
9th party annual conference - solidarity again called for more concessions
martial law imposed ? and solidarity outlawed

1978 pope john paul 2nd elected
1980 solidarity emerged
1988 re legalised at the round table agreements

Question 30

reagan

Answer 30

1981-89

increased defence spending by 30%
announced ‘star wars’ which imbalanced MAD and claimed that the USA had laser defence systems which could shoot down missiles from space

Question 31

arms race - USA (5)

Answer 31

1945 - dropping of atomic bomb on Hiroshima 
1952 - development of hydrogen bomb 
1958 - ICBM's tested 
nuclear submarine capacities 
1961 - U2 spy shot down 
1962 - cuban missile crisis

Question 32

arms race - USSR (

Answer 32

1953 - USSR tests hydrogen bomb
1957 - USSR develops Inter-Continental Missiles
1966 - USSR develops anti-ballistic missile

Question 33

berlin crisis

Answer 33

1953
ulbricht leader of GDR demands very high labour production in keeping with the USSR’s 5 year plan, workers targets increased by 10%. food and public transport prices increased

many fled to the west and lots of protest to leading non-communists being arrested

june 1953, strikes broke out
125 killed
soviet army employed