the cold war 1958-1970 Flashcards
who was in power in 1958
Khrushchev was in power in the USSR and Eisenhower was President of the USA. The personal relationships between the various Soviet and American leaders affected events and the success of every summit that was held during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
In the late 1950s, issues around Berlin sparked off one of the biggest of the Cold War crises.
explain khrushchev’s speech in moscow in november 1958
Between 1949 and 1961 an estimated 2.7 million East Germans left for West Germany, and Berlin was the centre of this process as defectors had easy access to its Western sectors.
This created a bad impression of life in East Germany under its communist leader, Walter Ulbricht.
Khrushchev became so troubled with this so in November 1958 he gave a speech in Moscow in which he gave the West an ultimatum. He demanded that, as Berlin lay in East Germany, the Western powers should withdraw their troops from Berlin within six months.
Eisenhower did not want to give in to Khrushchev’s demands, and believed a military presence was necessary to protect West Berlin’s freedom.
explain the geneva conference in 1959
The two leaders seeked a new agreement on Berlin. Although no solution to the ultimatum was found, relations between Khrushchev and Eisenhower improved and Khrushchev agreed to consider a trip to the USA for another summit meeting the following year.
explain the Camp David Summit - September 1959
Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to the US presidential residence at Camp David, and Khrushchev had agreed to set foot on US soil, =demonstrated the respect the two leaders had for each other.
At this summit Eisenhower said: Because of our importance in the world, it is vital that we understand each other better.
Although no agreement on the long-term fate of Berlin was reached, the ultimatum on Berlin was withdrawn by Khrushchev, and it was agreed that further negotiations would take place in Paris the following year.
what was the summit meaning in paris, what was the agenda
spies got caught making the tense situation even more strained. This happened in May 1960, just as USA and USSR were preparing for their summit meeting in Paris.
What was on the agenda for the Paris Summit?
-a nuclear test ban treaty, Berlin and Cuba
-Nuclear weapons and the need for a Test Ban Treaty: both sides knew the potential destructive power of nuclear weapons and were keen to avoid turning bits of the planet into radioactive no-go areas.
-Berlin: the Soviets were annoyed that East Germans were continuing to escape to the West.
-Cuba: the Americans were concerned that the recent revolution in Cuba had created a communist government
what happened on the 1st of may 1960
13 days before the summit was due to begin, an American U2 spy plane piloted by Gary Powers, was shot down over the USSR. The USA claimed the U2 was a weather monitoring plane that had lost its way. However, film retrieved by the Soviets from the plane clearly indicated that Powers had been on a spying mission.
When the US President, Eisenhower, arrived in Paris for the summit meeting the Soviet leader, Khrushchev, demanded he apologise for the mission, and when Eisenhower refused, Khrushchev walked out of the Summit.
how did the paris summit fail
-no agreement on a Test Ban Treaty.
-America was embarrassed as it was shown to have lied about the U2 plane’s mission, and used methods of espionage .They no longer held the ‘moral high ground’ in the Cold War. This led the young John F Kennedy to campaign as a tough anti-communist warrior in the 1960 presidential election campaign
-Nothing was resolved on the issues of Berlin and Cuba. Both would remain major sources of tension in the Cold War.
-The relationship between the USA and the USSR deteriorated even further, heightening Cold War tensions.
what happened when john f kennedy took the office in 1961
John F Kennedy took office in January 1961
In 1959 Khruschchev’s ultimatum on Berlin was withdrawn, but Khrushchev believed he could dominate the younger and inexperienced Kennedy. He reissued the ultimatum on Berlin at a conference in Vienna in June 1961 and gave the US 6 months to withdraw. However, Kennedy refused to withdraw the American troops and increased defence in Berlin in case of a conflict with the USSR. The world was left wondering ‘what will happen next?’.
why was berlin divided
At the Yalta Conference of 1945, Germany and Berlin were both divided into four zones of occupation.
Berlin lay inside the Soviet zone of occupation and was a source of tension throughout the Cold War.
On 13 August 1961, the Soviet authorities in East Germany sealed off East Berlin – their zone of occupation - by constructing a huge barbed wire barrier. This was soon replaced by a concrete wall, complete with lookout towers and armed guards who had orders to shoot anyone trying to cross into the Western sector.
why was the berlin wall built
-The Brain Drain: throughout the 1950s, East Germans fled to the West through Berlin, leaving behind a harsh political climate and economic hardship of life under communism. Many of those who defected were educated or highly skilled workers and the East German authorities could not afford to lose their best citizens.
-Lure of the West: during the 1950s travel was easy between the Eastern and Western sectors of Berlin. People under communism in the Eastern sector could visit the West and see what capitalism offered. There was better housing, shops full of goods and relative freedom: all provided by the Western Allies.
-Espionage: Berlin was a Western island in a communist sea – an ideal place for American spies to gather intelligence on the Soviet military.
what was usa’s response to the berlin wall
Alarmed by the building of the Berlin Wall, President Kennedy sent his Vice-President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and US General, Lucius D Clay to Berlin.
Once the Wall was constructed, the US tested how far they could push the USSR. Foreigners were allowed to cross the Wall, and the US rsent troops into the Soviet sector through Checkpoint Charlie, a guarded crossing points between East and West.
Both sides could do this under the Four Powers Agreement made after the Yalta Conference, but by constructing the Wall, Soviets broke the Agreement and there was tension over whether the East German guards were authorised to examine the documents of Americans passing through the checkpoint.
On 27 October 1961 the US stationed tanks on its side of Checkpoint Charlie.
Soviets responded with an equal force and Red Army tanks pulled up to their side of Checkpoint Charlie. All day long the two sides, with tanks and soldiers at the ready, faced each other in a tense stand-off. The crisis lasted for 18 hours until negotiations agreed that both sides would slowly withdraw.
On 26 June 1963, President Kennedy visited Berlin and made a speech where he stated that Berlin was a symbol of freedom and the struggle against communism. It was a strong message and put an end to Soviet hopes that the Western Allies would leave Berlin.
The Berlin Wall remained a symbol of Cold War tension until it was torn down in November 1989.
what was usa’s response to the berlin wall
Alarmed by the building of the Berlin Wall, President Kennedy sent his Vice-President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and US General, Lucius D Clay to Berlin.
Once the Wall was constructed, the US tested how far they could push the USSR. Foreigners were allowed to cross the Wall, and the US rsent troops into the Soviet sector through Checkpoint Charlie, a guarded crossing points between East and West.
Both sides could do this under the Four Powers Agreement made after the Yalta Conference, but by constructing the Wall, Soviets broke the Agreement and there was tension over whether the East German guards were authorised to examine the documents of Americans passing through the checkpoint.
On 27 October 1961 the US stationed tanks on its side of Checkpoint Charlie.
Soviets responded with an equal force and Red Army tanks pulled up to their side of Checkpoint Charlie. All day long the two sides, with tanks and soldiers at the ready, faced each other in a tense stand-off. The crisis lasted for 18 hours until negotiations agreed that both sides would slowly withdraw.
On 26 June 1963, President Kennedy visited Berlin and made a speech where he stated that Berlin was a symbol of freedom and the struggle against communism. It was a strong message and put an end to Soviet hopes that the Western Allies would leave Berlin.
The Berlin Wall remained a symbol of Cold War tension until it was torn down in November 1989.
what was usa’s response to the berlin wall
Alarmed by the building of the Berlin Wall, President Kennedy sent his Vice-President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and US General, Lucius D Clay to Berlin.
Once the Wall was constructed, the US tested how far they could push the USSR. Foreigners were allowed to cross the Wall, and the US rsent troops into the Soviet sector through Checkpoint Charlie, a guarded crossing points between East and West.
Both sides could do this under the Four Powers Agreement made after the Yalta Conference, but by constructing the Wall, Soviets broke the Agreement and there was tension over whether the East German guards were authorised to examine the documents of Americans passing through the checkpoint.
On 27 October 1961 the US stationed tanks on its side of Checkpoint Charlie.
Soviets responded with an equal force and Red Army tanks pulled up to their side of Checkpoint Charlie. All day long the two sides, with tanks and soldiers at the ready, faced each other in a tense stand-off. The crisis lasted for 18 hours until negotiations agreed that both sides would slowly withdraw.
On 26 June 1963, President Kennedy visited Berlin and made a speech where he stated that Berlin was a symbol of freedom and the struggle against communism. It was a strong message and put an end to Soviet hopes that the Western Allies would leave Berlin.
The Berlin Wall remained a symbol of Cold War tension until it was torn down in November 1989.
explain the cuban revolution
There was considerable American investment in Cuba and the USA was the chief consumer of Cuba’s sugar and tobacco.
In 1959 Batista (former cuban leader) was overthrown in a revolution led by Fidel Castro. One of Castro’s first moves was to go to the USA to secure support for his new state, but President Eisenhower refused to speak with him. At the United Nations office in New York, Castro talked to representatives of the Soviet Union, and offered their support for his new government. Castro had not been a communist before 1960, but was drawn to communism by the friendship and support offered by Khrushchev and his government.
Castro nationalised all American-owned companies in Cuba, and refused to pay compensation. The USA then had a communist state ‘in its own backyard’.
what was the us response to the cuban revolution
Trade embargo: The US imposed a trade embargo on Cuban goods, deprived Cubans of a market for their sugar and tobacco and the income to import oil and other essential goods
(This backfired on the Americans as it meant Cubans looked to the USSR for a market for their sugar. The Soviets were happy and were soon supplying Cuba with oil and weapons.)
The Bay of Pigs: April 1961, John F Kennedy invaded Cuba. The CIA landed 1,400 Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs on southern coast of Cuba to provoke an anti-communist uprising. The lack of air support meant the rebels were easily defeated when they were met by 20,000 heavily armed Cuban troops. All were captured or killed.
Kennedy looked weak and aggressive. - it makes him much less likely to back down in future.
