The cold war in the 1950s Flashcards
The Korean war - causes
After the end of the Japanese occupation from Korea in 1945, Korea was divided into North and South along the 38th parallel, with the USSR constantly supporting the North with aid and equipment, and the US reciprocating but to the south. Truman was determined to stop the spread of communism (containment) and was afraid that if South Korea were to fall under communist influence, other Asian countries could follow.
On 25th June 1950, North Korea invaded the South, and the US quickly called on the United Nations to come up with a response. The final result was that a UN force consisting of troops from 16 countries would be dispatched to help the South Koreans, the USSR was not present in this meeting so was not able to veto the decision despite being one of the five permanent members.
The UN troops mostly American, pushed the North Korean forces back across the 38th parallel almost up to the Chinese border, before Mao Zedong launched a surprise attack and halted their advance. In the end, after another 2 years, the 38th parallel was once again established as the border between the two countries.
Korean war - impacts (on superpower relations)
Both superpowers after the proxy war spent millions more on their military budget, with the US seeing their defence budget tripled, and the USSR responding by increasing their army size by over 2 million. The war exacerbated relations significantly, both countries were very sceptical of an imminent attack from the other and as a result, invested heavily in their military budgets which would make each of them more of a threat to the other than before, this would ultimately amount to an arms(nuclear) race and aggravate relations even more.
The Korean War also led to the establishment or consolidation of important military alliances which further divided the two superpowers and differentiated clearly the allegiance of countries around the world. The Southeast Asia treaty organization (SEATO) was established, which included Asian countries like Indonesia and Australia, along with the USA. This was again aimed at stopping the spread of communism. Furthermore, with the membership of West Germany in NATO, the Warsaw pact which included all of the countries in Eastern Europe and USSR was established, the pact obliged all member countries to aid or defend any other member country who was being attacked. Both alliances made the dichotomy between the US and the USSR manifest and it halted the plans of both countries (USSR to spread communism, the US to contain and revert countries subject to it), therefore worsening relations.
Arms race - impacts
Positive impact - With the development of weapons able to cause calamitous destruction, a new doctrine called mutually assured destruction (MAD) emerged in which the creation of these weapons of mass destruction and the arms race could act as a deterrent for both countries and lead to a somewhat impasse, where both countries understood the risks of firing these weapons and therefore would not. Arms race acted as a deterrent for all-out war which would’ve eased tensions slightly as neither country would feel as threatened by the other.
Negative impact - worsened relations as both countries were trying to outbid the other, and the threats both countries were actively trying to pose to each other no doubt deepened the mistrust between the two countries Moreover with the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, both countries could have their domestic areas threatened by the other, this would most likely cause a public commotion and lead to the governments of both countries more compelled to oppose, therefore increasing tension.
New leaders and their sentiments
US: Eisenhower - determined to stop the expansion of communism but also aware of the threats nuclear war poses
USSR: Kruschev - publically criticised Stalin’s policy, and suggested there could be peaceful coexistence with the West. Briefly reduced relations but quickly subisded
The warsaw pact
-After the allowance of West Germany into NATO, Stalin became increasingly worried as West Germany was on the border of Soviet territory and posed as a threat. This led to the creation of the Warsaw pact, a military alliance consisting of most of the Eastern European countries now known as the eastern bloc.
Warsaw pact - effects
- Worsened the relations between the two superpowers as the divide was made clear now in the form of military alliances. The threat of alliances amounted to much more than individual countries and as a result, deepened the mistrust. Europe was utterly divided, with Western Europe siding with the US to stop communism and the USSR and the East to spread communism.
Hungarian uprising - causes
After the liberalisation of Hungary from German occupation in 1945 by the USSR, Hungary had since become one of the many countries in Eastern Europe to be under heavy soviet control and subsequently became a satellite state.
However, after Kruschev’s speech publicly criticizing Stalin and his harsh reforms and pushing for relaxation in authoritarian control in satellite states, many countries in the Warsaw pact began introducing reforms such as Poland, this then eventually encouraged the people of Hungary to protest for more reformations.
The protests in 1956 about lack of political freedom, shortage in harvest soon became very severe and Kruschev saw that it posed a threat to the security of the Warsaw pact. He subsequently sent the red army into Hungary to restore order, despite not directly conforming to any of the demands of the Hungarian people, he appointed a new person to be in charge of Hungaria - Nagy, who despite being communist, believed in liberty and more personal/political freedoms.
In the October of 1956, Nagy announced and enacted a series of reforms which included a lax in authoritarianism and neglect of personal freedoms, but also a withdrawal from the Warsaw pact and leaving Hungaria to be a neutral country.
However, these reforms made Kruschev extremely concerned for the safety and security of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw pact. Kruschev hence ordered the invasion of Hungary. The people of Hungary put up a fight but their defeat was imminent and the red army soon regained control, the USA did not intervene physically despite Nagy begging them to, but did heavily criticise the actions of the USSR. A pro-government was established under Janos Kadar and Nagy was executed.
Hungarian uprising - impacts and effects
The Hungarian uprising strengthened enormously Kruschev position in the USSR and the Soviet Union’s position in the Warsaw pact much stronger. Members of the Warsaw pact were now much more afraid to rebel or oppose the USSR, especially because the US chose not to intervene. This solidified the position of the Warsaw pact as a direct competition to the military alliances formed in the West such as NATO. This definitely worsened relations as a solidification of the Eastern bloc meant that any hopes for the US of driving back communism and prevention of further spread was now much less likely
However The Hungarian uprising also reflected badly on the west and the US’s image, it showed that despite the US constantly encouraging communist countries to rebel against the USSR, they are unwilling to act on their own, take risks and make sacrifices that would directly affect them. It meant that Eastern countries were less likely to rebel and it showed weakness on the part of the US.
