The Cold War intensifies (1949-58)

Question 1

When was the Warsaw Pact formed, and what was it?

Answer 1

• 1955
• A military alliance formed by the Soviet Union to counter the threat of NATO
• The 8 members were: the USSR, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria

Question 2

What were 2 consequences of the creation of the Warsaw Pact?

Answer 2

• A joint command structure was set up under the Soviet Supreme Commander, so the countries could support each other if attacked
• The existence of 2 rival alliance systems (NATO and the Warsaw Pact) intensified the arms race

Question 3

What 2 developments were made in the arms race in 1945?

Answer 3

• The USA tests its first atomic bomb on the 16th July
• In August the USA uses 2 atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Question 4

In order to develop better weapons, what did the USSR do from 1946 to 1949?

Answer 4

• Soviet scientists were paid triple their usual wages to develop an atomic bomb

Question 5

What developments were there in the arms race in 1949?

Answer 5

• The USSR explodes its first A-bomb, which shocks Truman
• The USA increases its defence spending to build a more powerful weapon, and so does the USSR

Question 6

What development was there in the arms race in 1952?

Answer 6

• The USA had developed a H-bomb (more powerful)

Question 7

What development was there in the arms race in 1953?

Answer 7

• The USSR has a H-bomb by the end of the year

Question 8

What development was there in the arms race in 1954?

Answer 8

• The USA tests its biggest ever H-bomb (equivalent to 15 million tonnes of TNT)
• They are sure they have more nuclear weapons than the USSR

Question 9

Who described the arms race as a “balance of terror”? Why?

Answer 9

• Winston Churchill
• A single hydrogen bomb could destroy a whole city
• In the mid 1950s American B-52 bombers were stationed in Europe that could destroy Moscow
• The USSR was behind the USA in terms of nuclear development, but could still destroy them
• Both countries thought the other would try to make enough weapons to make a ‘first strike’ that would stop the other from retaliating

Question 10

What successes did the USSR have in the arms and space race in 1957?

Answer 10

• Successfully tested nuclear bombs transported by ballistic missiles (can travel long distances)
• Tested ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles)
• Sputnik 1 (a satellite) was successfully launched, and seen as a military threat by the Americans (and they therefore increased the number of B-52 bombers and nuclear bombs on submarines)
• Laika was the first dog in space, aboard Sputnik 2

Question 11

What developments did the USA make in the space race in 1958?

Answer 11

• Put more money into space research
• Set up NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
• First satellite launched

Question 12

When did Eisenhower become president?

Answer 12

• January 1953

Question 13

What shifts in power occurred in the 1950s in the Soviet Union, and how was this hoped to affect the Cold War?

Answer 13

• Stalin died in 1953
• Georgy Malenkov had been deputy leader, and took control
• Soviet policy stayed the same
• Within 2 years Khrushchev had taken power
• A year afterwards he denounced Stalin’s policies and referred to ‘de-Stalinisation’ in a secret speech
• He believed the 2 superpowers could co-exist peacefully, and there seemed to be a thaw in the Cold War

Question 14

What happened in terms of politics in Hungary after WW2?

Answer 14

• The provisional government towards the end of the war agreed to pay the Soviet Union $300 million in reparations
• The Hungarian Communist Party did not win the elections in November 1945, but the Smallholders’ Party (the winning party) was not allowed by Marshal Voroshilov (head of the occupying Soviet forces) to set up a government
• He instead set up a coalition with the communist party
• In February 1947 leaders of the Smallholders’ Party and National Peasant Party were arrested, and others fled
• In the next elections, the Communist Party had the most votes, but still had to set up a coalition government as they didn’t have a majority
• A new constitution was set up according to the Soviet system, and Hungary became a ‘republic of workers and working peasants’

Question 15

Who was the leader of Hungary from 1947, and what was he like?

Answer 15

• Matyas Rakosi was the leader of the Communist Party
• He called himself a follower of Stalin and became a dictator
• He took orders from Moscow and Hungary joined Cominform

Question 16

List 5 things Rakosi did while he was in control.

Answer 16

• Killed 2000 and imprisoned 200,000 political opponents in the purges
• The AVH (secret police) became part of Hungarian life
• Religious teaching in schools was attacked and Cardinal Mindszenty was imprisoned for life in 1949
• Rakosi tried to implement a Five-Year Plan focusing on heavy industry to strengthen the economy, but Hungary didn’t have the raw materials for this
• Living conditions worsened, and in 1952 Hungary experienced its lowest ever agricultural output

Question 17

What 3 things did the USSR do to Hungary under Rakosi?

Answer 17

• They controlled Hungary’s economy through Comecon
• They stopped them from trading with the West and receiving Marshall Aid
• Hungary was forced to trade with the Soviet Union under uneven terms, which was also happening to other satellite states

Question 18

How did the shifts in power in the USSR affect Hungary’s leadership?

Answer 18

• Malenkov didn’t like Rakosi
• He was replaced by Imre Nagy in 1953
• In 1955 Nagy was replaced with Rakosi
• Rakosi was removed from power in 1956, 4 months after Khrushchev’s secret speech
• He was replaced with his close fried Erno Gero

Question 19

When did the Hungarian Uprising begin, and list 2 ways people showed resistance.

Answer 19

23rd October 1956:
- Statue of Stalin was pulled down in Budapest and dragged through the streets
- Students demonstrated and demanded free elections and press, and the withdrawal of Soviet troops

Question 20

What were 2 ways Khrushchev responded to the uprising in Hungary?

Answer 20

• He sent troops and tanks to Budapest
• On 25th October the tanks open fired, which killed 12 and wounded over a hundred

Question 21

How did power shift again in 1956 in Hungary?

Answer 21

• On 25th October, Gero was forced to resign
• Janos Kadar become the temporary prime minister
• Nagy was reinstated the next day

Question 22

What were the 5 things Nagy did after returning to power in 1956?

Answer 22

• He held talks with the Soviet Union, who agreed to withdraw their tanks
• Nagy released political prisoners on 30th October, including Cardinal Mindszenty
• On October 31st he proposed the following reforms; freedom of speech, religion, press, elections (end of one party state), legalisation of trade unions, Hungary to become a neutral state and establishing trade links with the West
• Nagy wanted to withdraw Hungary from the Warsaw Pact, so he asked the UN to be involved so that the USSR was more likely to negotiate
• Nagy abolished the one-party state system, and on 3rd November announced a coalition government

Question 23

What did Khrushchev do in response to Nagy’s reforms?

Answer 23

• On 4th November 200,000 Soviet troops and 6000 tanks returned to Hungary

Question 24

List 5 reasons why Khrushchev decided to invade Hungary.

Answer 24

• The West was distracted with the Suez Crisis (Britain and France had landed troops in Egypt, and the USA was desperate for them to be removed)
• Mao Zedong (the leader of China) had been encouraging him to make sure communism was adhered to
• He wanted to be seen as strong to other members of the Warsaw Pact to discourage them from doing the same
• President Eisenhower was wary of joining a conflict due to the upcoming presidential elections
• Khrushchev needed to show his own authority to the USSR

Question 25

List 4 things that happened during the invasion of Hungary.

Answer 25

• The Soviet army quickly captured important areas like airports
• The Hungarians fought using guerrilla tactics, but were obviously no match for the Soviet troops
• They also sent pleas for help by radio to the West
• A ceasefire was agreed for 10th November

Question 26

What were 6 effects of the Hungarian Uprising for Hungary and the USSR?

Answer 26

• Small bits of fighting continued until mid-1957
• Janos Kadar became Hungary’s new leader as he was supported by the Soviets
• Nagy had been hiding in the Yugoslav embassy, but Kadar offered him safe passage out of Hungary, only to take it away, arrest him and have him hanged in Romania in 1958
• The Soviets lost 7000 troops
• At least 20,000 Hungarian rebels died
• Around 200,000 Hungarians fled the county and became political refugees in places like Austria

Question 27

What effect did the Hungarian uprising have in Eastern Europe?

Answer 27

• It made it clear that Khrushchev’s policy of de-Stalinisation would only go as far as he wanted
• Poland and Hungary only went through slow and gradual reform after 1956

Question 28

What were 4 international responses to the Hungarian Uprising?

Answer 28

• Demonstrations were held in the West in support of Hungarian protestors ( a US television presenter raised $6 million)
• Military intervention was a bad idea due to Hungary’s distance from the West and the risk of nuclear war
• It was hypocritical of the West to criticise the USSR’s actions in Hungary due to the Suez Crisis
• The UN convened an inquiry into the events of October and November 1956, but neither the Hungarian nor Soviet governments agreed to participate