The Cold War: Key Issue 3 Flashcards
Why did people defect from East Berlin?
They hated communists
living standards were better eg: WB full of consumer goods. EB ppl could watch WB TV
Hardline leader Ulbricht made leaving tempting
In 1950s East Germans could still travel freely
What sort of people were defectors?
Skilled valued workers; government couldn’t afford to lose these people
defectors fleeing communism undermined Khrushchev’s reputation.
How many defectors were there
2.5 million between 1950 to 61
Describe the events of the Berlin Wall
13th of August 1961
barbed wire fence put up between east and west Berlin, replaced by concrete wall
sealed to foreigners except checkpoint Charlie
100s killed over the next 30 years
guards were ordered to shoot defectors
What was the situation in October 1961? Berlin Wall
US troops crossed the wall.
had a tense 18 hour stand-off with soviet tanks. Slowly retreated
Kennedy said: wall is a whole lot better than war
What were the two contrasting views of the Berlin Wall?
The western view: prison wall
Communists: wall is a protective shell
Who was Batista?
A corrupt and and unpopular Cuban ruler till 1959
but opposed communism
had economic and military support from USA
Meanwhile who was Fidel Castro and what did he do in June 1959?
He was building support in the Sierra Mountains
June 1959 Castro entered the capital
Charming and ruthless, he won over the majority of Cubans
USA recognised Castro as the new leader
Why did relations between Cuba and America sour very quickly?
Castro nationalised land
took over US businesses
had really contrasting ideologies to America
1000s Cuban exiles demanded action against him in 1961
How did America try and undermine Castro’s government?
CIA supported Cuban exiles
They damaged sugar plantations
US companies in Cuba didn’t cooperate with businesses that used Russian materials
US media broadcasted endless criticism to Castro
How did Castro respond to America trying to undermine his government?
assured US people in Cuba their safety
allowed USA to keep naval base
1960 alliance: USSR agreed to give Cuba 100 million in economic aid
Also began receiving arms from the Soviet Union
USA spies knew
Describe events in the Bay of pigs
Kennedy supplied arms and transport for 1400 anti Communist exiles.
Exiles landed at the bay of pigs in April 1961
Met with 20,000 Cuban troops
Kennedy’s invasion was a big fail
Castro captured and killed them in days
What was Cuba like militarily?
Contained 1000s of soviet tanks and missiles and 5000 technicians
Cuba was the best equipped army in Latin America
USA watched with alarm
Describe the first chain of events in the Cuban missile crisis
Russia assured Kennedy there would be no nuclear missile sites
BUT U2 spy planes detected them in Cuba in October 14, 1962. Experts said they could be launched in 1 week. 80m Americans targeted
Oct 22-25: USA blockades Cuba
Describe what happened after USA blockaded Cuba
Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy, explaining missiles were purely defensive
Oct 27: Khrushchev said he’ll withdraw missiles if USA withdraw theirs from Turkey
Kennedy accepted but withdrew missiles 6 months later in secret.
Crisis ended Oct 28
Who replaced Khrushchev in 1964?
Khrushchev was forced to resign.
Replaced by Leonid Brezhnev
What was happening in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s?
People hated 20 years of hardline Communist control
1967: new leader Alexander Dubcek proposed socialism with a human face
But he didn’t plan to leave the Warsaw Pact for Comecon
What was the Prague spring?
Czech opposition= led by intellectuals
As censorship eased Communist leaders grilled on live TV about competence
This became known as the Prague spring because of new radical ideas
e.g. even talks of another political party to rival the Communist party
How did Russia respond to the Prague spring?
C was central with strong industry in the Warsaw Pact. New ideas spread?!
Urged Dubcek to slow reforms
Soviet, Polish, German troops did military exercises on C border
Planned £ sanctions like cancelling wheat exports to Czech
What happened 20th of August 1968?
Soviet tanks moved to C
little violent resistance
C people refused to cooperate with troops
Dubcek removed from power
What was the impact of the Prague spring?
Worse relations: USSR wont tolerate loss of E Europe control
WP members saw reforms not tolerated.
Ideas that could’ve changed communism silenced. Russia= backwards
A country once pro soviet now resented them
20 yrs later USSR leader Gorbachev spread ideas of the PS that were crushed in 1968.
What was detente?
Meant the easing of tension
In the late 1960s both countries accepted each other’s influence
List factors affecting detente
The cost of the Vietnam war crippled US economy
USSR expanded world trade to improve living standards
Realised extent of MAD
Both worried about China’s growing power
President Nixon was keen to talk about peaceful coexistence with Brezhnev
What was SALT 1?
Strategic arms limitation talks
Both superpowers must limit the amount of ICBMs they were making
An allowance of spying on both sides
A huge turning point towards relaxing tension
