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History > The Cold War- The three crisis -Berlin, Czechoslovakia and Cuba > Flashcards

The Cold War- The three crisis -Berlin, Czechoslovakia and Cuba Flashcards

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1
Q

CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1968-69
What was life like under the Communist regime of the
people of Czechoslovakia?

A
  • difficult, the country was run by the Soviet Union which used the secret police to maintain control
  • their economy was run for the benefit of the Soviet Union
  • there was no freedom of speech and radio, TV, newspapers were censored
  • purges carried out between 1949 and 1954 on the Soviet’s orders; victims included democratic politicians, military leaders, Catholics and Jews
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2
Q

What position was Alexander Dubcek elected to in 1968?

A

-head of the Czech government = was elected as first secretary of the communist party

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3
Q

How did the Soviet union feel about Dubcek being appointed?

A

-approved of Dubcek and trusted him to make the government more effective and less unpopular while keeping the country loyal to the Soviet Union

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4
Q

What did Dubcek believe?

A
  • he was committed to the Warsaw pact and a devoted communist
  • believed that communism was the right political path but should not make life miserable
  • said that communism should be “socialism with a human face”
  • thought citizens should be able to express their views without being punished by the government
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5
Q

What was the Prague Spring?

A

-the reforms Dubcek introduced were known as the Prague spring

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6
Q

What did Dubcek’s reforms include?

A
  • censorship was relaxed and criticism of government actions were allowed
  • trade unions given wider powers and Soviet control of industry was reduced
  • more power was given to the Czech regional government
  • Trade with the West increased
  • Czech people given greater freedom to travel abroad
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7
Q

The Prague spring was met with great enthusiasm by the Czech people, but how did Dubcek reassure the Soviet union?

A

-assured Moscow the Czech would remain in the Warsaw pact and was a loyal ally to the Soviet Union

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8
Q

Why was the Soviet leader, Brezhnev concerned about the Prague spring?

A
  • he disapproved many of the measures Dubcek was proposing
  • he thought that the other countries in the Warsaw pact would want similar reforms
  • The Soviet union was already losing control of Yugoslavia and Romania and thought they would also lose control of Czech
  • Brezhnev remained in contact and ordered Warsaw pact members to carry out manoeuvres to threaten Dubcek
  • when Dubcek invited Tito and Ceausescu to talk Brezhnev took action
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9
Q

What action did Brezhnev take about the Prague spring?

A
  • 500,000 Warsaw pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and ended the Prague Spring
  • Brezhnev ordered Czech troops to remain in barracks
  • invading forces said they had been invited to restore law and order
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10
Q

What happened to Dubcek after the Soviet invasion?

A
  • he was arrested and sent to Moscow to reverse his reforms

- removed from office in 1969 and replaced by Gustav Husak, an extreme communist

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11
Q

What were the impacts of the Soviet invasion on other Communist countries in Europe?

A
  • Yugoslavia and Romania condemned the invasion (strained relations with Moscow)
  • communist parties of France and Italy cut links with Moscow
  • East Germany and Poland welcomed Soviet’s actions; felt more secure as they would not be challenged by reformers
  • Soviet union took greater control of the country’s in the Warsaw pact (emphasised by the Brezhnev doctrine)
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12
Q

What was the impact on relations between Soviet Union and the USA of the Prague spring?

A
  • USA and other Western governments were angered by the invasion- many made strong protests to the Soviet Union
  • there was an attempt for formal resolution criticising the invasion in the United Nations however it was vetoed by the Soviet Union
  • The Soviet Union knew the USA would not take direct action despite them making protests
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13
Q

What was the impact on the USA’s international reputation of the Prague spring?

A
  • the USA was beginning to take a less confrontational approach to the Soviet Union
  • other countries saw the USA as keen to criticise but less prepared to take action
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14
Q

CUBA 1959-63

Should the Americans have supported Batista, leader of Cuba?

A
  • No, he ran a fascist inspired corporative state and was unpredictable
  • he disguised his power using puppet presidents and established a one party dictatorship
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15
Q

Why was Cuba important to America?

A
  • it is very close, within 50 miles of Florida
  • lots of land was owned by Americans and American businesses had heavily invested in Cuba
  • provided a naval base at Guantanamo
  • Cuba’s oil refineries, electricity and telephone networks controlled by America
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16
Q

What happened in 1959 and why was Eisenhower concerned?

A
  • a group of revolutionists, led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara overthrew Batista
  • Eisenhower was concerned because there were close links between Cuba and the US
  • the new leader of Cuba; Fidel, was a nationalist who did not want their economy to be run by Americans
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17
Q

What was the Bay of pigs incident?

A
  • On the 17th of April, 1961, the US sent in an invasion force of 1,400 Cuban exiles to overthrow the Castro regime
  • All had little military experience and were faced with an army of 20,000
  • Kennedy thought the Cubans would support him but they were happy with Castro
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18
Q

Why can the bay of pigs incident be described as a fiasco?

A
  • it was a humiliating and embarrassing failure for the US

- Khrushchev used the failure as propaganda

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19
Q

What were the effects of the bay of pigs incident?

A
  • led to stronger relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union
  • Castro declared himself as communist and asked the Soviet Union to help defend any attacks form the US
  • in September 1961, Khrushchev publicly announced he would supply arms to Cuba
20
Q

What happened on the 14th of October, 1962?

A
  • an American spy plane took pictures showing that the Soviet Union were building missile launch sites in Cuba
  • American intelligence agencies informed Kennedy that a fleet of Soviet ships were on its way carrying further supplies and equipment for the nuclear missile sites
21
Q

Why did Khrushchev choose to put missiles on Cuba?

A
  • in Europe, NATO had missile bases in Turkey, a short distance from the Soviet union.
  • Khrushchev wanted the US to feel under threat
  • the building of the Berlin wall was presented as a failure to Khrushchev, so he wanted to outwit America over Cuba
  • Khrushchev feared another American attack- if the Americans overthrew Castro it would be seen as another defeat of communism
22
Q

What happened on the 16th of October, 1961?

A

-Kennedy called together excomm to discuss how the US should react. They met every day for 13 days

23
Q

What happened on the 22nd of October, 1961?

A
  • Kennedy decided to set up a naval blockade around Cuba and no ships could pass through without US permission
  • Kennedy informed the US about the missiles on Cuba
24
Q

What did the Americans think would happen with the blockade?

A
  • they expected the Soviet union to ignore the blockade, then the US would have to sink their ships and war would follow
  • Kennedy was aware of this and prepared 54 bombers, each with 4 nuclear warheads in case war broke out
25
Q

What happened on the 23rd and 24th of October, 1961?

A
  • Khrushchev ordered the Soviet ships to turn around

- on the 24th of Oct0ber, when the US found out they had turned around, they were extremely relieved

26
Q

What happened on the 26th and 27th of October, 1961?

A
  • Khrushchev sent Kennedy a telegram offering to remove missiles from Cuba if the Americans agreed not to invade
  • another telegram arrived saying Khrushchev would remove the missiles if Kennedy removed the ones in Turkey
  • an American U-2 plane was shot down over Cuba, the Hawks demanded military action but Kennedy refused
  • the missiles were removed form Turkey however thus part of the deal was kept secret
27
Q

What were the consequences of the Cuban missile crisis?

A
  • it made it clear what could happen if the US and the Soviet Union continued to follow a policy of brinkmanship
  • led to the world becoming a safer place and a change in the relations between Kennedy and Khrushchev
  • many saw Kennedy as a great statesman who had stood up to the communists
  • Khrushchev saw it as a victory as he had saved Cuba from invasion and removed missiles in Turkey
28
Q

How did the two superpowers make sure future misunderstandings would not lead to war?

A
  • In June 1963, a direct communications line was set up between Moscow and Washington
  • in 1968, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was signed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons
29
Q

BERLIN 1958-63

What were the main differences between East and West Germany?

A
  • West Germany was democratic, East Germany under communist control by then Soviet Union
  • West Germany received Marshall aid and became a wealthy country. East Germany did not.
  • There were limits on what people could say and do in East Germany and the secret police kept a close watch on the actions of ordinary citizens
  • in 1953, there were riots in East Germany
30
Q

How many people migrated to West Germany from the East in 1958?

A

-3 million East Germans (over a sixth of the country’s entire population)

31
Q

Why did Khrushchev have to stop people from leaving East Germany?

A
  • East Germany was losing valuable people

- communism was facing a propaganda disaster because people were making it clear they preferred the capitalist West

32
Q

What happened in November 1958?

A

-Khrushchev demanded that Western countries should officially recognise East Germany as an independent country however the Western countries still believed Germany could be reunited

33
Q

When did Khrushchev issue his Berlin ultimatum and what did it demand?

A
  • 27th of November
  • demanded that Berlin should be demilitarised and Western troops withdrawn
  • demanded that Berlin should become a free city
34
Q

What were the impacts of the Berlin ultimatum?

A

-the West were angered by Khrushchev’s demands and saw his actions as another example of how the Soviet union were seeking to expand communism

35
Q

When was the Geneva summit meeting and what happened?

A
  • May 1959

- both sides made proposals on how Berlin should be governed, but no agreement was made

36
Q

When was the camp David summit meeting and what happened?

A
  • September 1959
  • Eisenhower and Khrushchev met face to face for the first time. There was still no agreement on how Berlin should be ruled however the Soviets did agree to withdraw the Berlin ultimatum
  • the meeting established better relations between the two leaders
37
Q

What happened with the U-2 incident and the Paris summit meeting?

A
  • in May 1960, the Soviet union shot down an American U-2 spy plane as it flew over the Soviet union
  • the Americans tried to claim it was a weather plane however the Soviet union interrogated the pilot who admitted to being on a spying mission
  • Eisenhower was embarrassed but refused to apologise
  • Khrushchev walked out of the Paris summit meeting with no decisions made
38
Q

What did Khrushchev think of Kennedy?

A
  • thought Kennedy was inexperienced in foreign affairs and that it would be possible to get an advantage over him
  • knew that Kennedy’s reputation had suffered with the bay of pigs incident so in Vienna 1961, Khrushchev renewed the Berlin ultimatum
39
Q

What was Kennedy’s response to the renewing of the Berlin ultimatum?

A
  • extremely concerned by what Khrushchev was doing but was determined to not appear weak
  • refused to make any concessions and the meeting ended with no decision once again
  • After Vienna, Kennedy increased spending on armed forces by over $2 billion and it seemed that the USA was prepared to fight over Berlin
40
Q

How many more people migrated from East to West in one day as tensions increased between the US and the Soviet union?

A

-In August 1961, 40,000 East Germans crossed to the West in one day

41
Q

When did the building of the Berlin wall start?

A
  • On the night of the 12th August 1961, East German troops built a barbed wire fence around Berlin and between East and West
  • work on a concrete soon begun which would be 165km
42
Q

What were the impacts of the Berlin wall?

A
  • while it was being built many more people made escape attempts
  • East and West were separated by a zone called ‘no mans land’, packed with booby traps, barber wire, minefields and guarded by 100s of lookout towers
  • people could not visit each other across the wall
  • over 130 people killed trying to cross the wall
43
Q

What were the impacts on relations between East and West Germany due to the Berlin wall?

A
  • outrage in West Germany and relations with East Germany worsened
  • however in some ways improved relations as the issue of refugees crossing was over and once the protests were over there was a chance for relations to improve
  • the wall became an important symbol of the cold war, the iron curtain was no longer a metaphorical barrier but now a physical one
44
Q

What were the impacts on the two superpowers of the Berlin wall?

A
  • Kennedy accepted Soviet action despite it breaking the four power agreement on Berlin.
  • Kennedy refused to use American troops to pull down the wall fearing it might lead to war. This made him look weak.
  • Americans able to use the wall for propaganda purposes; if communism was such an ideal system, why was it necessary to cage people in?
  • Kennedy warmly applauded when he visited West Belin; it was clear the US were committed to the people of West Berlin
  • Khrushchev believed Kennedy’s response was weak however he had failed to remove them from West Berlin
  • the wall sent a message that communism would survive in Berlin
45
Q

When was the Soviet invasion on the Prague spring?

A

-20th August, 1968

History (11 decks)

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