The Rise and Fall of the Detente Era 1963-1984

Question 1

What was the period following the Cuban missile crisis up to 1975 known as?

Answer 1

The long peace

Question 2

What were aims for detente?

Answer 2

The US aims were to stabilise Europe in order to focus on the conflict in Vietnam, whereas the USSR was distracted by rivalry with China. French and other European powers wanted to use it to assert their independence from the superpowers

Question 3

What lead to toe Sino-soviet split?

Answer 3

Mao thought the soviets were appeasers of capitalism whereas the soviets felt that the Chinese wanted to overthrow them as the leading communist state - they fought a border conflict in 1969

Question 4

What happened in the Vietnam war?

Answer 4

By 1966 the US had placed over 500,000 troops in South Vietnam to contain the spread of communism from the north and fought a guerrilla war with vietcong fighters that caused a huge loss of life, morale and support from their own people, along with losing the support of NATO, leading to the US pulling out of the war in 1972 having failed to make significant progress and the south was eventually invaded by the north in 1975

Question 5

How did the US exploit the Sino-soviet split?

Answer 5

Nixon visited Mao in 1972 and agreed a rapprochement in relations, making the USSR seek improved relations

Question 6

What was the test ban treaty?

Answer 6

It was signed in 1963 and banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater and outer space. It was signed by Britain, the US and USSR but not by France and China

Question 7

What was the non proliferation treaty?

Answer 7

It was signed in July 1968 pledging not to transfer nuclear weapons to other countries or assist their manufacture signed by the US, Britain, the GDR and FRG

Question 8

What was SALT (I)?

Answer 8

It was signed in May 1972 and froze construction of missile launchers, intercontinental, submarine launched ballistic missiles and long range bombers. The USSR was allowed more missiles as the USA had more MIRVs that could hit multiple targets. They were only allowed two anti-ballistic missile screens

Question 9

What was SALT (II)?

Answer 9

It was created in June 1979 with further limitations but the US never ratified the treaty as the Soviets invaded Afghanistan

Question 10

Why did France withdraw from Nato?

Answer 10

In 1966 France withdrew from NATO and tried to weaken the US financially in order to enhance national prestige and end the bloc mentality of the Cold War. This almost led to a US withdrawal from Europe but Johnson persuaded the Senate to maintain a presence due to his negotiations with Brezhnev over arms limitations

Question 11

How did west Germany set about achieving reunification?

Answer 11

They felt that in detente the best way was to follow Brandt’s Ostpolitik, recognising the division of Europe and post war borders to gain better relations. They set up trade missions to Yugoslavia and Romania

Question 12

What was the Hamel report?

Answer 12

It was brought about in 1967 and committed NATO to defending the West but reaching detente with the east

Question 13

What was the Bucharest Declaration?

Answer 13

The USSR tried to stop independent initiatives from satellite states with the west through the declaration which tried to define what the whole bloc wanted from detente

Question 14

What happened in Czechoslovakia in 1968?

Answer 14

In January Dubcek became leader of the communist party and wanted to change their system to make it more democratic and independent of the USSR

Question 15

What was the Prague Spring?

Answer 15

It was a plan unveiled by Dubcek, opening the door to westernisation, along with abolishing censorship, leading to anti-soviet propaganda

Question 16

What happened in response to the Prague Spring?

Answer 16

On 20-21st August 1968 20 divisions of Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and ended the Prague spring, with Brezhnev justifying it in so far as a threat to socialism in one country was a threat to the others. Collective intervention was justified and the principle became known as the Brezhnev doctrine

Question 17

What did Willy Brandt do when he became Chancellor of the FRG?

Answer 17

He became chancellor with a full mandate for Ostpolitik, which he gained other nations support for by emphasising that he did not wish to quit NATO or EC

Question 18

What happened in August 1970?

Answer 18

The Moscow treaty was signed by the FRG and USSR declaring that they had no territorial claims and the Polish frontier was inviolable. The Soviets had their empire recognised but not without conceding that the FRG had the right to work for unification, and the Warsaw and Prague treaties saw similar agreements for Poland and Czechoslovakia

Question 19

What was the Four Power Treaty?

Answer 19

It was signed in Berlin in September 1971 and saw the USSR allow unimpeded traffic between West Berlin and FRG, along with recognition of the ties between between the two and the right of West Berliners to visit the East. USA, UK and France agreed that West Berlin was not legally part of the FRG

Question 20

What was the Basic Treaty?

Answer 20

It was signed in December 1972 in which the FRG recognised the GDR as an equal and sovereign state, with both being represented at the UN

Question 21

What were the Helsinki accords?

Answer 21

They were signed in August 1975 and had three ‘baskets’. The first insisted on the peaceful settlement of disputes and inviolability of borders, basket two stressed cooperation in economics, science, technology and the environment and basket three called for cooperation in humanitarian and cultural areas

Question 22

What did the soviets do in 1976?

Answer 22

They placed SS-20 medium range nuclear missiles in Central Europe which damaged relations and the US eventually put Pershing and Cruise missiles in Europe in 1983 after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan destroyed detente

Question 23

What were views taken to Reagan’s hard line approach?

Answer 23

Margaret thatcher supported it but the FRG and France were determined to not let it derail Ostpolitik

Question 24

What happened in 1980 in Poland?

Answer 24

Strikes broke out in the shipyards of Gdansk over price increases and the Polish government recognised the Solidarity movement as an independent trade union. membership of Solidarity rose to 8 million and it began to dismantle the communist party organisation from within

Question 25

What was the US response to actions in Poland?

Answer 25

They warned against Soviet intervention, saying that the Polish should be left to sort it out themselves, giving the new leader Jaruzelski the green light to declare martial law and in October 1983 Solidarity was outlawed, and the FRG went out of their way not to criticise the suppression of solidarity to maintain detente, unlike the US and the UK