The ‘thaw’ Flashcards
Why did the Hungarian people rebel?
- led by Rakoski - hard-line Stalinist who did not tolerate any opposition
- Hungary was a Catholic country and religion was banned by the USSR
- secret police
- poor economy
- some saw de-Stalinisation as an opportunity to bring change for the country
When was Stalin’s death? Who replaced him?
1956
Nikita Khrushchev
What was de-Stalinisation?
Following Stalin’s death, Khrushchev critics Stalin’s brutality and suggested a more open and peaceful approach from the government.
When was the Hungarian uprising?
23 October 1956
What did the Hungarian people want from their uprising in 1956?
- greater freedoms and civil rights
- the removal of Rakosi and the returned of the exiled Nagy (a communist who supported reform)
- the withdrawal of Soviet troops
What were the initial results of the uprising?
- Soviet tanks withdrew
- Nagy made prime minister
- protesters called for even greater reforms
- Nagy agreed to withdraw from the Warsaw pact
How did Khrushchev respond to Nagy’s decision to leave the Warsaw Pact?
- thought this decision went too far
- worried other members would be inspired to follow Hungary’s example
- sent Soviet tanks into Hungary
- these quickly crushed the uprising
- Nagy forced from power and executed
- replaced by another leader who was completely loyal to Moscow and dealt harshly with opposition
How did the West respond to the events in Hungary in 1956?
- Hungary was within Soviet sphere of influence
- USA wouldn’t interfere as it risked direct conflict with Moscow
- UN discuses the issue and held a vote calling for the USSR to withdraw however the USSR simply vetoed rhis
- condemned the USSR’s actions but could do nothing to stop them
How did the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 affect East-West relations?
- despite his calls for peaceful coexistence between East and West and the process of de-Stalinisation, Khyrsuh had shown that he was willing to do anything to keep countries under Moscows control
- USA has established that it would not interfere with events behind the Iron Curtain
What event causes the ‘thaw’ to come to an abrupt end?
The U2 Crisis
What was a U2 plane?
- US spy plane
- their most effective method of gathering intelligence
- could fly at very high altitudes
- able to photograph weapons development without detection
What was the name of the pilot who flew the U2 plane that was shot down?
Gary Powers
When was the U2 crisis?
1 May 1960
What happened in the U2 crisis?
- the Russians shot down a U2 spy plane with a missile
- Powers (pilot) fails to self-destruct and gets caught by the Soviets
- Powers is sentences to 10 years in a Soviet prison
What did the Americans initially claim when confronted by Khrushchev? What did Eisenhower then refuse to do after admitting it was a spy plan?
They claimed it was simply a weather plane that had strayed into Soviet territory despite clear evidence that this was spurious
The next day, the US government admitted that it was a spy plane.
Eisenhower refused to apologise.
How did the U2 crisis affect the Paris Peace Summit?
- the crisis completely overshadowed the event
- Khrushchev was highly critical of Eisenhower describing him as a ‘thief caught red-handed in his theft’
- Khrushchev walked out of the summit before any discussions could take place
What else did Khrushchev do following the Paris Peace Summit in response to the U2 crisis?
- cancelled what was to be a historic trip by the US president to the USSR
- refused to meet the US president again after Eisenhower promised only to suspend the flights
What were the consequences of the U2 crisis and the failed Paris Peace Summit on Eisenhower?
- he loses the election
- he’s criticised for being too soft with the Soviets
What is McCarthyism?
a campaign to root out communists carried out under Senator McCarthy
Why was there a red scare in the 1950s?
- many Americans worries that communism might spread to the USA
- a member of government, Alger Hiss was found to have passed secrets to the USSR
- two American were executed for being Soviet spies
What was the HUAC?
- committee designed to search for communists working for the overnment
- ‘security risks’ could be sacked immediately
- none were ever found to be spies
- association with a HUAC was enough to disgrace citizens and lose them their job
- refusal to answer questions to the HUAC resulted in a 1 year jail sentence
