Three Cold War Crises Flashcards
What was life like in East Germany and East Berlin?
disadvantages
No other political parties were permitted
Media was controlled = couldn’t find out about the rest of the world
Freedom of expression was restricted
Consumer Goods = limited + often of poor quality
Subject to secret police (STASI)
What were the benefits of living in the East?
All citizens of the countries of Eastern Europe had a job
Rent, electricity, gas and telephone charges were minimal by Western standards
Public Transport = cheap + reliable
Prices were controlled at a low level
Why did refugees flee the East?
Forced collectivisation of agriculture and end of private trading = not popular
Shortage of consumer goods
Wages + Living standards were much higher in the West
What were most refugees?
Well-educated engineers Scientists Teachers Doctors Lecturers = people were known as 'defectors' = effect was known as 'brain drain'
Why did relations between the Soviet Union and USA worsen?
The U2 incident. A US spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. President Eisenhower lied about it. He said it was for weather reconnaissance not spying yet the pilot was alive and the plane was still largely intact. This was proof he was spying and lying.
Why was the Berlin Wall built?
The flow of refugees leaving the East was too large
It wouldn’t allow them to modernise its industry and agriculture at a fast rate.
How did the USA and Cuba act when Cuba became communist?
USA cut off aid to Cuba and refused to buy Castro’s cotton and tobacco
Cuba secured help from the Soviet Union
What was the Bay of Pigs?
USA trained Cuban exiles in preparation for an invasion of Cuba
Aim was to remove Castro
What was the effect of the Bay of Pigs?
Invasion failed
Exiles were either killed or captured
Kennedy was made to look foolish
What was the aim of Khrushchev’s policy of Peaceful Co-Existence?
An attempt to challenge the West
To prove that the Soviet system was better than capitalism
Improve relations between USA and the Soviet Union
How did the USA respond to Soviet missile bases being built in Cuba?
Kennedy imposed a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent Soviet missile and equipment from reaching Cuba.
What were the results of the Cuban missile crisis?
Test Ban Treaty was set up in 1963 and was signed by USA, USSR and Britain
Telephone link (Hot Line) was set up between the USA and USSR.
When did Alexander Dubcek come into power in Czechoslovakia?
5 January 1968
What reforms did Dubcek introduce to Czechoslovakia?
It was known as ‘socialism with a human face’
Freedom of movement Freedom of speech Freedom of assembly and religion Rehabilitation of victims of the purges End of the secret police Abolition of censorship Other political parties were allowed to run
What was the Soviet Union’s reaction to Dubcek’s reforms?
400,000 Warsaw Pact troops entered Czechoslovakia = arrested leading reformers and seized key towns and cities
Dubek and the Czech President was flown to Moscow to talk to Brezhnev = returned and announced reforms would be stopped
