Superpower Relations

About this Revision bookletThis book will provide an overview of three key topics

Key Topic 1 – Examines the origins of the Cold War, including the conferences of Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam, the ideological differences between the superpowers, the importance of the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe, the causes, events, and consequences of the Berlin Crisis of 1948-49, the formation of rival alliances including NATO and Warsaw Pact and the early arms race.

Key Topic 2 – focuses on the Cold War crises of 1958-70 including the causes, events, consequences and significance of the Berlin Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall 1958-61, the Cuban missile Crisis of 1962 and the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia

Key Topic 3 – concentrates on the period 1970-91 and the end of the Cold War, including the attempts to reduce tension between the superpowers in the 1970’s and 1980’s, flashpoints such as Afghanistan and the Second Cold War, and the collapse of Soviet control of Eastern Europe, especially Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’ and the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This Revision Guide has been designed to help you achieve the best possible grade in

your GCSE

It is meant to be used with your notes from

lessons AND additional readings or Youtube

clips You will find Tasks to complete as well as

you work through this!

Now get on with it!

TOP Revision tips: The Cold War is a tough topic to revise, so here are some tips to help you: 1. Make sure you highlight ALL the US President and USSR's leaders names, and get them in order. 2. Check you understand the Doctrines – Truman Doctrine, Carter Doctrine, Brezhnev Doctrine. 3. Do try and learn the acronyms – MAD, NUTS, SDI. 4. Learn the key dates – for example, in 1961 both the Berlin Wall and Bay of Pigs occurred. I remember this by thinking “ the 2 Bs happened in 1961”. As for Cuba – Batista was overthrown by Castro. BC! (Get it?) 5. Mind map different areas – do one for Beginning of the Cold War; Detente; Czechoslovakia; Cuba; Berlin; Reagan and Star Wars. These are suggestions- feel free to mind map how you wish. 6. Think about causes and consequences – how did the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan trigger the collapse of Detente? How did the crisis of the early 1960s lead to better relations? 7. Don't be afraid to ask for assistance if needed. TASK: Read through the Key questions and answer each in your books and then tick your understanding once completed

TOPIC – UNIT and Key Questions

KEY TOPIC 1: The Origins of the Cold War

1. Early Tension between East and West – Key Questions

What was the Cold War? (P. 7) What were the differences between the two superpowers? (P. 8) What were the Three Conferences and their outcomes? (P. 10-12) How did the Long and Novikov Telegrams impact relations

between the two sides? (P. 15) How did the Soviets control eastern European countries? (P. 16-

17) What was the Iron Curtain speech? (P. 18)

2. The Development of the Cold War 1947-49 – Key Questions

What was the Truman Doctrine and its consequences? (P. 20-21) What was the Marshall Plan and its consequences? (P. 22-23 How did the Soviets respond (C and C)? (P.24) What was the Berlin Crisis of 1948-49? (P.25-28) What are the consequences of NATO?

3. The Cold War Intensifies 1949-58 – Key Questions

What was the Warsaw Pact? (P.31) How did the Arms Race develop? (P. 32-33) How did Sputnik impact relations? (P.33) Why did the Hungarian Uprising occur in 1956? (P. 34-35) What were the results of the invasion? (P. 36-38)

KEY TOPIC 2: The Cold War Intensifies, 1958-70

4. The Berlin Crisis 1961 – Key Questions

Why did the Berlin crisis occur in 1958-59? (P. 40-41) Why was the Berlin wall built, and what were the consequences

of this? (P. 42-43) How did the Berlin Crisis come to an end?

5. The Crisis over Cuba 1962 – Key Questions

What was the Cuban revolution? (P. 46) Why was the Bay of Pigs a disaster? What was the consequence

of this invasion? (P. 47-49) What were the main events of Cuban Missile Crisis? (P. 50-51) What were the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis? (P. 52)

6. The Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia 1968 – Key Questions

Who was Antonin Novotny and Alexander Dubcek? (P. 54-55)

What were the Prague Spring Reforms? (P. 56) How did the other countries react to these reforms? (P. 57) Why was the Brezhnev Doctrine so important? (P. 59) What were the consequences of the Soviet invasion of

Czechoslovakia? (P. 60-61)

KEY TOPIC 3: The End of the Cold War 1970-91

7. Attempts to Reduce Tension between East and West

What were the reasons for Détente? (P. 64) What were the successes and limitations of SALT 1? (P. 66) What were the THREE key international issues dealt with at

Helsinki? (P. 70) What was SALT II and why did it not get officially signed? (P. 71)

8. Flashpoints between East and West

What were the causes of the Afghanistan invasion? (P. 76-77) What was the Carter Doctrine? (P. 78) How did the election of Ronald Reagan impact the Cold War? (P.

80-81) What was the Zero Option, Polish Solidarity and Evil Empire

speech? (P. 82) What was SDI and how did the Soviets react to it? (P. 83)

9. The Collapse of Soviet Control of Eastern Europe

Who was Mikhail Gorbachev? (P. 72) What was the impact on Eastern Europe of Gorbachev’s ‘new

thinking’? (P. 84-89) How did Gorbachev attempt to save the Soviet Union and what

was the response to this? (P. 88) Why did the Warsaw Pact end? (P. 89)

Key Dates: 1941 – Grand Alliance 1943 – Tehran Conference 1945 – Yalta Conference 1945 – Potsdam Conference 1947 – Truman Doctrine/Marshall Plan 1947 -COMINFORM 1948-9 Berlin Blockade 1949 – COMECOM 1949 – NATO forms 1955 – Warsaw Pact forms 1956 – Hungarian uprising 1961 – Berlin Wall 1961 – Bay of Pigs crisis 1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis 1968 – Prague Spring 1967-1980 – Detente (make sure you understand the treaties!!!) 1979 – Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 1980 – Moscow Olympics Boycott 1984 – LA Olympics Boycott 1981 – Reagan becomes President 1986 – Mikhail Gorbachev becomes USSR Leader 1989 – Fall of the Berlin Wall 1991 – End of the USSR/Cold War

US Presidents: Key incidents that happened during their tenure are in brackets!!

Harry S Truman signing the Truman Doctrine into

existence

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Grand Alliance) Harry Truman (Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Containment, Berlin Blockade) Dwight D Eisenhower (Hungarian uprising, Berlin Wall) John F Kennedy (Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs) Lyndon B Johnson (Prague Spring) Richard Nixon (Detente policies until 1974) Gerald Ford (Detente 1975-1977) Jimmy Carter (Soviet invasion of Afghanistan – end of Détente, Carter Doctrine, Moscow Olympics Boycott) Ronald Reagan (Star Wars Program (SDI), Defence spending) George Bush (End of the Cold War)

USSR Leaders: Joseph Stalin (Grand Alliance, Conferences, Soviet Satellite states, Cominform and Comecon, Berlin Blockade, early arms race, Sputnik) Nikita Khruschev – removed from power in 1964 (Warsaw Pact, Hungarian Uprising, Berlin Ultimatum, Berlin Wall, Cuban Missile Crisis)Leonid Brezhnev (Czechoslovakia invasion, Brezhnev doctrine, Détente, Afghanistan invasion, Moscow Olympics Boycott)Yuri Andropov – leader for less than two years 1982-84Konstantin Chernenko – 1984-85.Mikhail Gorbachev – last leader of the USSR – (New Thinking, Summit Conferences, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Collapse of the Soviet Union)

The Origins of the Cold War

What is a Superpower?

Superpower is the name given to the USA and the USSR after the Second World War. It was based upon their geographical size, population, military might and the part that the two had played in winning the Second World War.

They were easily the most powerful countries in the world and possessed the technology to fight an atomic war. They dominated world affairs from the 1940s to the 1980s.

They led rival groups of countries in the world, which represented different social and economic systems.

Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia has no longer been considered a superpower, but since the 1970s, China has been added.

The Causes of the Cold War:

Both sides feared the other was out to destroy it. The Soviets believed the west was out to destroy communism. The West believed the Soviets wanted to spread communism around the world.

Tehran Conference 1943The Teheran Conference Decisions were made about the war with Germany (WW2) USA & Britain would open up a second front by invading France in May 1944

(France was occupied by the Nazis) USSR would help the USA fight Japan after the Germans had been defeated. The Soviets should have a “Sphere of Influence” in Eastern Europe Britain/America should have a “Sphere of Influence” in Western Europe The Big Three disagreed on the treatment of Germany!

o Stalin – took the view Germany needed to be punished. He felt Germany should give up land and also pay reparations.

o Roosevelt/Churchill – argued Germany should be re-built. They believed a prosperous Germany would lead to a peaceful Europe

The Yalta Conference February 1945The Grand Alliance met to discuss & decide what to do with Germany once it had been defeated….

Germany would be divided into 4 zones (British, French, American and Soviet) Berlin would also be split into 4 zones, because it was inside the Soviet zone of

Germany Nazi war criminals would be hunted down and put on trial in an international court

of justice Countries which had been occupied by the Nazis, which had since been freed by

Soviet troops (the Red Army) would have free elections to choose their new governments. There was some disagreement over Poland.

Stalin wanted to take part of eastern Poland, and add it to the USSR and Poland would be compensated by giving it 25% of Germany’s land.

Stalin used the excuse that the USSR needed to turn Poland into a buffer zone, to protect the USSR from another possible German invasion in the future (Poland was sandwiched in between the USSR and Germany). Germany had already invaded the USSR twice, in 1914 and 1941. Roosevelt and Churchill were not keen on this idea.

All 3 agreed to join the United NationsYALTA: THE PROBLEMS

The Americans and Soviets interpreted it differently. The Agreement talked about the need for ‘democracy’ and ‘free elections’. To Roosevelt this meant the American system of free speech. Stalin's idea of democracy was a communist one where the communist party represented the people and no opposition was allowed.

Yalta raised false expectations in the USA. They were bitterly disappointed when Stalin did not allow western-style governments to be set up in Eastern Europe.

It tried to achieve compromise over Poland, which turned out not to be possible. Either Poland was democratic or it was friendly towards the USSR. Leading figures in Polish society were anti-Russian. Stalin knew that he could only make sure that Poland was friendly by destroying freedom of speech.

War of Words

1946 – Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech, delivered at Fulton argued that Europe was divided between two armed camps and that cities and countries under the Soviet Sphere of Influence are subject not just to Soviet influence but to a very high degree of control from Moscow. Stalin was not impressed with this speech and declared that it was antagonistic in nature. 1946 – Stalin’s election speech comparing Churchill and his friends to Hitler and his associates

Potsdam Conference August 1945The three leaders (Attlee, Truman and Stalin) met at Potsdam, near Berlin, between 17 July and 2 August 1945. This was the last of the great wartime summit meetings. It showed how the wartime alliance was changing by the different leaders – Roosevelt (died) replaced by Harry S Truman, Churchill (lost general election) replaced by Clement Attlee.Personality clash: Truman the new President of the USA was fiercely anti-communist. He was not prepared to negotiate with Stalin. This in turn angered Stalin greatly.

Decisions were made about the reparations Germany was to pay…. Stalin wanted high reparations, to make Germany weak (since Germany

had invaded the USSR twice in the last 50 years). The USA & Britain wanted to keep Germany economically strong, so it would be a buffer against the spread of Communism.

It was agreed that Germany would pay reparations mostly to the USSR, in the form of equipment and materials.

Other agreements were made about the future of Germany…. Germany was to be demilitarised, and democracy brought back The Nazi Party was banned. Trials for Nazis accused of war crimes went

ahead in Nuremberg, 1946. Poland continued to be a source of disagreement….

Stalin had already set up a Communist government in Poland, despite him agreeing at Yalta that Nazi occupied countries like Poland would have free elections! Lots had changed since Yalta, which had a negative impact on relations….

USA tested the first atomic bomb before the conference…Stalin was angry that he hadn’t known beforehand. Truman informed Stalin about it, but did not share the technology. This made Stalin suspicious of the West and encouraged him to begin an Arms Race to compete with the USA and their atomic weapons.

SecretTelegrams1946 – Long Telegram, from George F. Kennan the American Ambassador in Moscow.

Stalin had given a speech calling for the destruction of capitalism There could be no peace with the USSR while it was opposed to

capitalism The USSR was building up its military power The contents of the telegram became the basis for American foreign

policy during Truman’s Presidency

1946 – Novikov’s Telegram, from the Soviet Ambassador Nikolia Novikov in Washington DC. The telegram stated

American desired to dominate the world The American government was not interested in cooperation since

Roosevelt’s death America is building up its forces at home and abroad.

1945-1947: The Soviet Union’s expansion into eastern Europe Between 1945 and 1948 the USSR took over several countries in Eastern Europe, and took control of others… The USSR took over Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and part of Eastern Poland, adding

these to the USSR’s territory. Other countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia were taken control of. Communist governments were slyly set up in these countries, and their economies started to be run for

the USSR’s benefit. Soon, these countries were little more than areas of the USSR (called satellites). Together, the land controlled/ owned by the USSR in Eastern Europe became known as the Soviet Communist bloc, or Eastern bloc.

Stalin claimed that the Soviet Union’s expansion was defensive... He pointed out that before WW2 these

countries had had anti-Soviet governments, and some had helped the Germans invade the USSR in 1941, during WW2 (eg. Hungary). Therefore, he was only trying to ensure that these countries now had governments which were loyal to the USSR!

It was easy for the USSR to take control of these countries – the Red Army had liberated them from Nazi control. Instead of leaving, the Red Army continued to occupy these countries long after the end of the war. But what about the free elections that Stalin had promised at Yalta?

1947 – Development of the Cold WarAmerica began pushing for CONTAINMENT of Communism – the idea that Communism would be restricted to one area of the world. Truman believed Stalin was intending to encourage Communist revolutions across the whole of Europe – after the devastation of WWII, countries such as Italy, France, Greece, Turkey and the UK were suffering real hardship. Communism could be appealing in these countries as it insisted the wealth of the richest should be shared amongst the poorest. Truman's response was to construct a policy which he believed would keep Communism in its place.The Truman Doctrine This was a policy carried out by the USA to stop communism spreading by using military force. Truman said he would send troops to any country that was being threatened (that faced being taken over by) communists. This would ‘contain’ communism, stopping it from spreading, so it is sometimes called the policy of containment. It showed that Truman believed countries in eastern Europe had been forced into communism by the USSR. The policy was partly inspired by the civil war in Greece. Greece (Britain’s trading area) was being threatened by a communist takeover, and the British asked the USA for financial help to help fight the communists. The USA sent military & economic resources to Greece, resulting in the defeat of Greek communists.

Initially the doctrine was applied to Europe and the Middle East. Eventually, it was extended to the whole world and led to war in Korea and Vietnam.The Truman Doctrine was driven by a belief in the ‘Domino Theory’ which suggests that countries would individually fall to communism or outside pressures from the USSR if left unchecked and that once one country fell others would follow suit. The USA would prevent this from occurring. It was believed that it was America’s duty to pretect democracies from the threat of communism. It would do this by providing money, aid, advisors, or even weapons to any country threatened by communism. An example of this would be Turkey, where the US put Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in Turkey, which was right on the border of the USSR. The Marshall Plan This was a policy (plan) by the USA to give countries a total of $17 billion to help them repair war damage and get their economies back on their feet after WW2. It wasn’t just the USA being generous – Truman reckoned that if countries weren’t poor, they wouldn’t be attracted to communism. It also benefitted the USA as countries taking the money had to agree to trade with the USA. Communist countries were offered this aid too, but Stalin/Comecon stopped them from accepting it. Stalin didn’t want communist countries being more dependent on the USA than the USSR.The Marshall Plan aimed to;

Raise living standards in western Europe to reduce the appeal of communism

To weaken Soviet control over Eastern Europe To rebuild Germany To help the US economy by increasing US exports to Europe

What was Stalin’s Reaction to the Marshall Plan?Stalin called the Marshall Plan ‘Dollar Imperialism’ and claimed the USA was trying to control industry and trade in Europe. He believed that it sought to undermine communism and promote the spread of capitalism across the globe. He refused to accept any economic aid and stopped any Eastern Bloc country from applying for it. To try to prevent any eastern European countries applying for aid and to strengthen his grip on the countries on his borders Stalin offered help and support to eastern Europe by setting up two organisations, Cominform (1947) and Comecon (1949).CominformThis was an organisation set up by the USSR. It was designed to help spread communism and protect communist countries from American interference. All of the communist governments in the satellite states were put under the control of the USSR. Leaders of these governments were replaced if they were not seen as being

loyal to Stalin. This showed that Stalin wanted total control of the communist world, and would not put up with any opposition.ComeconThis was an organisation set up by the USSR to unite all the economies of Eastern Europe. This organisation controlled what each country produced and sold. It worked to the benefit of the USSR, not to the benefit of the satellite states themselves. This meant that there was a lack of competition in industry, leading to poor quality goods, a shortage of goods and a lower standard of living for the people living in those countries. TASK

1948-49: The Berlin Crisis/Blockade/AirliftCauses;

Berlin, like the rest of Germany, had been divided into four zones of occupation. This had been decided at the Yalta Conference. As Berlin was in the Soviet zone of Germany, the West (US, Britain, France) depended on the USSR to keep open the routes going in and out of Berlin from the western zones of Germany.This went wrong when the Superpowers disagreed about how far Germany’s economy should be allowed to recover. The USA, Britain and France had joined their zones together (Trizonia), and launched a new currency called the Deutschmark, to help their zones recover from the war. This was what they were doing in West Germany, with the help of Marshall Aid. They wanted a strong West Germany & West Berlin, to protect against the spread of communism. In 1948 the Allies started to draw up a new constitution for Germany.Stalin saw a rich West Germany as a threat to the USSR. What if Germany attacked the USSR again? He wanted the western allies out of Berlin altogether.Stalin was opposed to the Allies plans, as he saw it as permanently dividing Germany, which he did not want for three reasons: 1. He did not want the USA to have more influence over Germany 2. He did not want USA troops to be stationed in Germany

3. He knew Germany's most valuable economic resources were in the west – and feared they would be used to start war on the USSRWhat happened

In June, Stalin closed off all roads, railways and canals between West Germany and West Berlin. Stalin wanted to force the western allies to give up Berlin by starving the two million inhabitants of West Berlin. The inhabitants needed 4000 tonnes of supplies every day.

The western allies chose the least aggressive option – they flew the supplies into West Berlin. This was called the Berlin Airlift. A total of 27,000 flights were made between 1948 and 1949.

Stalin didn’t dare shoot down the planes, as it would have led to war.

The West had shown how determined it was to resist communism. It was costly, though – 79 British and American pilots were killed in accidents, and it cost more than $200 million

Over 1.5 million tons of food, fuel and equipment was sent to Berlin.

By the spring 1949, aircraft were landing in West Berlin every 3 minutes and 8000 tonnes of supplies were being flown in a day.

In May 1949, the Soviet authorities called off the blockade. The airlift was a triumph for the American and British air forces.

Consequences

1. A propaganda victory for the West – Truman had shown he would not allow the policy of containment to fail.

2. Stalin was humiliated and viewed by the world media as highly aggressive3. The USSR had failed to extend its influence4. The formation of NATO5. Deepened hostility between East and West6. In 1949, the Allied zones of Germany officially became West Germany (or the

FDR – Federal Republic of Germany) and the Soviet zone became East Germany (Democratic Republic of Germany)

7. Berlin remained inside East Germany, and was a permanent source of tension during the Cold War, leading to a later crisis in 1961.

1949 NATO

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) The Berlin Blockade had convinced the capitalist West of the lengths that the USSR was prepared to go to war in order to spread communism. So, the USA set up this military alliance. It was a defensive alliance - all 12 members agreed to go to war if one of them was attacked. The alliance allowed the USA to set up air bases in member-countries. This meant US bombers or missiles could be stationed on the borders of the USSR. The alliance aimed to prevent Soviet expansion (ie. the USSR taking over more countries and turning them communist).

The Arms Race:

Significance – prevented a war in Europe – due to the fear of nuclear retaliation on both sides. M A D (Mutually Assured Destruction). American politicians claimed that the USA had fewer nuclear warheads. In fact, the USSR had only about 50 atoms bombs in 1953 and did not catch up until 1978. On the other hand, the USSR had a huge conventional army of soldiers, tanks, artillery and so on. Truman was fearful of the USSR’s conventional army. During the Korean War Truman ordered a massive increase in American spending on conventional weapons. He also increased spending on American NATO forces in Western Europe. The arms race increased the climate of fear between the 2 superpowers. Each side was afraid that the other might try to win a ‘hot war’ by launching a surprise pre-emptive strike (an attack that is launched by one side before the other side can attack).

China becomes Communist: 1949 You are not expected to know the details of the Communist revolution in China, but you should be aware that the fact of such a large country becoming Communist gave the USA further ‘evidence’ that Communism was a danger and that it was spreading.

The USA feared a ‘domino effect’ whereby one country after another would fall to communism. This is one reason why the USA was so keen to get involved in the conflict in Korea.

The Korean War 1950-55For the USA, this meant that the domino theory had become a reality. North Korea was ruled by communists, supported by the USSR and China. South Korea had a democratic government, supported by the USA. North Korean forces invaded the South in 1950, in an attempt to turn the South communist.Note that you would not be expected to know the events of the Korean War in detail!KEY POINT for Korean War – Truman viewed the Korean War as a test of his policy of containment (Truman Doctrine)

1953 – Leadership ChangesStalin’s death. Khrushchev takes over as leader of the USSR. Eisenhower becomes President of the USA (takes over from Truman). Both the USA and USSR possessed hydrogen bombs, hundreds of times more powerful than the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.Khruschev – The Highlights

Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union from the late 1920s to 1953. His regime was cruel and repressive, using secret police and force. When Stalin died in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became the new leader who immediately started to relax the Soviet state’s grip on its citizens. In May 1955, Khrushchev signed the Austrian State Treaty. This ended the occupation of Germany with the allies, and made Austria an independent sovereign state. Khrushchev also pulled the Red Army out of the Soviet occupied zone of Austria. He seemed to be a man who didn’t want to dominate the world. In 1956, Khrushchev made a secret speech to the Communist Party, denouncing Stalin as a cruel tyrant. Statues of Stalin came down, cities were renamed, the secret police became less active, and more consumer goods were produced. This whole process was called ‘destalinisation’. It was very popular in the Soviet Union, as the Soviet people seemed to be gaining more freedom – this made it more popular in the West too. Khrushchev had a different attitude to the West as well. He replaced the old policy of confrontation with peaceful co-existence. The USSR would recognise the Western powers’ right to exist – this led to a ‘thaw’ in the Cold War. However, destalinisation encouraged people in the satellite states of Eastern Europe and they expected similar changes. They tried to weaken Soviet influence in their countries. These satellite states and the West had misunderstood Khrushchev’s motives. He wasn’t going to grant widespread concessions in the satellite states, as this could lead to the end of communism in Eastern Europe and the destruction of the Soviet buffer against the West. Revolts in East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia were ruthlessly put down, ending the ‘thaw’ in the Cold War.

What is meant by Peaceful Coexistence?By ‘peaceful co-existence’, Khrushchev simply mean that each side ought to allow the other to compete equally on the world stage. 1. He raised the political influence of the Soviet Union: made high profile visits to foreign leaders and gave aid to Third World countries.

2. He demanded the right to solve problems within the Soviet Union’s ‘sphere of interest’ i.e. Hungarian Revolution and the Berlin Wall. 3. He challenged the West when he felt the Soviet Union was being threatened. These confrontations led to the U-2 crisis. 4. He tried to demonstrate the technological and nuclear superiority of the Soviet Union: engaging in a space race and nuclear arms race with the West (USA). 5. He challenged the dominance of the USA in the Olympic Games.

Geneva Summit 1955

In 1955, the world leaders met. They discussed world trade, the arms race and disarmament. President Eisenhower suggested an ‘open skies’ policy for aircraft. According to Eisenhower’s proposal, each side would be able to monitor from the air the other’s arms build-up. So neither would be able to stock-pile weapons, and suspicion would be reduced. No decisions were made. The Geneva Summit marked the high point in the ‘thaw’ of the Cold War even so!

What was the Warsaw Pact?

The Warsaw Pact was set up in 1955. The Warsaw Pact was a defensive military alliance of

the USSR and its satellite states in Eastern Europe. It was intended as a counter-force to NATO, which

was a military alliance of western powers. The Warsaw Pact, like NATO, relied on collective

security – if one nation was attacked, the others would come to its support.

The Warsaw Pact helped to make Eastern Europe an effective ‘buffer zone’ for the USSR against the West.

The Hungarian Uprising 1956-7Causes;

The Soviet Union had invaded and occupied Hungary at the end of the war, helping to install a communist government, led by Rakosi.

Rakosi ruled Hungary as a brutal dictator. With the help of the AVH (secret police) Rakosi imprisoned 200,000 political opponents (people who disagreed with him) and killed over 2000 of them. He also allowed the USSR to control Hungary’s economy through Comecon. This meant Hungary couldn’t trade with the West, leading to a shortage of goods and a low standard of living. By the early 1950s Rakosi had become very unpopular in Hungary.

What happened; Massive demonstrations forced Rakosi out,

and Nagy took over as PM. Nagy was a modernising communist; he

tried to introduce changes like free elections, trade with West Germany and withdrawing Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. He even asked the UN for help in dealing with the USSR.

Nagy also introduced no more government control of the press and radio

Non-Communists allowed to participate in the government

Khrushchev was having none of this! 200,000 Soviet troops and 1000 tanks invaded Hungary to put a stop to the uprising. The Hungarian rebels asked Britain, France and the USA for help, but none came. The USSR crushed the uprising.

Consequences Around 30,000 Hungarians were killed, and 200,000 fled Hungary as

refugees. Nagy was replaced as the Hungarian Prime Minister by the communist

hardliner Kadar, who had Nagy executed. The Soviet Union had sent out a warning to other satellite states – don’t even

think about trying to break away from the Soviet Union or Warsaw Pact! The West were horrified (but not enough to take military action against the

Soviet Union—it might lead to war) and became more determined to contain communism. The West were distracted by the Suez Crisis at the time.

For the USA (and NATO, United Nations) – It was a failure. The US was shown to be powerless to ‘roll back’ communism.

1959 Cuban RevolutionFidel Castro comes to power in Cuba, in a communist revolution which overthrows the old leader, Batista

1960 – The U-2 Crisis and the Failed Paris Summit The year of 1960 had begun with great hope. The ‘Big Four’ – Eisenhower, Khrushchev, Charles de Gaulle (France) and Macmillan (Britain) – were going to meet at a summit in Paris in May. Yet before the leaders even arrived in Paris, hopes of new friendlier relations were dashed.The U-2 = a lightweight spy plane that could fly 75,000 feet above the Earth; developed by the USA by the 1950s. It flew so high, that even if it was detected by

radar, it would be too high to intercept by other aircraft. It had high-tech cameras which could take photos of sites from far away. On 1st May 1960, two weeks before the Paris summit, a U-2 piloted by Gary Powers took off from a US base in Pakistan. At first the flight went well and Powers was able to take photos of the Soviet Union. But as Powers crossed the Ural Mountains, his plane was hit by a Soviet SAM-2 missile. It crashed near the Soviet town Sverdlovsk. Powers was captured by the Soviets and the U-2 was recovered for Soviet scientists to study.The Americans tried to cover up what had happened as if they admitted to spying on the Soviet Union, then the summit talks would be ruined. At first the Americans announced that a U-2 research plane studying weather conditions had disappeared somewhere over Turkey. But the Americans did not know that Powers had been captured and had admitted to spying. Also the Soviets now had discovered the thousands of photographs of Soviet territory in the plane. On 7th May 1960 Khrushchev announced he had both Powers and the U-2. The Americans had been caught spying and telling lies. Khrushchev said he would attend the summit as long as the Americans apologised. Eisenhower however refused to apologise. He claimed that it was America’s responsibility to protect itself from a possible surprise attack – therefore U-2 flights were an important part of US defence strategy. Khrushchev was not satisfied with this answer and left before the summit talks had started. He then cancelled an invitation to Eisenhower to visit the Soviet Union. The Cold War had just got colder

The Berlin Crisis 1961 (the Berlin Wall one!)Background: including the summit conferences of Geneva, Paris (1960) and Vienna (1961)

The Soviet Union were once again trying to get the western Allies to leave Berlin. West Berlin was a huge embarrassment to the USSR. West Berlin was a showpiece of capitalism, where people enjoyed luxury goods and a high standard of living; in east Berlin people worked long hours and suffered food shortages. Lots of East Berliners were defecting (moving) to West Berlin. By 1961, 2000 per day were leaving East Berlin (or East Germany via Berlin). This was known as the ‘refugee crisis’.

In Nov 1958, Khrushchev declared that the whole city of Berlin belonged to East Germany, and issued an ultimatum giving US troops 6 months to leave Berlin. Eisenhower (President until 1961) didn’t want to risk war, but didn’t want to lose Berlin, so he agreed to a summit conference of US/Soviet representatives in 1959 in Geneva, to discuss Berlin. No solution was agreed, but the conference did lay the groundwork for Khrushchev to visit the USA to speak with Eisenhower in person.

The next summit was arranged for May 1960 in Paris (SEE U-2 spy plane above), to try to reach a solution to the Berlin problem. But before the conference, tension flared up when the USSR shot down a US spy plane (called a U2 plane) above Russia. The USSR demanded an apology from the USA for their spying. The USA refused, saying they had a right to protect themselves from surprise attack (the plane had taken photos of missile sites). The summit conference was called off.

When JFK became President, another summit was arranged to discuss Berlin, this time, in Vienna. Neither side seemed willing to back down. However, Khrushchev was determined to push the inexperienced JFK, and issued the USA with a second 6 month ultimatum to remove its troops from Berlin. JFK refused, and raised the US defence budget by an extra $3.2 billion. A point of stalemate had been reached.

Causes: Why was the Berlin Wall built? Berlin had been a source of tension between the superpowers since 1945. In

1961 it again reached crisis point. The high standard of living in West Berlin contrasted sharply with the

condition in communist East Berlin – it continually reminded people in the eastern areas that communism was not a successful system to live under.

It was estimated that 3 million people had crossed from East to West Berlin between 1945 and 1960. Many of these were young, skilled, professional people – the East was suffering a ‘brain drain’ as these educated men and women left to make new lives in the West. It seemed likely that this would continue if their exit route through West Berlin was not blocked.

Khrushchev also suspected the USA of sending spies into East Berlin and from there into the Eastern bloc through West Berlin. This seemed very likely, given the U-2 spy plane incident of 1960.

What happened: In August 1961 the USSR built a concrete wall between East and West

Berlin. They made it clear that anyone caught trying to cross the wall (from East to West Berlin) would be shot. Many were so desperate that they still tried – in the first year of the wall being there, 41 East Berliners were shot. The wall separated families and friends. East Berliners saw it as a sign of their inferiority.

The West did nothing to stop the building of the wall, not wanting to risk war

In all between 1961 and 1989 only 5000 people managed to move from east to west

Consequences of the Berlin Wall: 1. It stopped East Germans escaping to the West – refugee crisis was over 2. It allowed the USSR to avoid war with the US but still appear strong 3. It became a symbol of the Cold War and the division of Europe

4. 1963 – Kennedy toured West Berlin, and voiced his solidarity with the people. (Ich bin ein Berliner). He asked why, if communism was such an ideal system, was it necessary to build a wall to keep people in? JFK was also using the opportunity to show the USA’s commitment to the people of West Berlin by suggesting that the USA would never desert the city. This angered the communists – they thought Kennedy was causing trouble.

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion Relations between the USA and Cuba had soured after communist Castro

came to power (1959) and ejected all US business and investment from Cuba. In retaliation, the US had refused to buy Cuban sugar. This allowed the USSR to gain influence by offering to trade with Cuba.

As a result of the Cuban Revolution, the USA hatched a plan to invade Cuba and remove Castro from power. Rather than have the US invade, the CIA trained a team of 1500 Cuban exiles, who had left Cuba when Castro had come to power. The CIA were certain that when the exiles landed, the Cuban people would rise up and overthrow Castro.

The invasion went badly wrong, and was a huge embarrassment for the USA and Kennedy. The CIA had failed to understand that Castro was very popular in Cuba. Furthermore, Castro had been expecting the invasion, because some of the exiles had been overheard discussing plans in Miami. Cuban forces (totaling around 20,000) outnumbered the exiles.

Consequences The Bay of Pigs invasion pushed Castro much closer to the Soviet Union.

Khrushchev began to send military supplies to Cuba, and in September 1962, the USSR installed ballistic (nuclear) missiles. Khrushchev claimed to be defending Cuba from future attacks by the USA/ Cuban exiles – the missiles were defensive, not offensive.

The situation changed very suddenly when in October 1962 a U2 spy plane took photographs of Cuba which showed that the USSR were building intermediate range missile bases. These IRBMs (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles) could hit almost all US cities, unlike the medium range ones installed earlier in 1962. Therefore, the IRBMs were clearly offensive, and posed a threat to the USA’s security.

1962 Cuban Missile CrisisThe period from which Kennedy first saw the photographs to the Soviet decision to dismantle the missile bases lasted 13 days.

Kennedy and his advisers decided to place a naval blockade (or quarantine) around Cuba, to prevent any Soviet ships delivering military materials. A fleet of submarines were made ready for action and over 150 ICBMs were made ready for combat. Kennedy informed Khrushchev that the Soviet convoy of ships approaching Cuba would be stopped and inspected for military materials.

The Soviet Union decided to turn its ships around, to avoid confrontation. Kennedy demanded the removal of all missiles from Cuba, and said the US would invade Cuba if the Soviet Union refused.

Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy offering to remove the missiles if the blockade was lifted and the USA promised not to invade Cuba. The next day, he sent a tougher letter, under pressure from his advisers. He promised to remove the missiles if the USA removed their missiles from Turkey (on the Soviet Union’s border).

Kennedy decided to ignore the second letter, and accepted the offer made in the first. Khrushchev accepted the offer. In a secret deal, the US promised to remove its missiles from Turkey, at a later date. This decision was not made public.