17102604
| Question | Answer |
| East German / Berlin Problems | -East German Government was highly unpopular -Many East Germans fled to West Germany -1949-1961 2.7 million East Germans escaped to West Germany -Many were highly skilled, causing a brain drain -Propaganda disaster for USSR as it proved that people preferred capitalism |
| Khrushchev's Ultimatum | -November 1958 -Declared that all of Berlin belonged to East Germany -Gave US troops 6 months to withdraw |
| Series of Summits | Eisenhower didn't want to give in, or go to war, so a series of summits were held -Geneva Summit May 1959, no solution but laid groundwork -Camp David September 1959, withdrawal of the ultimatum but no solution to the problem -Paris Summit May 1960, disaster because US spy plane shot down over Soviet soil and Eisenhower refused to apologise so Khrushchev walked out -Vienna Conference June 1961, Kennedy now president, neither willing to back down but Khrushchev thought new president would be weak so restarted the ultimatum |
| Kennedy's response | -Refused to back down -Declared he wouldn't remove US troops -America began preparing for war -Additional $3.2 billion to defence spending -$207 million on nuclear fallout shelters |
| The Berlin Wall | -Khrushchev knew he couldn't win a nuclear war against the USA -1961 US had 20 times more nuclear weapons than the USSR -Kennedy had called Khrushchev's bluff -12th August 1961 East German troops put up a barbed wire all around West Berlin at night -Fence was reinforced and eventually became a heavily guarded wall -Soviet tanks were deployed to block western access -18 hour stand off with US tanks -Eventually the tanks began to pull back |
| Berlin Wall: Impact | -Stopped East Germans from escaping into West Germany -Allowed Khrushchev to avoid war and appear strong -Powerful symbol of division in Europe |
| Kennedy's Visit | -1963 Kennedy toured West Berlin and expressed solidarity -Gave his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech -Germans lined the streets shouting "Kenne-dy" |
| Developing Arms Race | -USA schools had had regular duck and cover rehearsal for the event of a nuclear attack -1960 Britain and France had nuclear weapons and China was close to developing one -Statistics on nuclear capacity was intended to intimidate the other side rather than reflect the truth |
| Arms Race: Numbers | -Inter-continental ballistic missiles, USA 450, USSR 76 -Mid-range airborne ballistic missiles, USA 250, USSR 700 -Nuclear submarines, USA 32, USSR 12 -Long-range bombers able to carry nuclear missiles USA 2 260, USSR 1 600 |
| Arms Race: Concerns | -USA concerned with the rate that the USSR were producing missiles, Tsar Bomba 1961 was the post powerful bomb ever -USSR concerned that US missiles were much closer than their missiles, 1958 nuclear weapons on British bases, 1961 in their bases in Turkey and Italy -USSR had relatively few missiles and no way of dropping them on American soil |
| Space Race | -1957 Sputnik was launched -1960 there was a Soviet robot on the moon -Many Americans believed that satellites in space could be used to launch nuclear missiles on them |
| Cuba | -Cuba was traditionally a US ally -American companies ran: -90% of phone and electricity supply -50% of railways -40% of sugar production -Supplied and ran all oil refineries |
| Cuban Revolution | -Cuban revolution overthrew the pro America government -Fidel Castro declared all land belonged to Cuba, France accepted money for this, USA didn't and banned import of sugar, nearly bankrupting the economy -Cuba traded sugar with USSR and took it's oil -US refineries refused to take the Soviet oil -Castro nationalised the refineries -USA banned all trade with Cuba |
| Bay of Pigs: Planning | -By this time CIA had tried and failed to assassinate Castro on multiple occasions -CIA persuaded Kennedy to launch an invasion of Cuba to put Batista back into power They told Kennedy: -It would look like a Cuban revolt, they'd been training Cuban exiles as guerrilla fighters -Castro's hold on the country was weak -Most Cubans would join in the invasion |
| Bay of Pigs: Invasion | -Castro was aware of the supposedly secret plan -Most Cubans did not want Batista back -Disguised US planes missed the target, were photographed and US involvement made public -Cuban exile army of 1 400 faced heavy air attacks and 20 000 of Castro's troops -Kennedy sent in planes but it was too late, the Cuban exiles surrendered |
| Bay of Pigs: Consequences | -Ended any chance of a friendly relationship -Castro declared himself communist -Americans made new plans to overthrow Castro -USSR negotiated with Castro about military protection -Khrushchev decided to put nuclear missiles on Cuba, which would deter invasion and boost the USSR in the arms race |
| Spotting of the Missiles | -25th September 1962 Khrushchev sent 114 ships to Cuba carrying (secretly) nuclear warheads and long-range missiles -Missiles spotted by US spy plane mid-october |
| Cuban Missile Crisis | -16th October 1962 Kennedy discovers USSR's plans -20th October 1962 Kennedy imposes a naval blockade -22nd October 1962 Kennedy publicly announces the blockade and tells Khrushchev to recall his ships -Khrushchev says Soviet ships will break through the blockade -American and Soviet armies prepare for war -Khrushchev proposes to withdraw nuclear missiles in return for a guarantee that US won't invade Cuba -27th October 1962 Khrushchev learns that the US have plans to invade Cuba within 24 hours -Proposes withdrawal of missiles in return for no invasion of Cuba and a withdrawal of turkey missiles -Robert Kennedy accepts the deal but insists withdrawal of Turkey missiles is to remain secret -28th October 1962 Khrushchev accepts the secret deal |
| Hawks and Doves | -Kennedy's advisers split into two groups, hawks and doves -Hawks wanted an aggressive policy, some US generals thought war was inevitable and Kennedy should start it as US had a good chance of winning -Doves advised caution and diplomatic strategies |
| Cuban Missile Crisis: Immediate Consequences | -Khrushchev looked weak as withdrawal of missiles from Turkey remained secret -June 1963 hotline set up for direct communication between the Kremlin and the White House -August 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty limited nuclear testing to only underground -Beginning of detente, a relaxing of tension |
| Cuban Missile Crisis: Long-term Consequences | -Leaders of USSR determined not to be pushed around again, by 1965 caught up in the arms race with nuclear capability -Realised that war would be MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) -1966 France left NATO, as Cuban Missile Crisis had been too close a call |
| Czechoslovakia | -Satellite state where communism had few benefits for the people -Majority of Czech people suffered a decline in standard of living -In mid 1960s secret police still brutally crushed all opposition -Political resentment and economic problems made Antonin Novotny highly unpopular -5th January 1968 Alexander Dubcek became communist party leader, the most powerful person |
| Dubcek | -Committed communist who was friends with Brezhnev (Khrushchev's successor) -Wanted a genuinely popular form of communism, "socialism with a human face" -Wanted to get rid of oppressive parts of communism -Reform the economy -Allow cultural feedom |
| Prague Spring | -Started April 1968 -Relaxation of press censorship -Legalisation of political opposition groups -Official toleration of government criticism -More power to regional Czech Parliament -More power to regional governments -"Market socialism" introduced capitalist concepts into the economy |
| Prague Spring: Popularity | -Welcomed with enthusiasm by students, intellectuals, workers and younger people -Artists and writers took advantage of it and books, plays and essays critical of soviet-style communism were published -Older communists along with Brezhnev and Eastern European allies shocked |
| Brezhnev's Dilemma | -Considered Dubcek a friend -Dubcek had made no attempt to leave the Warsaw Pact or harm the USSR -Intelligence reports suggested that the reforms were weakening soviet control though -From August to July was in constant contact with Dubcek trying to persuade him that the reforms had gone too far |
| Prague Spring: Soviet response | -20th August 1968 Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia -Dubcek ordered the Czech people not to respond with violence -A lot of non-violent civil disobedience -Many students stood in the way of tanks holding anti invasion banners -Dubcek arrested and taken to Moscow -Forced to sign the Moscow Protocol which reintroduced press censorship and removed opposition |
| Brezhnev Doctrine | The idea that the USSR has the right to invade any country that threatens the security of the Eastern Bloc |
| Prague Spring: American Response | -America was very preoccupied with Vietnam -Kept detente -Publicly condemned the invasion but offered no military support |
| Prague Spring: Western European Response | -Followed America's lead, publicly condemned the invasion but offered no military support -Communist parties of Italy and France declared themselves independent of the USSR |
| Prague Spring: Eastern European Response | -Yugoslavian and Romanian government condemned the invasion and distanced themselves from the USSR -They also formed and alliance with China -East German and Polish Governments welcomed the response as their pro-Moscow leaders may lose they're jobs |
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