Why had the refugee issue in Berlin become such a problem for the USSR by 1957
- the flow of refugees was humiliating for the USSR
- Many were skilled workers, important to the economy
- the existence of West Berlin as an island of capitalism within East Germany had always been resented by the USSR
What happened in the Geneva summit meeting ( 1959 )
No real agreement but arrangements made for Khrushchev to visit US
What happened in the Camp David summit meeting ( 1959 )
No solution but agreed further summit meetings – Khrushchev withdraws ultimatum.
What happened in the Paris summit meeting ( 1960 )
A disaster. Khrushchev storms out after Eisenhower refused to apologise about U2 incident
What happened in the Vienna summit meeting ( 1961 )
Neither side back down, Khrushchev tries to exploit Kennedy’s inexperience and repeats 6 month ultimatum.
When was the Berlin Wall put in place
During the night on 12 August 1961 ( wall of barbed wire was put around West Berlin
What were the positives of the Berlin Wall for the USSR
- It stopped the refugee problem.
- It allowed Khrushchev to avoid war whilst appearing strong
What were the Negatives of the Berlin Wall for the USSR
- Khrushchev had been unable to force the West out of West Berlin
- Humiliating that the Soviets had to build a wall to keep the people of East Germany in!
What were the positives of the Berlin Wall for the USA
- It avoided a war
- Khrushchev had admitted he was not able to force the West out of Berlin
- it was a propaganda victory for the West
What were the negatives of the Berlin Wall for the USA
- West Berlin was now encircled by a wall which limited their freedom and America had not done anything to stop this being built.
What happened in the cuban revolution
- Fidel Castro came to power and tried to seize control of Cuban businesses and industry from the US in 1959
How did the US attempt to kill Castro
- Exploding molluscs
- Exploding cigars
- Poisonous face cream
What happened due to the distanced relationship between Castro and Kennedy
- The leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, developed an alliance with the USSR (largely as a result of alienation from America after America cut trade ties with Cuba following the revolution)
- This gave Khrushchev an ally within the American sphere of influence.
- Showed that capitalism wasn’t that popular!
What happened in the bay of pigs invasion
- April 1961 - 1300 Cuban exiles, armed with U.S. weapons, landed at the Bay of Pigs.
- The invasion was easily defeated by Castro’s army. The failure of the invasion seriously embarrassed the young Kennedy administration.
What happened as a result of the attempted invasion of Cuba
- The invasion made Castro wary of the U.S. He was convinced that the Americans would try to take over the island again.
- This fear pushed Castro even closer to the USSR
Why did Khrushchev build Missile Bases on Cuba
- The Soviet Union saw Castro as an important ally Cuba was so close to the US
- The Soviet Union was losing the Arms Race: Khrushchev needed to restore the nuclear balance:
- The USA had missiles in Turkey targeting every city in the south of the USSR,
How and why did Kennedy respond to the problem of the missiles in cuba
- When a U2 spy plane took pictures of the Cuban Missiles bases, Kennedy and his advisors discussed a number of options:
- To launch a nuclear strike on the missile sites in Cuba.
- To launch a full-scale invasion of Cuba.
- To impose a naval blockade – stop ships carrying military goods getting to Cuba
How did the Cuban missile crisis develop
16-28th October 1962 – ‘The Thirteen Days’
- Kennedy blockaded Cuba
- US and Soviet troops on highest level of alert
- In US, Hawks demand an aggressive approach, Doves recommend diplomatic strategies
- Eventually a secret deal is made – USSR to remove missile from Cuba if US do the same in Turkey
Consequences of Cuban Crisis
- Hotline set up – communication between two sides made easier
- Limited Test Ban Treaty – all over ground nuclear tests banned
- Khrushchev’s authority affected – eventually replaced in 1964
- USSR more determined to catch up in Arms race
- Theory of MAD widely accepted
What was there opposition to Soviet control in Czechoslovakia in 1968
- Communism had been forced upon them.
- No other political parties were permitted.
- The Communist Party censored the media
- Living standards were poor.
What did the USSR do abut the growing discontent in Czech
- Dubcek replaced the unpopular Antonin Novotny in January 1968. He wanted to make communism more popular by introducing reforms known as the ‘Prague Spring’
- had an idea of imposing ‘socialism with a human face’
What was the Prague Spring
- Press censorship was abolished
- Opposition groups were allowed and criticism of government was permitted
- More power was given to regional government
- More power given to the Czech Parliament
- Changes were made to make the economy more ‘market-based’ with some competition introduced.
How did Brezhnev react to the Prague Spring
- Brezhnev Doctrine - Brezhnev said that if a communist country started to go back towards capitalism, other communist countries were justified in taking action to stop it, so as to protect the security of the Eastern Bloc.
- On 20th August Brezhnev launched a full-scale invasion:
- Dubcek urged the public not to respond with violence. There was large scale passive civil disobedience.
- Dubcek was summoned to Moscow and forced to sign the Moscow Protocol: this promised to uphold communism, reintroduce censorship, and deal with political opponents (‘dissidents’).
How did the US react to the soviet invasion of Czech
- America was heavily involved in Vietnam and could not make further military commitments. Besides Czechoslovakia was in the Soviet sphere of influence.
- The US publicly condemned Soviet aggression, but gave no military help to the Czech people. Other western leaders took a similar stance.
