When was the Korean War?
1950-1953
What caused the Korean War
• After WWII, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel
• North Korea was backed by the Soviets and South Korea was backed by America
What caused the Korean War
• After WWII, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel
• North Korea was backed by the Soviets and South Korea was backed by America
• In June 1950, with the support from China, the Soviet Union launched an attack on South Korea.
- Who led North Korea?
- Who led South Korea?
- Sung
- Rhee
Why did North Korea launch an attack on the South?
• North Korea was made communist by the Soviets Union, however they wanted the whole of Korea to be Communist; but America controlled the South.
Give a timeline of the Cold War
- In 1950, the Northern Korean People’s Army (with the help of Chinas Army) pushed the Southern Forces around Pusan.
- The USA feared a communist takeover, so they sent their own troops to support South Korea.
- The USA had help from the UN, who agreed to send troops. The UN forces almost rolled back the communists to Yalu Rivet on the Border of China.
- China did not want a USA-backed state on its border, so China invaded Korea and drove UN forces back to the 38th parallel.
- In 1951, both sides had been driven back to the 38th parallel, causing a Stalemate.
- In 1953, an armistice was signed on the 38th parallel, which left Korea divided.
Give the importance/ consequences of the Korean War
• First Proxy War
• the temporary division of Korea along the 38th parallel was successful for the policy containment
• Even after fighting, American troops remained stationed in South Korea; this caused tension between China and the USA
When was the Berlin Wall built
1961
What was the Berlin Wall?
When Soviet authorities in East Germany sealed off East Berlin - their zone of occupation
Give reasons for the Berlin Wall of 1961?
• The brain drain - during the 1950’s, a lot of German people in east Berlin moved to the west due to the economic hardship of communism. A lot of these people where highly skilled and/or educated people; East German authorities could not afford to lose their best citizens.
• Espionage - Berlin had been divided into four during the Yatla condense of 1945, and so there was a lot of spies going around.
• Lure of the West; prior to the Berlin Wall, its was easy for citizens to access east and West Berlin. Citizens started to see how much better the west was under captilist control economically.
What was the Hungarian Uprising?
• 1956
• Khrushchev had just become the USSR’s new leader
• Krushchev stated that he would commit to the De-Stalinisatiom Policy, which encouraged people in the Eastern Block to think that greater freedoms might be possible.
• However, there were clear limits to these freedoms that Krushchev would allow, these limits where clearly seen in Hungary
What happened during the Hungarian Uprising?
• 1956
• Hungary was in the Eastern Block and years prior to the Uprising had been under strict communist control.
• However, people started to protest against their communist leader, Rakosi.
• The soviets agreed to the formation of a new Hungarian government under the headship of Imre Nagy.
• Nagy was liberal, and his new reforms included:
-Free elections for democratic govs.
-The withdrawal of soviet troops in Hungary
-Ensured Fair Trials
-Hungary to leave the Warsaw Pact.
• Krushchev refused to accept Nags request of leaving the WP, as it would leave a gap in the USSR’s buffer zone.
• Soviet security was Krushchev priority, and so he decided to crackdown on the new Hungarian government.
•Thousands of Soviet soldiers and tanks entered Hungary to crush protests and Nagy was arrested and executed.
• The US/Western Europe did not intervene with this, they were not prepared to attempt a roll back of communism within the Soviet Sphere of Influence.
Why where there Soviet troops in Hungary in 1956
Thousands of Soviet’s had stationed in Hungary, to act as a buffer zone against the West and maintain Soviet control over the region; there were a drain to Hungarian resources and caused poverty
Give the Consequences of the Hungarian Uprising
• High Casualties, 3,000 Hungarians killed
• Refugee Crisis, 200K Hungarians left Hungary seeking asylum in other countries, including the USA.
• Heightened Tensions in the Cold War, as it portrayed the Soviet Unions willingness to maintain control over satellite states and highlighting Krushchev limitations.
What was the Prague Spring?
• 1968
• When the Czech people in Czechsolvakia attempted to change their communist system to a more socialist system.
Give the Causes of the Prague Spring
• Weak economy (due to communism?)
• Lack of personal freedom
What happened during the Prague Spring?
• Students started peacefully protesting against Novotnys Rule.
• The Czechoslovakia government claimed that they would allow non-communist political parties
• The USSR worried that Czechoslovakia was slipping from its grasp, so they declared that it would not allow Eastern Europe countries to reject communism
• to prove this they sent 500,000 troops, the Czech continued peaceful protests, offering flowers to soldiers
Consequence of Prague spring
• USSR tightening grip on Eastern Europe
• Showed the West that they would not allow non-communist buisness.
What do you think is the most tense event of the 1940’s?
• Potsdam
What do you think is the most tense event of the 1950’s?
• The escalation of the Arms Race
• 1952, America made a Hydrogen bomb that was 2500x more powerful than an atomic bomb
• USSR did the same
• Increased tension in regarding to WWIII
What do you think was the most tense event of the 1960’s
• the U2 Crisis
• A U2 (spy) plane from America is shot down by the USSR
• Eisenhower states it was a weather plane, despite the pilot, Gary Powers, admitting it was a spy plane and the evidence found inside the plane.
• As a result, the Paris Summit did not happen and consequently there was no discussions on the test ban treaty or the issue with Cuba
Explain what happened in Cuba prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis?
• Cuba was under strict control, of dictator Batista.
• A lot of American investment in Cuba, and the US was chief consumer in Cuban products, such as Tobacco.
In 1959, Batista was overthrown by Castro in the Cuban Revolution. Give a timeline of what happened after this up until the Bag of Pigs in 1961.
• Castro wanted support to secure his new government, but Eisenhower refused to talk to him. So they turned to the Soviet Union who agreed to support them.
• I’m 1960, Castro/Cuba was drawn into communism due to the friendship of Khrushchev.
• USA worried about this, now having a communist state ‘in its own backyard’
• As a result, Trade Embargo happened.
What is Trade Embargo?
• The ban/restriction
