Causes and Crises of the Cold War: A Detailed Analysis, Study notes of Human Rights

Download Causes and Crises of the Cold War: A Detailed Analysis and more Study notes Human Rights in PDF only on Docsity!

Cold War

Revision

Guide

Key Topic 1 - How did the Cold War in Europe develop?

Reasons for the Cold War:

Teheran

Yalta

Potsdam

The attitudes of Stalin and Truman and the ideological differences between the Superpowers

The division of Germany into zones of occupation and the joint occupation of Berlin

The Soviet control of Eastern Europe, the establishment of satellite states

Cominform

The formation of the Warsaw Pact

Hungary:

The impact of Soviet rule on Hungary

Rákosi, de-Stalinisation and optimism

Nagy’s programme of reforms

Soviet reaction and the uprising

the death of Nagy, the re- establishment of Soviet control

International reaction to the Hungarian uprising and the Soviet response

Revision Notes

CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR [BARE]

1. Beliefs : Russia was a Communist country, ruled by a dictator who cared little about human rights. America was a capitalist democracy, which valued freedom.
2. Aims : Stalin wanted reparations from Germany/ a buffer of friendly states. Britain and the USA [led by President Truman] wanted to help Germany recover/ to prevent large areas of Europe from coming under Communist control.
3. Resentment about history: The USSR did not trust Britain and the USA – They had tried to destroy the Russian Revolution in 1918/ Stalin thought they had not helped the USSR enough in WW2. Britain & USA did not trust USSR – Stalin had signed the Nazi-Soviet pact in 1939.
4. Events turned the mistrust into war: Yalta/ Potsdam/ Salami tactics/ Fulton/ Greece/ Truman Doctrine/ Marshall Plan/ Cominform/ Czechoslovakia

YALTA CONFERENCE (February 1945)

1. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt agreed to Divide Germany into 4 zones (France, Britain, USA, USSR)/ to hold free elections in Eastern European countries./ to set up the United Nations./ to set up a government of Communists and non Communists in Poland.
2. On the surface, everything seemed friendly, but there was tension behind the scenes

POTSDAM CONFERENCE (July 1945)

1. At Potsdam the tensions surfaced.
2. Stalin, Truman and Atlee agreed to bring Nazi war criminals to trial/ divide Germany into 4 occupied zones.
3. There were disagreements over Soviet policy in Poland./ The size of German reparations.

SALAMI TACTICS ( 1945–48) ‘Slice-by-slice’, Stalin ensured all E Eur.countries had Communist govts

1. Albania (1945) – the Communists took power after the war without opposition
2. Bulgaria (1945) – the Communists executed the leaders of all the other parties.
3. Poland (1947) – the Communists forced the non-Communist leaders into exile.
4. Hungary (1947) – Russian troops stayed / Stalin allowed elections (non- communists won a big majority)/ Communists led by the pro-Russian Rakosi./ Rakosi demanded that groups which opposed him should be banned./ He got control of the police, and arrested his opponents./ He set up a secret police unit, the AVH.
5. Romania (1945–1947) – the Communists gradually took over control.
6. Czechoslovakia (1948) – the Communists banned all other parties/ killed their leaders.

Yugoslavia, telling Tito there were ‘different roads to Communism’/ He criticised Stalin, executed Beria, set free political prisoners and de-stalinised the eastern bloc countries.

2. In fact 1955–1963 was the time of greatest tension in the Cold War

• Khrushchev used Russian troops when countries tried to leave Russian control.
• By peaceful co-existence, Khrushchev meant ‘peaceful competition’ (He loved to argue (Kitchen debate with Nixon)/ He gave economic aid to countries like Afghanistan and Burma/ Space Race (1957: Sputnik. 1961: Yuri Gagarin orbits the earth)/ Arms Race (1953: Russia got the hydrogen bomb)
• Warsaw Pact (1955) – USSR/ Albania/ Bulgaria/ Czechoslovakia/ E Germany/ Hungary/ Poland/ Romania

3. In retaliation, in America McCarthy conducted a ‘witchhunt’ for Communists/ In 1955, NATO agreed to an army of 0.5 m men in W Germany/ rushed to put a man on the moon/ American U2 planes spied on Russia

HUNGARY (1956) Causes:

• Poverty – When most of Hungary’s food was sent to Russia
• Russian Control – The Hungarians were very patriotic/ They hated censorship, the AVH, and Russian control of education./ They hated having Russian troops stationed in Hungary
• Catholic Church – Communism tried to destroy religion, but Hungarians were Catholics
• Help from the West – The Hungarians thought Esienhower or UN would help.
• Destalinisation –Led to protests against Rakosi’s harsh government. Events (3 key dates)
• 23 October – Student riots – attcks on AVH and Russian troops
• 24 October – 3 November – Reforming government led by Imre Nagy (Democracy/ Freedom of speech/ Freedom of religion/ Aimed to withdraw from Warsaw Pact.
• 4 November – Soviets sent 1000 tanks to crush/ Western powers protested but didn’t want a war. Results Janos Kadar put in control of Hungary/ 4,000 Hungarians killed/ Nagy shot./ 200,000 Hungarians flee to West./ Many westerners leave the Communist party./ Russia stays in control in Eastern Europe./ Western leaders all the more determined to ‘contain’ communism.

BBC Bitesize Revision Notes

Arms race

Both sides are now organised into two major military alliances. NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East. By 1955 the world is now a much more dangerous place. Each side fears the other. Therefore they start to build up their armies and weapons. As a result each side felt more threatened, and so consequently they built even more weapons.

Timetable

Year Event 1952 USA Hydrogen Bomb 1953 USSR Hydrogen Bomb 1957 USSR test Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBMs) 1958 USA Test ICBMs 1959 USA launches submarine loaded with nuclear weapons 1966 USSR builds Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) to protect Moscow

By the 1950s

• The Cold War has become very serious as both sides focused on the development of the Hydrogen Bomb (H Bomb), 2500 times stronger that the Hiroshima bomb.
• Mutual Assured Destruction (known as M.A.D.) has become increasingly more likely, e.g. in the event of nuclear war, both sides would be wiped out.
• Both USSR and USA began development on missile technology that could put rockets in space. This opened up possibilities for the delivery of nuclear weapons.
• By the 1950's, US intelligence estimated that in a Russian missile attack, 20 million Americans would die and 22 million would be injured.

Khrushchev’s challenge to Kennedy

summit conferences and growing tension, e.g. U

the construction of the Berlin Wall and its impact

Kennedy’s visit to Berlin,

Cuba: Soviet control of satellite states e.g. Czechoslovakia, East Germany

the context of the developing arms race to 1961

Cuba’s drift from the USA, the Bay of Pigs

Castro’s friendship with the Soviet Union, economic ties

missile bases

the 13 days

immediate and longer-term results, ‘hot line’, the Test Ban Treaty (1963) and the moves to détente

Czechoslovakia

opposition to Soviet control

Dubček as party secretary, the Prague Spring reforms

the Brezhnev doctrine, the re-establishment of Soviet control

International reaction to events in Czechoslovakia

REVISON NOTES

U2 CRISIS

1 May 1960 Soviets shot down American U2 spy plane over USSR, and captured pilot Gary Powers./ Americans had to admit he was a spy./ Khrushchev demanded apology + end to spy flights./ Eisenhower refused. Results Khrushchev walks out of Paris summit (14 May 1960)/ Eisenhower’s planned visit to Russia cancelled/ Khrushchev demands US leaves West Berlin/ Americans came off badly – been caught lying- propaganda victory for USSR./ New American president Kennedy promises to get tough on Communism.

The Berlin Wall

By the 1960s Berlin was still divided - the USSR controlled the East and the USA guaranteed freedom in the West. Thousands of refugees escaped to West Berlin each day - much to the embarrassment of the USSR - so in 1961 Khrushchev closed the border and ordered the construction of a wall to stop people leaving.

The problems in West Berlin

West Berlin was a worry and an embarrassment for the Soviet Union in 1961:

• Nearly 2,000 refugees a day were fleeing to the West through west Berlin -

hardly proof of the Soviet claim that the Communist way of life was better than capitalism!

• Many of those leaving were skilled and qualified workers.
• The Soviets believed (rightly) that West Berlin was a centre for US espionage.

At the Vienna Summit of June 1961, therefore, Khrushchev demanded that the US leave West Berlin within six months. Kennedy refused and instead guaranteed West Berlin's freedom.

On 13 August, Khrushchev closed the border between East and West Berlin and started building the Berlin Wall. At first, the Russians regarded it as a propaganda success, but as time went on, it became a propaganda disaster - a symbol of all that was bad about Soviet rule.

The Berlin Wall as a symbol

Source A

A photograph of the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall shortly after its construction

Source B

In 1963, President Kennedy visited West Berlin and made his famous 'I am a Berliner'

speech next to the Berlin Wall:

There are many people in the world who really don't understand what is the great

issue between the free world and the communist world - let them come to Berlin!

There are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the communists -

let them come to Berlin!

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And, therefore, as a free

man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner' ['I am a Berliner'].

President Kennedy, 1963

Revision tip

Question

To help you revise this section, try to think of three ways that the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s.

Answer

When Castro came to power, however, he nationalised American companies in

Cuba. In retaliation, the Americans stopped all aid to Cuba, and all imports of Cuban

sugar. This was a blow to Castro as sugar was the mainstay of the Cuban economy.

Castro was forced to look to the USSR for help, and, in 1960, the USSR signed

an agreement to buy 1 million tonnes of Cuban sugar every year. Castro, who had not

been a Communist when he took power, became a Communist.

America was alarmed. In April 1961, with Kennedy's knowledge, the CIA funded,

trained, armed and transported 1,300 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba. They landed at

the Bay of Pigs and made an attempt to overthrow Castro. The invasion was

a disaster , and President Kennedy was humiliated.

A map showing the range of missiles fired from Cuba

In September 1961, Castro asked for - and Russia publicly promised - weapons to

defend Cuba against America. Which is why on 14 October 1962, the Americans

discovered the missile sites in Cuba. These sites brought every town in the US

within range of Soviet nuclear missiles. President Kennedy called a meeting of the

National Security Council and on 22 October went on TV to tell the American people

that they were under threat.

The crisis had begun.

Kennedy versus Khrushchev

Revision tip and answer preparation

Revision tip

To help you remember these facts, identify six causes of the Cuban crisis and present

them as a spider gram, showing the links between the different factors.

Answer preparation

As part of your revision, think about the arguments and facts you would use to

explain:

1. Why the USA and the USSR clashed over Cuba in 1962.
2. What the issues were - on both sides - in the Cuban missile crisis.
3. Who you would blame for the Cuban missile crisis.

The 13 days and the effects of the crisis

The threat of nuclear war became increasingly apparent. It was vital that Kennedy

and Khrushchev came to some sort of agreement - the future of the world

depended on it.

Crisis summary

President Kennedy did not dare to invade Cuba, because that action could have

started a world war - yet he could not let the missile sites be completed. With his

advisers, he decided on a naval blockade to prevent Russian ships delivering the

missiles for the Cuban sites.

Khrushchev warned that Russia would see the blockade as an act of war. Russian

forces were put on alert ; US bombers were put in the air carrying nuclear bombs ;

preparations were made to invade Cuba. There was massive tension in both

Washington and Moscow. Everybody thought the world was going to come to an end.

Secretly, the Americans suggested a trade-off of missile bases - US bases in Turkey for

Russian bases in Cuba.

The Russians made the first public move. The ships heading for Cuba turned back ,

and Khrushchev sent a telegram offering to dismantle the Cuban bases if Kennedy

Repercussions of the crisis

Speaking many years later, Khrushchev claimed that he had won the Cuban missile crisis. He had achieved both his aims - America never bothered Cuba again (which is still a Communist country) and the US missile sites in Turkey were dismantled in November 1962.

The world did not see it that way at the time, because the Turkey deal was kept secret, the West saw Kennedy as the hero who had faced down Communism.

Meanwhile, Khrushchev lost prestige. China broke off relations with Russia and, in 1964, he was forced to resign as Soviet leader.

Lasting effects of the crisis

'OK Mr President, let's talk' On 29 October 1962, this cartoon was published in the 'Daily Mail'. The caption read: 'OK Mr President, let's talk'.

The message of the cartoon was clear - the world had avoided a nuclear war, but it was time for reason. In fact, both leaders had frightened themselves. Soon afterwards:

• In 1963, a telephone hotline was set up to give instant contact between the

two leaders if there was a crisis.

• In 1963, a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed.
• In 1968, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed - the superpowers

promised not to supply nuclear technology to other countries.

Revision tip and answer preparation

Revision tip

Look back through the pages on the Cuban missile crisis, sorting the evidence to support the idea that Kennedy won the Cuban Missile crisis, and the evidence to suggest that Khrushchev won. Form your own conclusion.

Answer preparation

As part of your revision, think about the arguments and facts you would use to explain:

1. What the results of the Cuban crisis?
2. Who won the Cuban crisis - Kennedy or Khrushchev ?.
3. How well the Illingworth cartoon represents the Cuban crisis.

The Prague Spring

For four months in 1968 Czechoslovakia broke free from Soviet rule, allowing freedom of speech and removing some state controls. This period is now referred to as the Prague Spring but why did it only last four months?

Events in Czechoslovakia 1968

• 1. There were no riots or demonstrations but, during 1967, students and writers were complaining about the lack of freedom, and the poor performance of the Czechoslovak economy.
  2. But when Antonin Novotny, the Czechoslovak president, asked Leonid Brezhnev , the Soviet leader, for help, Brezhnev did not support him.
  3. Novotny fell from power and on 5 January 1968, Alexandr Dubcek - a reformer - took over as leader of the Communist Party (KSC).