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Why was it surprising that the Allies and USSR were allies?

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Includes Cold War, Soviet Control of EE, Germany DS Parts C & D

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1

Why was it surprising that the Allies and USSR were allies?

  • Clash in ideologies (Communism/Democracy)

  • Stalin believed that appeasement was useless, his own suspicions drove them apart

  • Britain and the US helped enemies of the USSR in the past (eg. Russian Civil War)

  • 1920s communists persecuted in the US during the 'red scare'; - Britain blamed a general strike on communist agents

  • West upset with the USSR for signing the Nazi soviet pact

  • USSR wanted allies to launch a second military front against Germany; bitter that this did not happen until 1944.

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2

How had the role of the US changed after WWII?

  • 1930s: US followed a policy of isolationism (keeping out of Europe and world affairs)

  • Britain and France no longer large enough, rich enough, or strong enough to be world leaders anymore

  • 1940s: Roosevelt turned away from isolationism, effectively opposing communism (believed the US responsible for world collaboration)

  • No more appeasement; from now on communist actions would be met with an American response.

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What were the ideologies of the US?

  • Capitalist - business and property privately owned.

  • Democracy - government chosen in free elections

  • World's wealthiest country (but extremes of wealth and poverty)

  • Freedom from government control > equality

  • Alarmed by communist theory which included the spread of revolution

  • Believed that their policies were doing the right thing rather than serving own interests

  • Other countries should follow its way

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What were the ideologies of the USSR?

  • Communist - business and property state owned

  • One party system elections featured only in those who belonged to the communist party

  • Economic superpower but general standard of living was lower than the US (but employment and extreme poverty rare)

  • Individual rights < good of society as a whole

  • Role of the communist state was to spread the revolution worldwide

  • Believed the US was selfishly building its economic empire and political influence Other countries should follow its way

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5

What was the Yalta Conference?

  • February 1945

  • Clear Germany losing war

  • Discussion of what would happen after Germany's defeat

  • Attended by Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill

  • Met at Yalta

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6

What were the Territorial agreements of the Yalta Conference?

  • Germany to be divided into Four Zones of Influence: American, British, French and Soviet (Capital: Berlin, inside the Soviet zone.)

  • Countries liberated from Germany to be allowed free elections choose their own governments (although USSR had a different view of 'democracy')

  • Countries liberated from Germany have emergency government; included all anti Nazi groups

  • Eastern Europe should be 'a soviet sphere of influence'

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7

What were the agreements of the Yalta Conference regarding people?

  • Germans living in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia would be sent back to Germany

  • War criminal responsible for the concentration camps and genocide to be punished; Nazi Party to be banned

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8

What were the other agreements at the Yalta Conference?

  • All would join the newly created United Nations Organisation formed to keep the peace after war

  • USSR agreed to enter war against Japan after Germany surrendered (in return for the land)

  • All parties would receive reparations from Germany

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9

What had Stalin wanted that caused disagreement at Yalta?

  • Stalin wanted to move the border of the USSR further west into Poland (similar to what it received in the Nazi-Soviet Pact)

  • Stalin concerned over security of Russia: Soviet Pact and ensure Poland had a government friendly towards Russia

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10

What had Churchill and Roosevelt believed to cause disagreement at Yalta?

  • Did not support this but there was a little they could: USSRs troops already controlled Poland and Eastern Germany

  • Churchill and Roosevelt difficult decision: what would happen in Poland would set pattern for the rest of Eastern Europe -Struck a deal with Stalin: accept his proposal if he agreed not to interfere in Greece where the British were attempting to stop the communists from taking over

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11

What was the Potsdam Conference?

  • July-August 1945

  • Attended by Truman, Stalin, Churchill and Atlee

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12

What happened between Yalta and Potsdam?

  • USSR liberated much of Eastern Europe but did not withdraw its troops

  • A Communist government set up in Poland against its wishes;

  • Roosevelt (died) replaced by vice president, Harry Truman: more anti-Comminst than Roosevelt

  • Churchill (lost elections) replaced by Clement Attlee midway though - did not have the same authority as Churchill;

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13

Why had Potsdam had more tension?

  • Conference dominated by Truman/ Stalin rivalry (distrust)

  • US successfully tested atomic bomb - did not inform Stalin until Potsdam undermining trust between the two (although, probably not a surprise thanks to spies)

  • With Germany defeated, the Allies were no longer united by a common enemy

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What were the agreements of the Potsdam Conference?

  • Germany would be divided as agreed at Yalta (Division of Berlin into four zones as well)

  • Reparations (see above)

  • Poland's eastern border would be moved west to the rivers Oder and Neisse (reduction of the size of Germany)

  • The Nazi Party was banned and its leaders would be tried as war criminals

  • Germans living in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia would be sent back to Germany

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15

What were the disagreements at Potsdam?

  • Dominated by rivalry/suspicion between Truman and Stalin

  • Truman had atom bomb and attempted to assert his authority, Stalin would not allow himself to be bullied

  • Stalin wanted to cripple Germany; Truman did not want to repeat Versailles - wanted Germany rebuilt

  • Stalin wanted to impose heavy reparations on Germany - aprx. 20m Russians dead and USSR devastated; Truman did not want to repeat Versailles

  • Compromise: Allies would take reparations from the zones they controlled

  • Truman was unhappy about Soviet 'sphere of influence' and adopted a 'get tough' attitude towards Stalin.

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16

What was the Iron Curtain?

  • Term Churchill used to describe the political boundary dividing Europe east and west from the end of WWII in 1945

  • Eastern Europe now under increasing control of Soviet sphere of influence

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What was Cominform?

  • Communist Information Bureau

  • Created to coordinate work of communist parties in Eastern Europe

  • Leaders regularly brought to Moscow to be instructed by Stalin

  • Allowed Stalin to keep a close eye on them

  • Independent leaders replaced by ones loyal to Stalin

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18

How did Stalin tighten his grip in East Germany?

  • Given control of the eastern zone after WWII

  • Run by Red Army until creation of German Democratic Republic

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19

How did Stalin tighten his grip in Poland?

  • Communists joined coalition government

  • 1947: Became leaders after they forced non-communist leader into exile

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20

How did Stalin tighten his grip in Czechoslovakia?

  • 1945: Left-wing coalition won elections

  • 1946: Communists became largest single party, but still a coalition

  • 1948: Position threatened, banned other parties; made Czechoslovakia communist, one party state.

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21

How did Stalin tighten his grip in Hungary?

  • 1947: Communists became largest single party

  • 1947 Elections: Imprisoned opposition and attacked Church leaders

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22

How did Stalin tighten his grip in Romania?

  • 1945: Communist elected Prime Minister in left-wing coalition. - 1947: Communists abolish the monarchy

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23

How did Stalin tighten his grip in Yugoslavia?

  • 1945: Marshal Tito (led war-time resistance against Nazis) elected president

  • Wanted to apply communism in his own way

  • 1948: Expelled from Cominform

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24

How did Stalin tighten his grip in Bulgaria?

  • 1945: Left-wing coalition won elections -Communist members executed leaders of other parties

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25

How did Stalin tighten his grip in Albania?

  • Post war: Communist gained power

  • Nationalist resistance movements opposed Axis forces; little opposition during war (communists)

  • End of War: Strong communist movements had backing of Yugoslavia and USSR

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26

How did Stalin tighten his grip in France and Italy?

  • Both France and Italy had strong Communist parties

  • Belonged to Cominform.

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27

How did the West react to the spread of Communism in eastern Europe?

  • Alarmed: Stalin's take-over of eastern Europe.

  • Accepted: Soviet security needed friendly governments in eastern Europe.

  • Agreed: eastern Europe to be a Soviet 'sphere of influence'

  • Did not expect: Complete communist domination; Felt it possible to have governments that were democratic and friendly to USSR

  • Stalin: saw policy in eastern Europe as making himself secure, - Truman: only saw the spread of communism.

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What was the period of the Cold War?

  • 1946: Wartime alliance replaced with mutual suspicion and accusations

  • US/USSR publicly spoke of the threat of war and began increasing their stock of weapons

  • US/USSR took every opportunity to criticise the policies or the plans of the other

  • Atmosphere of tensions and blame

  • 'Cold war' was to last for the next 40 years

  • No fighting (thus 'cold' war) but US/USSR threatened military confrontation and sent troops and/ or advisers to help other states or groups

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29

What happened in Greece Post WWII?

  • 1944: Germans retreat; 2 groups want power (Monarchist/Communist)

  • Both involved in resistance against the Nazis

  • Communist: Greece = Soviet Republic

  • Monarchist = Return of King

  • 1945: Churchill sends British troops to 'restore order' and 'supervise free elections'

  • British supported monarchists and king was returned to power.

  • USSR protested to UN; UN takes no action

  • Communist attempt to take it by force; resutling in a Civil War

  • Britain retreats: can not afford war but US paid for some troops to stay

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30

What was the Truman Doctrine?

  • Change in American attitude to world politics

  • USA prepared to send money, equipment and advice to any country which was threatened by a communist take-over.

  • Truman accepted eastern Europe now communist

  • Aim: to stop communism from spreading any further

  • Policy known as containment

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31

What was the Marshall Plan?

  • European Recovery Program

  • Truman: Communism succeeded when people faced poverty and hardship

  • General George Marshall sent to assess economic condition

  • Europe owed $11.5 billion to US; still extreme shortage of all goods; Most countries are still rationing bread.

  • Winter 1947: Coal shortages n Britain; all electricity turned off for a period each day

  • Churchill: 'a rubble heap, a breeding ground of hate'

  • Marshall estimated that it would take about $17 billion to rebuild Europe

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32

What happened in Congress regarding the Marshall Plan?

  • December 1947: Truman put his plan to congress

  • Congress refused to grant money

  • Americans concerned about Trumans involvement in foreign affairs

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33

What happened in Czechoslovakia?

  • Ruled by coalition government (included communists)

  • Tried to pursue policies of independent of Moscow

  • March 1948: Anti soviet leaders purged, one pro American minister dead (suspected murder)

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34

What were the consequences of Czechoslovakia?

  • Congress accepted Marshall Plan and made $17 billion available over a period of 4 years

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35

What was the positive perception of the Marshall Plan?

  • Extremely generous (unlikely accomplish on their own for a long time)

  • US offering free money

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What was the negative perception of the Marshall Plan?

  • Served self interest

  • Stop the spread of communism

  • Show that their system of government was better

  • Open new markets for American goods (needed European trade to be healthy and wanted to avoid another worldwide slump like the Depression)

  • More allies

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What did Stalin think of the Marshall Plan?

  • Suspicious: refused to have anything to do with it

  • Forbade any of the Soviet-controlled Eastern European countries from applying for aid

  • Believed Marshall Plan anti-communist; would weaken control in eastern Europe

  • US trying to show their system more successful

  • Dominate Europe by making it dependant on US dollars

  • Soviets: plan was the first step in creating a military alliance that would wage war on the USSR

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What was Comecon?

  • Council for mutual Economic Assistance

  • Communist alternative/ response to Marshall Plan

  • Eastern Europe provides raw materials to USSR and the USSR manufactured goods to them

  • Aims:

  1. encourage economic development in Eastern Europe

  2. prevent trade with the West

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39

What did the Allies do in their 'Zones of influence'?

  • Britain, US and France merge zones into one (Trizonia)

  • Created a new common currency (the Deutschmark) to boost the economy (as the old currency was basically worthless)

  • Set up a German assembly and constitution.

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What did Stalin think of the Allies changes to their 'Zones of influence'?

  • Temporary zones of influence looking less permanent

  • Strong, united prosperous Germany worried Stalin

  • Feared new ideas and currency would spread to Soviet Zone and undermine his efforts to weaken Germany

  • Believed the west creating a permanently divided Germany; allowed US troops to remain

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How did Stalin respond to the Allies changes to their 'Zones of influence'?

  • June 1948: Stalin blocked supply routes (roads, railways, canals) connecting western areas to Berlin

  • USA ram roadblocks or railway blocks; could be seen as an act of war

  • Stalin expected Truman to announce withdrawal; give Soviets control over Berlin; propaganda victory

  • Wanted to make city dependant on USSR and force city to join them

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42

How did the Allies respond to the Berlin Blockade?

  • Berlin Airlift: Truman ordered that aircraft should fly supplies into Berlin

  • 11 month operation; Stalin lifted the Blockade in May 1949

  • 24 hour operation

  • If US challenge blockade; act of war but do nothing, Berliners starve and they lose city

  • Test of the containment policy

  • "Operation vittles"

  • Still shortages

  • 1949: Stalin eventually reopened communications

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What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade?

  • Powerful Symbol: Berlin symbol of Cold War and flashpoint

  • PR victory for West: Demonstrated commitment to containment

  • 1949: Germany divided: Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the eastern zone became the German democratic republic (EG)

  • Pro-western, anti-commubist government elected in West Germany; exactly what Stalin didn't want

  • Germany divided for the next 41 years; Berlin became a symbols of the Cold War tensions

  • Pattern for confrontation: proxy wars and suspicion

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44

What was NATO?

  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization

  • Formed 1949

  • Members promised to maintain their ability to resist attacks and to help each other if attacked

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45

What was the Warsaw Pact?

  • Response to NATO engulfing West Germany

  • Promised to defend each other if attack and not to interfere in internal affairs

  • Formed 1955

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46

How did the Soviet Union seize control in Eastern Europe (Political Vacuum and Cominform)?

  • Political vacuum after WWII; USSR assisted communist parties win power

  • Cominform used to ensure eastern Europe followed same policies as USSR

  • Became one-party states; other parties declared illegal

  • Secret police used to silence opponents

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How did the Soviet Union seize control in Eastern Europe (Law and Order)?

  • Imprisonment of non communists who criticise the government

  • Censorship of newspapers

  • Law and order needed to be restored after WWII; provided excuse to station Soviet troops in Eastern Europe

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48

How did the Soviet Union seize control in Eastern Europe (Economies and Comecon)?

  • 1964: Comecon set up banks in socialist countries; provided the USSR with a market to sell its goods to

  • Guaranteed cheap supply of raw materials (eg. Poland forced to sell coal to USSR at 1/10 market price)

  • Lack of consumer goods; geared towards the USSR's needs

  • Economies were shattered and need to be rebuilt

  • Followed policies of the USSR; took over industry and factories/ workers told what to produce

  • Comecon used to ensure that eastern Europe traded with the USSR; aid promised to those that cooperated

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How did the Soviet Union seize control in Eastern Europe (Defence and Resources)?

  • Publicly, Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe to defend the USSR from another attack from the West

  • Later policies suggest that he also wanted to benefit from the wealth and resources gained by this takeover

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Why had the Soviets takeover brought hope to some?

  • USSR achieved amazing industrial growth before WWII; perhaps same could be achieved in Eastern Europe

  • USSR emerged from WWII as world superpower; could offer stability and security

  • Faced with food shortages and poverty, some hoped for great things under the communists

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51

How did Soviet control impact peoples freedom and protests?

  • Countries with free speech and democratic governments lost right to criticise the government

  • Censorship of newspapers

  • Non communists put in prison for criticising government

  • Forbidden to travel to countries in western Europe

  • Protests (eg. East Germany 1953) crushed by security forces.

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How did Soviet control impact peoples wealth?

  • 1945-1955: eastern European economies did recover but wages in eastern Europe below wages in other countries

  • Short of coal to heat their houses

  • Clothing and shoes were very expensive.

  • Eastern Europe forbidden to apply for Marshall aid

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How did Soviet control impact consumer goods?

  • No consumer goods (radios, electric kettles or televisions)

  • Economies geared towards Soviet Union

  • Factories produced machinery or electric cables, not what ordinary people wanted

  • Eastern Europe experience shortages long after west

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What did Khrushchev change? What didn't he change?

  • Ended USSR's long feuds with China and Yugoslavia

  • Talked of peaceful co-existence with the West

  • Made plans to reduce expenditure on arms

  • Attended the first post war summit between the USSR, USA, France and Britain in July 1955

  • Said he wanted to improve the living standards of ordinary citizens

  • Didn't change the Warsaw Pact

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What was 'De-Stalinsation'?

  • Khrushchev's denouncing of Stalin's legacy

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How did Khrushchev implement it?

  • Closed Cominform

  • Released thousands of political prisoners

  • Pulled troops from Austria

  • Invited Marshall Tito to Moscow

  • Dismissed Stalin's former Foreign Minister Molotov

  • Signalled to Eastern Europe that they would have greater independence

  • Wanted to return to more traditional communist agenda of Bolshevis under Lenin

  • 'Secret Speech' at Congress of Communist Party- attacked Stalin as a tyrant and enemy of the people; criticised purges, persecution and the fear that existed

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What had the Hungarians thought of Hungary between 1949-1956?

  • Led by a hard-line Communist Matyas Rakosi

  • Hungarians hated restrictions put on them by Rakosi

  • Lost freedom of speech

  • Fear of secret police

  • Resented presence of Soviet troops and officials in Hungary

  • Had Russian street signs, schools and shops

  • Had to pay for Soviet forces to be in Hungary

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What happened during June 1956?

  • Group in Communist Party in Hungary opposed Rakosi

  • Rakosi appealed to Moscow for help; wanted to arrest 400 leading opponents

  • Moscow didn't back him; ordered Rakosi to retire due to 'health reasons'

  • New leader Erno Gero, was no more acceptable

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What happened in Hungary, October 1956?

  • 23 October: huge student demonstration: giant statue of Stalin in Budapest was pulled down

  • 24 October: USSR allowed new government to be formed under well respected Imre Nagy

  • Soviet troops and tanks stationed in Hungary

  • Hungarians created 1000s of local councils to replace Soviet power

  • 1000s of Hungarian soldiers from army defected to rebel cause with weapons

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What did Nagy's government plan to do?

  • Hold free elections

  • Create impartial courts

  • Restore farmland to private ownership

  • Wanted total withdrawal of Soviet army from Hungary

  • Planned to leave Warsaw Pact and declare Hungary neutral in Cold War

  • Optimism that Eisenhower would support independent; Hungary with armed troops if necessary

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What did Khrushchev think of these actions?

  • At first, Khrushchev seemed ready to accept some reforms

  • Could not accept Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact

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What happened November 1956?

  • Thousands of Soviet troops and tanks moved into Budapest Hungarians did not give in

  • Two weeks of fighting

  • About 3,000 Hungarians

  • 7,000-8,000 Russians were killed

  • 200,000 Hungarians fled into Austria to escape the Communist forces

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What were the outcomes of Hungary 1956?

  • Khrushchev put Janos Kadar in place as leader

  • Took several months to crush all resistance

  • 35,000 anti-Communist activists arrested; 300 were executed

  • Introduced some reforms demanded by Hungarian people; but did not waver on the membership of the Warsaw Pact

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What happened during the 1960s in Czechoslovakia?

  • 1967: Old Stalinist leader replaced by Alexander Dubček

  • Committed communist, but believed communism did not have to be as restrictive

  • Learned lessons of Hungarian uprising

  • Reassured Brezhnev that Czechoslovakia had no plans to pull out of the Warsaw pact or Comecon

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What did Alexander Dubček propose?

  • Proposed policy of 'socialism with a human face'

  • Less censorship, more freedom of speech, reduction inactivities of secret police

  • Censorship eased, opponents able to criticise failings of communist rules

  • Period known as The Prague Spring due to new ideas appearing everywhere

  • Radical ideas emerge by summer; talk of allowing another political party (the Social Democratic Party) to be set up

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What did the Soviets think of what was happening in Czechoslovakia?

  • Soviet Union suspicious of changes taking place in Czechoslovakia as well as other communist leaders in eastern Europe

  • Worried new ideas might spread

  • Brezhnev came under pressure from East German and Polish leaders to clamp down on reform in Czechoslovakia

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What did the USSR do in the Summer of 1968?

  • USSR tried various tactics to slow Dubček down

  • Intimidate Czechs → Soviet, Polish and East German troops performed public training exercises right on the Czech border

  • Thought about imposing economic sanctions → eg. cancelling wheat exports to Czechoslovakia

  • Didn't because thought that Czechs would ask for help from the West

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How did the USSR respond in July 1968?

  • July → USSR held summit conference with Czechs

  • Dubček agreed not to allow a new Social Democratic Party but insisted on keeping most reforms.

  • Tension eases

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What did the USSR do during August 1968?

  • 20 August 1968 → Soviet tanks moved into Czechoslovakia

  • Little violent resistance

  • Dubček removed from power

  • Experiment in socialism with a human face had not failed, simply proved unacceptable to other communist countries

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What were the outcomes of Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring 1968?

  • Dubček not executed

  • Gradually downgraded

  • Sent to be ambassador to Turkey; expelled from Communist Party

  • Photographs showing him as leader 'censored'

  • Clear that reforming ideas regarded as threat to communist rule by all communist leaders

  • Leaders feared that their own people would demand the same freedom that Dubcek had allowed in Czechoslovakia

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What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?

  • Essentials of communism defined as a one party system

  • To remain a member of the Warsaw Pact

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What was the impact of Hungary on eastern Germans?

  • Only way of escaping was to leave

  • Some wanted to leave for political reasons; many wanted to leave for economic reasons

  • Living conditions in West Berlin looked much better to people in East Berlin

  • 1950s: East Berliners were able to travel into West Berlin and West Germany freely; Tempting to leave East Germany (harsh Communist regime, hardline leader, Walter Ulbricht) Late 1950s: Thousands leaving; Defectors often highly skilled workers or well qualified managers

  • Communist government could not afford to lose these people; undermined communism

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What was the 'solution'?

  • 1961: USA had new president (Kennedy)

  • Khrushchev thought he could bully Kennedy and chose to pick a fight over Berlin

  • Insisted that Kennedy withdraw US troops from city; Kennedy refused

  • 2am, 13 August 1961: East German soldiers erected barbed wire barrier along border; replaced by concrete wall

  • All crossing points sealed, except Checkpoint Charlie

  • Chaos ensued; border guards kept a lookout for anyone crossing the wall - had order to shoot defectors

  • Hundreds killed over the next three decades

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What were the outcomes of the Berlin Wall?

  • October 1961: US diplomats and troops crossed regularly into East Berlin to find out how the Soviet would react

  • 27 October: Soviet tanks pulled up to Checkpoint Charlie and refused to allow any further access to the East

  • After 18 hours, the tanks slowly pulled back

  • Everyone relieved - Khrushchev ordered Ulbricht to avoid any actions that would increase tension

  • Wall stayed, symbol of division

  • Communists presented the wall as a protective shell around East Berlin

  • West presented it as a prison wall

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What happened in Poland Between 1970-1981?

Late 1970: Polish economy hit crisis (1979 worst year) July 1980: Government announced increased price of meat August 1980: Workers at Gdansk shipyard, led by Lech Walesa, put forward 21 demands to Governments (incl. free trade unions and right to strike)

  • Started free trade union called Solidarity

  • August 30 1980: Government agreed to all 21 of Solidarity's demand

  • September 1980: Solidarity's membership grew to 3.5 million

  • October 1980 Solidarity membership 7 million; officially recognised by Government

  • January 1981 Membership of Solidarity reached peak at 9.4 million; more than a third of all workers in Poland

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Why had Solidarity been successful?

  • Union strongest in industries most important to Government ; Shipbuilding and heavy industry

  • General strike in these industries would have devastated Poland's economy

  • Union popular, almost half of all workers belonged. Lech Walesa kind of a folk hero

  • Solidarity had support of Catholic church; strong in Poland

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How had Solidarity been in its early stages?

  • Early stages: Union not seen by its members as an alternative to the communist party

  • More than 1 million members (30 percent) of the Communist Party joined Solidarity

  • Lech Walesa careful in negotiations with the government; avoid provoking a dispute that might bring the Soviet Union in

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What did the Government do in response to Solidarity in its early stages?

  • Government praying for time; hoped Solidarity break into rival factions

  • Drew up plans for Martial rule (rule by the army)

  • Solidarity gained support in the West that neither Hungarian or Czech rising had

  • Walesa well known in Western media; people in west brought Solidarity badges to show support

  • Scale of movement ensured that Soviet Union treated Polish crisis cautiously

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What happened in February 1981 in Poland?

  • February 1981: situation changed; civilian prime minister "resigned" and leader of army (general Jaruzeleski) took over

  • People expected Soviet Union to "send in the tanks"

  • Solidarity congress produced an "open letter"; campaigning not only for their own rights but for the rights of workers throughout the communist bloc

  • Proclaimed that the Poles were fighting "For Your Freedom and For Ours"

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How did Jaruzelski respond and how did Brezhnev follow that up?

  • Jaruzelski and Walesa negotiated to form a government of national understanding

  • December 1981: after nine months of tense relationships, the government broke down; communist government acts.

  • Brezhnev ordered Red Army to carry out "training manoeuvres" on Polish border.

  • Jaruzelski introduced martial law.

  • Put Walesa and almost 10,000 other Solidarity leaders in prison

  • He suspended solidarity.

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Why would the USSR want to crush Solidarity?

  • Solidarity was acting as a political party

  • Secret tapes of Solidarity meeting setting up a new provisional government without Communist Party

  • Had many different factions; some more hardline than others

  • Strikes continued long after leadership order them to stop

  • Soviet Union had seen enough; situation in Poland gone too far

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What state was Poland in during 1981?

  • Poland sinking into chaos; Almost all poles felt impact of food shortages

  • April 1981: Rationing introduced

  • Wages increased by less than inflation

  • Unemployment rising

  • Solidarity tumbling into chaos

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What was the significance of Solidarity?

  • Highlighted failure of Communism to provide good living standards

  • Undermined Communism's claim to be a system which benefited ordinary people

  • Highlighted inefficiency and corruption

  • Showed that there were organisations capable of resisting Communist governments

  • Showed that Communist governments could be threatened by 'people power'

  • If Soviet policy were to change Communist control would not survive; if military force not used, communist control seemed shaky

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What problems did the USSR face?

  • Weak economy: spending too much on arms race; stuck in an expensive and fruitless war in Afghanistan

  • Believed communism should improve life for people; offended that Soviet-made goods were poor; living standards higher in the west

  • Work standards slipping: people no longer worked hard out of loyalty or fear; lack of incentive; sloppy

  • Corruption hurt production: alcoholism a problem - lowering production and average life expectancy of soviet men.

  • No new ideas on how to run economy since Stalin: leaders followed same policies and ignored warning signs of trouble

  • No loyalty to the government: citizens had lost faith in leaders as the west got richer

  • Corruption problem: Many party members lived in luxury while people lived in poverty

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85

What reforms occurred in the USSR under Gorbachev?

  • Glasnost (openness): encouraging honest, open debate on government policy and problems facing the USSR; allowed more details about the past to be known by the public; people who criticised the government should not be persecuted.

  • Perestroika (restructuring): allowed people to buy/sell for profit, private ownership; reduced state control over imports/exports; trade with non-Eastern bloc countries and foreign investment.

  • Defence: cut spending on the military; withdrew forces from Afghanistan.

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How did the US (Reagan) react?

  • Adopted "get tough" policy against USSR

  • Knew USSR couldn't match the US in the arms race and Gorbachev cut back here too

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What were the consequences of these reforms?

  • Promoted trust and cooperation not confrontation

  • Improved relations with the US meant the USSR felt less threatened and felt less of a need to control Eastern Europe.

  • Gorbachev's changes were difficult for hardline Communists to accept

  • Economic reforms did not work as expected as people wanted too much too quickly

  • Corruption made change difficult.

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88

What policies were introduced to the USSR under Gorbachev?

  • Main focus USSR: didn't want to be distracted by maintaining control over Eastern Europe; now responsible for its own fate

  • Told then to reform; communism not doomed; believed it could provide better healthcare, education and transport; renew communism so it could match capitalism

  • Believed USSR was out of date in its thinking; people should be allowed to say who ruled them

  • Gorbachev's reforms gave people hope; demanded the same in their countries

  • Gorbachev stated would no longer force to support Communist governments in the East

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89

What did the Nazis want to (re)build?

  1. A Strong Germany

  • Strong leadership (Kaiser)

  • Strong army → able to restore Germany's military pride

  1. A racially pure Germany

  • Aryan supremacy

  • Wanted to remove Jews and other non-Aryans from any position of leadership

  1. A People's Community (Volk)

  • Nazis wanted people to give their hearts and minds to Hitler

  • Contribution to Germany's more important than their own fulfilment

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90

What did the Nazis do in Northeim to initially gain control?

  1. Police arrested opposition councillors

  • Stationed SA officers all around room; refused to let opposition speak

  1. Searched all houses in Northeim

  • 'Looking for illegal guns and ammunition'

  • Ransacked homes and arrested 22 people

  • 7 taken to local concentration camps

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91

What did the Nazis implement into Northeim?

  1. Ordered Gleichschaltung (coordination) of all organisations

  • 4 Sports clubs combined into 1 Nazi-run sports club

  • Singing groups and choirs combined as Nazi-led 'Mixed choral singing club of 1933'

  1. Boycotts of Jewish Businesses

  • Newspaper campaign told Northeimers not to shop at Jewish-run businesses

  • SA men stationed outside to turn people away

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92

How did the Nazis affect unemployment and propagandise in Northeim?

  1. Ended Unemployment

  • June 1933: 500 registered unemployed; within 3 months there were none

  • Put to work repairing roads and clearing woods around town Socialists dismissed from jobs which were given to Nazis

  • Unemployed socialists offered physically demanding work in local quarry

  • Only if they agreed to give up politics

  1. Produced Relentless Propaganda

  • Ceremonial burning of the Weimar flag

  • Book burning to destroy unacceptable books

  • Torchlight parade → Joined by 3000 people

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93

What 4 Tools of Control did the Nazis use in Germany?

  • The Gestapo

  • The SS

  • Concentration Camps -Police and Courts

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94

What was the Gestapo?

  • Secret state police commanded by Reinhard Heydrich

  • Could arrest citizens and send them to concentration camps without trial

  • Believed to have a network of 'informers' listening in on people's conversations

  • Germans believed that Gestapo was much more powerful than it actually was → ordinary Germans informed on each other because they thought gestapo would find out anyway

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95

What was the SS?

  • A paramilitary group directly loyal to Hitler

  • It had 1 million staff by 1944 led by Heirich Himmler

  • SS men were aryans→ highly trained and totally loyal to Hitler

  • Under Himmler→ the SS had the main responsibility for crushing opposition and carrying out Nazi racial policies

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96

What were the Three Subdivisions of the SS?

  1. The SD

  • integral security service -SD would investigate potential disloyalty within the armed forces or politically sensitive cases

  1. The Death's Head units

  • Responsible for the concentration camps and transportation and murder of the jews

  1. The Waffen-SS

  • Armoured regiments that fought alongside the regular army

  • As its power grew the SS set up its own courts →Around 200,000 germans were sent to concentration camps by these courts

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97

What were the Concentration Camps?

  • Set up as soon as Hitler took power in 1933.

  • Makeshift prisons in disused factories and warehouses.

  • Jews, socialists, communists, trade unionists, churchmen and anyone else brave enough to criticise the Nazis ended up in these camps.

  • Run by SS Death's Head units.

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98

How did the Nazis control the Police and Courts?

  • Top jobs in local police forces were given to high-ranking nazis reporting to Himmler

  • The police added political "snooping" to their normal law-and-order role.

  • Under strict instructions to ignore crimes committed by Nazi agents.

  • Nazis appointed all the judges and sacked those they disapproved of.

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99

Who was Joeseph Goebbels and what did he do?

  • Minister for enlightenment and propaganda

  • 12 years of Nazi rule: Goebbels constantly kept finger on the pulse of public opinion and decided what German public should and shouldn't hear

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100

What were the Nuremberg Rallies?

  • Huge rallies, marches, torch-lit processions and meetings

  • Took place the summer of each year

  • Bands, marches, flying displays and Hitler's brilliant speeches

  • Rallies showed German people that the power of the state and convinced them that every other german fully supported the Nazis

  • Organised to emphasise order.

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