Studied by 0 people
History igcse makes me want to swallow rubber shavings until i eventually get rubbed out of existence.
Refugee Crisis 1958-63 & the Berlin Ultimatum
1. The Berlin Ultimatum was issued in 1958 by Khrushchev demanding Western powers leave Berlin.
2. The Refugee Crisis led to over 2.5 million East Germans fleeing to West Berlin by 1961.
3. Khrushchev's ultimatums led to direct confrontations at the summit meetings.
4. Tensions between the East and West increased due to the movement of refugees.
5. The USA and USSR held summits to discuss the Berlin situation, leading to both public statements and behind-the-scenes diplomacy.
Ways it deteriorated relations
West saw Khrushchev's actions as a way to extend communism.
Khrushchev thought that it was essential to solve the refugee crisis.
Summits & U2 incident
1 The summits were at Geneva switzerland may 1959, Camp David september 1959 and Paris France may 1960 Dwight Eisenhower
1st of may U2 spy plane shot down
Pilot of U2 plane was Gary Powers
Khrushchev walked out of the meeting
The Berlin Wall, 1961
1 Between 1952 and 1961 3.5 million East Germans migrated
17 August 1972 Peter Fechter was shot and left to die
26 June 1963 JFK made is Ich bin ein Berliner speech
18 hour stand off at checkpoint Charlie October 27 1961
12 August 1961 Walter Ulbricht closed the border.
Impact on relations Berlin wall
1. Reduced tension over the refugee issue, as East Germany stopped the flow of refugees to West Berlin.
2. Served as a visible marker of ideological separation, reducing direct conflict.
3. Allowed for the stabilization of East-West relations by formalizing the division of Berlin.
v
Propaganda increased on both sides. The East claimed that the West was seducing the East Berliners with capitalism to bring down communism. The west used Kennedy's Berliner speech to promote the West further.
Kennedy's reputation skyrocketed. He showed Khrushchev he could not be bullied and forced him to recognise West Germany's power making it a symbol of defiance against communism leading to resentment between the two leaders.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
1959 Fidel Castro overthrew General Batista with a socialist revolution.
America invaded at the Bay of Pigs on the 17th April 1961. 1,400 US backed Cuban exiles ()Brigade 2506) were met with 20,000 Cubans
1202 members of brigade were captured and would be exchanged for $28M worth of tractors but were then exchanged in 1962 for $53M worth of food + medicine.
October 1962 discovered Soviet missile sites.
Monday 22nd October 7pm Kennedy addressed the media about missile sites.
20th October 1962 Kennedy organised a blockade under the name quarantine to stop Soviet ships.
If the soviets broke the blockade, war would break out.
A B59 submarine were debating whether war had broken out and whether to launch a nuclear torpedo as they could not communicate as they were too deep and the US had launched signalling depth charges. A man Vasily Arkhipov opposed the idea of launching and persuaded the submarine to surface, narrowly missing a nuclear war.
27th October 1962 Krushchev n Kennedy compromise that SU wouldn't put missiles on Cuba if US removed warheads from army bases in Italy and Turkey.
Impact of Cuban missile crisis on relations
1. Led to the installation of the Hotline between the USA and USSR to improve communication.
2. Resulted in both sides agreeing to limit nuclear weapons testing through treaties. Limited Test Ban Treaty.
3. Demonstrated the importance of diplomacy in resolving crises, helping to avoid further escalation.
4. Led to a reduction in nuclear tensions during the mid-1960s.
v
Eradicated the possibility of good relations for US and Cuba
Fidel Castro's socialist approach was strengthened.
USA lost popularity as they funded the invasion and pretended they didn't.
Brezhnev would visit Cuba in 1974 and create a relationship right under the US
The thaw/early détente: Hotline & Test Ban treaty (1963-1967)
1. The Hotline was established in 1963 to allow direct communication between the White House and the Kremlin.
2. The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963) banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater.
3. These were the first signs of cooperation between the superpowers since the start of the Cold War.
4. Both sides agreed to work on arms control during this period.
5. These efforts led to a reduction in nuclear tensions during the mid-1960s.
Outer Space Treaty - stopped the arms race spreading into space: no weapons on the moon/planets.
Impact of thaw on relations
Both sides demonstrated that they needed good relations between each other and were never wanting to go to war.
It put a pause in the nuclear arms race. It eradicated the sense of competition that made tensions rise.
v
Brezhnev felt it was more important to keep a strong sphere of influence in Eastern Europe than keeping good relations with America which suggests that he is willing to do things that would endanger relations
Lyndon B Johnson thought Americans can't be seen looking for good relations when the USSR was heavily criticised in media.
Czechoslovakia, 1968-9
Living standards were down when ruled by Antony Novotny
January 1968 Alexander Dubcek
April 1968 censorship relaxed and other parties were permitted.
Brezhnev plus East German Leader Erich Honecker were concerned about sphere of influence being disrupted.
21st August 1968 troops entered Prague.
Dubcek replaced with Gustav Husak.
Impacts of Czechoslovakia
1. Showed the limits of Soviet tolerance for reform, increasing fear of Soviet intervention.
2. Increased tensions in Eastern Europe, signalling that the USSR was not willing to ease its grip on satellite states.
3. Revealed the conflict between détente and the Soviet Union's actions.
v
Led to the Brezhnev Doctrine stating that if the belief in communism wavered in one country they would be invaded a d was condemned by US adn UK.
Communism lost its appeal in other countries. Communist drench leader Waldek Rochet and Italian communist leader Longo opposed invasion broke off ties.
Mexico broke of ties.
Détente, 1968-1972
1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty,
1967 Outer space Treaty stopped nuclear weapons in outer space.
1968 Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty stopped the share of missiles.
SALT 1 1972. Agreed that USA and USSR could have 2 Anti Ballistic Missile deployment areas. (Stops ICBMs)
1973 OPEC Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries announced and embargo.
Impacts of Detente
Apollo-soyuz mission. Soviets and US people shake hands on the moon. Signified the future would be peaceful.
Positive sign of collaboration. Led to presidents visiting each others countries and led to SALT 2.
It kept both sides vulnerable to MAD to keep them both discouraged from going to war and stopped any huge advancements of nuclear weapons that may give leaders a monopoly when negotiating.
v
1. SALT was seen as ineffective, allowing loopholes ie MIRVs not limited.
Both countries sill owned enough weapons to destroy each other many times over.
2. Tensions remained over regional conflicts, particularly in the Middle East and Vietnam ie Yom Kippur War in 1973
USSR was committed to supporting new communist countries and expanding the influence while the US was still committed to stomping them out which was the whole reason for the war in the first place.
3. Both sides continued to develop new technologies, undermining some agreements. The USA built stealth bombers and its Strategic Defence Initiative. The USSR built the SS-20 missile during the detente period.
