3 - Reaction to Crisis

How did the Berlin wall impact US-Soviet relations?

The construction of the wall led to a serious standoff between the 2 super powers in october 1961.

The USA disputed the right of Soviet troops to patrol and guard the checkpoints to the wall and to check the passports of American officials who passed through these checkpoints.

The US stationed their own troops and tanks on the western side.

This provoked the soviets to place takns on the east German side.

One wrong move and there was a real possibility of armed conflict.

How did the stand off at the Berlin wall between East and West end?

Kennedy worked behind the scenes to avoid conflict, promising Khrushchev that if the Soviet Union removed its troops, the USA would do the same.

The ended the stand off.

Why did the standoff between East and West tanks occur?

In October 1961, US Chief of Mission in West Berlin, E. Allan Lightner was stopped in his car by east German police.

This led to the US placing troops and tanks on the western side of the checkpoint.

When was Kennedy's visit to Berlin?

1963

What did Kennedy do in his visit to West Berlin?

He embarked on a thirty mile tour of the main streets, which were lined 1.5 people (Out of population of about 2.5 million people).

He spoke to a crowd of about 200,000 in the centre of the city, near the wall.

Some east berliners listening to him on the other side applauded too.

Kennedy stated ‘ich bin ein Berliner’ in one of his speeches, indicating the plight of the people of Berlin was a high priority for him.

He also stated there was a ‘fee world and the communist world.’

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): how did Kennedy appear as a reult of the crisis?

The perception was that Khrushchev backed down. Many saw Kennedy' as a great statesman who had stood up to the communists.

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): How did Khrushchev appear as a result of the crisis?

The deal where the US removed the missiles in turkey wasn't made public.

Many leading politicians in the Soviet Union thought khrushchev had been humiliated and sought to remove him.

Khrushchev was seen to have failed, contributing to his removal in 1964.

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): what is the hotline?

A telephone hotline between the White House in Washington DC and Kremlin in Moscow.

It was to ensure the leaders wouldn't have to have to communicate by letter during a crisis.

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): what was the limited test ban treaty?

1963

Signed by the U.S., UK, and USSR, was an agreement banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater to slow the arms race, allowing only underground tests on several conditions.

Was a crucial first step towards broader arms control.

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): what was the outer space treaty? When was it?

1967

Where the 2 superpowers, britain and other countries promised to use outer space for peaceful purposes and place nuclear weapons in orbit.

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): what was the nuclear non-proliferation treaty? When was it?

1968

Designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons

The countries signing agreed not to develop nuclear weapons.

The idea that the arms race had almost brought about nuclear helped to push the superpowers to consider limitations to their arsenals. These later became known as strategic arms limitation talks.

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): how was it shown relationships between the superpowers improved?

In 1963, the USA sold grain to the Soviet Union following poor harvests there

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): who disagreed with Kennedy's reaction to the crisis? What did this lead to?

Some countries in Europe didn't like how Kennedy acted on his own and hadn't consulted other countries.

In 1966, France withdrew from the military side of NATO.

International reactions to USSR’s invasion of Cuba (1968): how did western Europe react?

Western Europe countries followed America's lead - they condemned the invasion but provided no military help.

Western European communist in Italy and france were outraged by the invasion and formally declared themselves of the Soviet communism.

The Soviet Union increasingly lost influence in these western European contries, which began to develop their their own form of European communism know as eurocommunism.

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): How did communist countries react?

The invasion of Czechoslovakia increased rivalry between China and the Soviet Union.

China criticized the use of force against a fellow communist nation.

China feared the Soviet Union might take the same force against them.

Other communist countries began to move away from Moscow.

Romanian president refused to send troops to join the forces invading Czechoslovakia and took an increasingly independent line against the USSR.

Albania did the same and left the Warsaw pact in 1968.