History - Cold War

What were some of the long term economic differences/causes of tension between the democratic west and the communist USSR?

People in capitalist countries enjoyed a higher standard of living than those in communist countries
People are free to own business and make their own profit, while in the USSR, their jobs were given by the state

What were some of the long term political differences/causes of tension between the democratic west and the communist USSR?

Freedom of speech in the west vs people unable to criticise the government in the USSR
Communist countries using secret people force while police are accountable to the people in democratic countries
Russian communists believed in dictatorships and all non-communist political parties were banned

What were some of the long term historical differences/causes of tension between the democratic west and the communist USSR?

“We must strangle infant Bolshevism in the cradle” - Winston Churchill 1917
In 1917, the Russian Revolution established the world’s first communist government
In the 1930s, Stalin persecuted his own people in a series of violent purges

When was the Yalta conference held

February 1945

Who were the leaders at the yalta conference?

Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Franklin D Roosevelt

Key agreements at yalta

Temporary division of germany into 4 occupation zones (+ berlin also divided into 4)
Establishment of the UN
Nazi Germany surrender unconditionally
Free elections allowed in countries of eastern europe
Western powers and USSR could have a sphere of influence

Key disagreements at yalta

The future of poland
Ussr wanted to keep it
Western powers wanted it to return to its original borders

When was the potsdam conference held

July-August 1945

Who were the leaders at potsdam

Clement Attlee, Joseph stalin, Harry s Truman

Key agreements at potsdam

Nazi war criminals should go to trial
Reconfirmation of permanent division of germany

Key disagreements at potsdam

How much Germany should pay in reparations
Western powers didn’t want a repeat of the treaty of Versailles
USSR wanted to crush Germany economically
Future of poland
Ussr keeping it
Western powers want back og borders

Why was there more tension at Potsdam than Yalta?

President Roosevelt passed away in April 1945. Truman was much less trusting of Stalin, and was more suspicious of his intentions in europe
President Truman took Stalin aside in the Potsdam conference and told him that the US had successfully invented their first atomic bomb, making Stalin feel threatened.
At Yalta, the members of the grand alliance were brought together by a common enemy - Nazi Germany. Once it had been defeated, the cracks in their alliance started to show, as they now had to deal with all the issues they had unprioritised to defeat germany
By Potsdam, the USSR had already broken some of the agreements made at Yalta. Rather than allowing free elections, they imposed communist governments in eastern europe

What were the impacts of the bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the cold war?

It showed the true power of the atomic bomb - capable of levelling entire cities and killing 200,000 people at once, which created tension as if the USSR used any direct force on USA, there would be the threat of the atomic bomb → USSR needs to get it’s own atomic bomb fast → Arms race → MAD
The USA bombed Japan without consulting the USSR - is Russia redundant in a post WWII world?? → USSR doesn’t trust USA AT ALL → needs protective buffer zone → lets invade eastern Europe!!

Impact of Yalta and potsdam conferences on the cold war

Misunderstanding of ‘sphere of influence’ and ‘free election’ -> soviet expansion in europe -> Marshall aid -> Europe divided
Division of Germany -> inevitable tension (capitalism and communism in direct competition) -> Berlin blockade -> nato + the warsaw pact

Who was the Greek Civil war (1946-1949) between

Communists and Monarchists

Who did the west support and why?

Monarchists - they did not want the further spread of communism

How much money did USA give to the monarchists

$400 million

Why were the western powers so concerned that communism might spread through Greece to Turkey

Turkey is between the Black sea, the mediterranean, and the middle east, and it had a key trading route to Africa. If communism took hold in Turkey, there was a high chance that it could spread a lot further. Gaining control of Turkey would also give Russia economical power, as they would have control over trade of many goods such as oil.

What is the Truman doctrine?

The idea of using containment to prevent the spread of communism - allowing it to remain in the countries where it has already taken hold, and trying to stop it from further spreading into other countries and across the world

What is the Marshall plan and what did it primarily aim to do?

To give $17 billion each year to countries in Europe in order to help them recover from the effects of WW2, in the hope that this would make them less likely to turn to extremist parties (Germans turned to the Nazi’s because of the financial hardship caused by the great depression and harsh ToV reparations)

Impact of the truman doctrine and the marshall plan on the cold war

USSR sees it as a threat -> USSR sets up cominform and comecon in response as its own form of political and economic control -> USSR has tighter hold on Eastern Europe
Helps countries become less vulnerable -> less involved with the USSR eg. Yugoslavia was expelled from cominform after accepting Marshall aid

What were other motivations for the Marshall plan?

Making Europe stronger would mean it was better to trade with
The money given would be spent on American goods
The countries which accepted Marshall aid would be more likely to be loyal to USA in the future

What did Stalin accuse the US of and what did it mean?

Dollar imperialism - using its wealth to secure the position of capitalism in Europe

When did Stalin set up Cominform?

1947

Why did Stalin set up Cominform?

Political control
He aimed to unite the countries in the Eastern bloc so he could ensure that they were all following the same policies. The members had to meet regularly

Why was Yugoslavia expelled from Cominform

Tito had no reason to be loyal to Stalin as Yugoslavia had freed itself (rather than been freed by the USSR) from Germany. He defied Stalin and accepted marshall aid

When did Stalin set up Comecon?

1949

Why did Stalin set up Comecon?

Economic control
To encourage the sharing of knowledge and resources, so the countries in it would not need the aid offered by the marshall plan.

What was the message sent by Cominform and Comecon

Countries in the Eastern Bloc should work together and help each other to rebuild and recover

Did Stalin’s actions align with this message

No!! - they used to buy coal from Poland at 1/10 of what it was really worth

Examples of communist expansion in Europe

Albania
Communists took control in1944, and faced little opposition
Bulgaria
Communist coalition took place in 1944
Communist leader executed leaders of other parties
Czechoslovakia
Coalition government freely election in 1946
Communists seized power in 1948 before elections
The USSR purged the civil service and murdered PM Jan Masaryk. Security police were moved in
East Germany
Ruled directly by the USSR until 1949 when it became the German Democratic republic
Industrial machinery, scientists, and technicians were moved to the USSR

Impact of soviet expansion on the cold war

Divide in Europe between -> Iron curtain speech -> Divisions formalised in the Nato and Warsaw pact THough USSR says it’s defensive (buffer zone) it was interpreted in WEst as aggressive -> Marshall plan and truman doctrine setup -> Communism vs capitalism

Germany divide more tense bc what if we take over west berlin —> berlin blockade

What did the USSR argue was the reason for Stalin maintaining control over Eastern Europe after 1945?

Ussr was setting up a buffer zone to protect itself from future invasions, which was reasonable because of the devastating damage from invasions in WW1 and WW2
The Ussr needed to protect itself from the US’ atomic bombs by preventing them from establishing air bases in countries close to the Ussr

What did the West argue was the reason for Stalin maintaining control over Eastern Europe after 1945?

Stalin was a power hungry dictator seizing an opportunity to expand the USSR’s influence
The Ussr wanted to spread the ideology of communism by forcing it onto other countries
To descend an Iron Curtain across Europe

What were Stalin’s tactics called?

Salami tactics - he took Eastern Europe piece by piece

Which factors meant there was tension between the east and the west over Berlin?

West germany was given the third largest share of marshall aid (from 1948 onwards)-> competition because it looks like capitalism is doing better than communism, and stalin doesn’t want that
USSR using salami tactics to spread communism through Europe -> West Berlin is an island of capitalism in a sea of communism, what's to stop Stalin using salami tactics here?
Containment + Marshall plan being used to stop the spread of communism -> Stalin thinking that the West clearly didn’t want Russia to be successful, and that they saw him as a threat
Winston Churchill's ‘iron curtain’ speech -> clearly the west did not trust the east felt like the east were hiding things from them (we must peep under the iron curtain)
Little communication between east and west -> misunderstandings were inevitable and disagreements would go unresolved, building tension
Disagreements at Yalta and Potsdam over the future of Germany


What was the Berlin blockade

Impact of Berlin Blockade on the cold war

This was a more hostile action than had been taken before, clearly designed to not only harm the western military, but to harm and use civilians. It could be seen as an indirect attack, confrontation, provocation, or siege. -> mistrust from the USA -> Europe divided + Germany now officially divided
Bringing countries together -> airlift -> Trizonnia+Nato formed (protection

Why did Stalin blockade Berlin in 1948

Using the money received from the Marshall plan, West Berlin recovered from war damage much faster than East Berlin -> USSR felt that Germany might become a threat to them again. They also didn’t like the contrast between the richer west and poorer east, as it made capitalism more successful than communism
In 1947-48, Britain and the USA merged their zones into ‘Bizonia’, with a plan to include France, making it ‘Trizonia’ -> the USSR disliked discovering that the western allies had been working together in secret. Molotov, the USSR’s foreign minister, argued that the west were breaking the terms agreed and yalta and potsdam by uniting sectors like this
The Western powers wanted to introduce a new currency, the deutschmark, in June 1948, to replace the currency that had become almost worthless after WWI -> The USSR did not want to introduce a new currency that might help Germany to recover faster. This recovery would especially occur in the west, making the difference in affluence even clearer

What events during the Berlin blockade present the USSR to be more powerful

Truman refused to act with force and ram the barriers, fearful of nuclear war
At the start of the blockade it was predicted that there was enough food in west berlin to supply them for 36 days, and enough coal to supply them for 46 days -> the west did not have a lot of time to act
It was estimated that the airlift needed to transport 5000 tonnes of goods into west Berlin every day. It took months to reach this target figure, even with the west gradually increasing the amount they sent in.
Soviet radio transmitters blocked western communications, and Soviet fighter pilots harassed Western planes in the air corridors

What events during the Berlin blockade present the west to be more powerful

American planes began to drop supplies to west Berliners. British planes also helped with the airlift
Stalin did not order the fighter planes to shoot the USA’s planes, because he was concerned that the USA might retaliate by using an atomic bomb, which the USSR could not match
In November 1948, work was completed on Tegel airport, in the French sector, which allowed more flights to land, delivering more goods
Stalin offered the people in west Berlin to move to east Berlin, but only 20,000 (1/100) actually did
On 11th May 1949, at midnight, the USSR lifted the blockade. The west continues to airlift supplies in until September to stockpile in case the blockade started again
By the time the airlifts finished in September, 275,000 flights had carried in 1.5 million tonnes of supplies to west Germany, and a plane had landed on average every 3 minutes

When and why was Nato created?

It was created in 1949, after the Berlin blockade. Its main purpose was defense - if one country in Nato was attacked, all the other countries would support them militarily

Who was involved in Nato originally

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, UK, USA

Why did NATO cause tension?

Stalin saw it as a way for the West to threaten and attack the USSR as they were allied together
USA set up military bases in Western Europe, making it easier for them to attack the East

When and why was the Warsaw pact created

1955 - similar military promise to Nato. Also because USSR felt threatened by NATO, as powerful countries were ‘ganging up’ on it

Who was involved in the warsaw pact

Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania, USSR, Poland, Hungary

Why did the Warsaw pact cause tension

Decisions and agreements were tightly controlled by moscow
The West saw it as a way for the East to attack and threaten them
Truman was worried that Stalin’s forces were well positioned to invade western europe, especially as the countries in the warsaw pact formed one large area

Why did the existence of both Nato and the Warsaw pact cause tension

Any disagreement between a country in the east and a country in the west would become a world war between two superpowers -> escalation of tension -> flashpoints like cuban missile crisis could lead to WW3
It made it very difficult for countries to stay neutral -> further dividing Europe into two sides
Formal military alliances -> both sides wanted to be stronger than the other (now global scale) -> acceleration of the arms race -> MAD

How did communism spread to China?

The communists and nationalists had been fighting a long civil war through the 1930s, with the USA providing money and weapons to support the nationalists
After Japan invaded China, the civil war was put on hold
When Japan was defeated in 1945, the civil war resumed, with the USA and the USSR supporting opposite sides until the Communists victory in 1949

Why was communism in China so devastating for the USA

They believed in the domino effect - communism in China would spread to other areas in East Asia, then across all the way to India

How did the relationship between the USSR and China change after China became communist and what evidence shows this

Improved
USSR, backing the Communist government of China, walked out of a UN meeting in protest of USA refusing to accept new chinese communist government
Mao Zedong only left China twice in his lifetime, one of which was to go to Moscow in 1949
The USSR and China signed a Treaty of Friendship intended to last for 30 years in 1950. It said that the USSR would supply China with loans, military aid, and skilled workers and engineers

How did the relationship between the USA and China change after China and what evidence shows this

Worsened
Usa refused to accept the new communist government, banning all trade and travel links
At a UN meeting USA said China should be represented by the nationalist government which had fled to Taiwan

Impact of china becoming communist on the cold war

Brand new superpower (size, population) -> Ally with the USSR (treaty of friendship) -> strengthened the USSR’s position as well as communism
Led to communist expansion through Asia -> Korean war (proxy war between USA and China) -> both sides believing they cold not afford to lose -> Vietnam war, USA vs vietnam, -> Domino affect, failure of the Marshall pan

Key events in the Korean war that led to the split

Civil war between communists (in the north) and nationalists (in the south)
North pushed the war back to the south,
Military troops from the USA pushed the north back to the 38th parallel (the USSR could not use its veto power to block the USA’s decision to send help because USSR walked out of the last meeting in protest)
North Korean forces were pushed back as the USA adopted a policy called Rollback, more aggressive than containment - it hoped to drive out communism from where it already existed
Counter attack from the north, aided by chinese troops and ussr money and arms pushed the nationalist back beyond the 38th parallel, taking Seoul for the second time
MacArthur wanted to attack China, even suggesting using atomic bombs. Truman sacked him for this
The line between the north and south was pushed back to the 38th parallel (the line where it is today) thanks to a counter-offensive from the UN
The war became static, and this military stalemate continued until 1953, when, encouraged by Stalin's death, the two sides agreed on a temporary ceasefire (this is the situation today)

What are the Korean war ‘first times’

First time the west used rollback, a more aggressive tactic than containment, aiming to eradicate communism from where it already existed rather than just prevent it from spreading
First time the UN was directly involved in warfare, and seen to be supporting one side over the other, making people question whether it really was impartial
Two superpowers indirectly in conflict in a proxy war, both which thought that they could not afford to lose it, and it could easily turn into something bigger at any point

Why did the USA get involved in the Vietnam war?

Worried that communism was spreading further from china and if vietnam became communist it would continue spreading (domino theory)
Viet Minh were fighting for independence from the French in 1945-1945 -> then had stronger ties to communism when china started helping (giving money and weapons)
They had helped set up a non-communist government after the French were defeated

Why did the USA not win in Vietnam?

Vietnam used guerrilla tactics (e.g. ambushes), which were hard to fight against
They did not wear uniforms so US could not tell civilians apart from soldiers
The USA used heavy bombing and chemical weapons, burning down whole villages. This did not help as Vietnamese soldiers could just disappear in the jungle, and these tactics made civilians support the Viet Minh
The war was unpopular with young Americans, who were being forced to fight on the other side of the world for reasons they did not understand. Morale was low.

What impacts did the Vietnam war have on the cold war?

USA was more cautious about intervening to try to stop communism influencing other parts of the world -> USA did not intervene militarily in Hungary or Czechoslovakia -> allowing USSR to have tighter control over eastern Europe
USA tried to improve its relationship with the USSR and China to some extent in the 1970s -> Detente

How did the vietnam war heighten fears for usa

The domino theory had become a reality, communist governments were set up in laos and cambodia
Containment had failed
disastrously

When did Stalin die

1953

Who took over after Stalin's death and when

Nikita Khrushchev, 1956

What key events took place that suggested things would be different from when Stalin ruled

Khrushchev’s speech, saying that Stalin used brutality during his ruling, and that things should be different in eastern europe
KEY QUOTES ‘a peaceful co-existence’ (with the west) and ‘different roads to socialism’ (suggests more freedom in Eastern Europe)
USSR’s meeting with China, France, USA, and Britain - though nothing was agreed upon, it showed increasing communication and less tension
Red army withdrawn to the Polish borders after riots (reducing Soviet control, letting Poland sort their own issue) + pulled soviet troops out of USSR quadrant of austria
Reducing money spent on arms - more money available for civilian need + he wanted people to have more than the bare necessities
Gomulka (polish nationalist leader who was elected into position) was accepted by Krushchev
Thousands of political prisoners released
Korean war ended

How did the thaw affect the cold war?

Hope for countries in eastern europe ->polish protests + hungarian uprising -> tensions would not actually be reduced
Hope worldwide for more peace between east and west -> reduced tensions -> USA and USSR’s forces both withdrawn from austria -> opposite of brinkmanship (eg. Berlin Blockade)

What caused the Hungarian uprising

Khrushchev’s destalinisation gave hope
Abolished cominform -> USSR has less political control over eastern europe
Freed political prisoners eg. Cardinal Mindzerty
Hard times
Lots of people struggling financially
USSR exploited resources of Eastern Europe e.g. bought coal from Poland at 1/10 of value
USSR invested a lot of money in military and technology -> little in shops for ordinary people to buy, and it was expensive
Russian troops in Hungary
Made them feel threatened by USSR
Warsaw pact -> they had to pay for it with their own taxes
AVH police
Secret police became very powerful -> hated symbol of oppression
Executed 2000 people, imprisoned 200,000
Polish protest inspiration
Achieved government agreeing to persecute catholics less (protesting violently = got what they wanted)

When was the Hungarian uprising

October 1956

Hungarian uprising event - student protests (early October 1956) What happened and how did Khrushchev respond

Extreme leader Rakosi resigns -> Hungarian students organise protests for more rights ->Khrushchev places the soviet troops inside hungary on high alert

Hungarian uprising event - protest turned violent (23rd October)
What happened and how did Khrushchev respond

Erno Gero condemns student protest -> 200,000 people gather outside parliament in peaceful protest -> Stalin statue torn down, Soviet symbol cut out of Hungarian flag -> AVH police fire on crowds -> crowds respond violently
-> Khrushchev moves soviet tanks into Budapest

Key events in the Hungarian uprising the led to the Russia’s invasion

Several protests: student peaceful + 200,000 tearing down stalin statue -> AVH fire on crowd, which responds violently
Imre Nagy replaces Gero, promising reforms + end to violence -> Khrushchev lets him
Rebels vs soviets fighting-> Khrushchev withdraws tanks to countryside
Nagy reforms: cardinal mindzerty released+ non-communists allowed in government -> Khrushchev continues to let it develop
Nagy wants to leave the Warsaw pact, becoming neutral in the cold war…

Hungarian uprising event - Nagy in power(24th October)
What happened and how did Khrushchev respond

Imre Nagy replaces Gero -> he promises to make reforms to people's lives and end the violence
-> Khrushchev allows new government to form under Nagy

Hungarian uprising event - Fighting and direct conflict (25-28th October)
What happened and how did Khrushchev respond

Fighting in Budapest: rebels with petrol bombs and guns vs Soviet troops with tanks (many of which were destroyed) -> Fighting spreads to other parts of the country -> Soviet symbols torn down and soviet sympathisers and AVH police are murdered
-> Khrushchev withdrew remaining tanks from Budapest to the countryside

Hungarian uprising event - Nagy’s response (28-30th October)
What happened and how did Khrushchev respond

Nagy abolishes AVH police, releases political prisoners (eg. Cardinal Mindszenty), and includes non-communists in his government -> Soviet leaders are divided in Moscow (Molotov wants invasion while Zhukov wants full withdrawal)
-> Khrushchev continues to allow Nagy’s government to develop peacefully

Key events in the Hungarian uprising the led to the Russia’s invasion

Several protests: student peaceful + 200,000 tearing down stalin statue -> AVH fire on crowd, which responds violently
Imre Nagy replaces Gero, promising reforms + end to violence -> Khrushchev lets him
Rebels vs soviets fighting-> Khrushchev withdraws tanks to countryside
Nagy reforms: cardinal mindzerty released+ non-communists allowed in government -> Khrushchev continues to let it develop
Nagy wants to leave the Warsaw pact, becoming neutral in the cold war…

Hungarian uprising event - Leaving the Warsaw pact (30th October)
What happened and how did Khrushchev respond

Nagy says he wants to leave the Warsaw pact and become neutral in the cold war -> he would like to travel to Moscow and discuss this with Khrushchev
-> Khrushchev sends in Soviet troops (200,000 soldiers + 2500 tanks) -> 4th November, they reach budapest -> 10,000-30,000 hungarians are killed

Why did nobody come to Hungary’s aid?

Britain and France had just invaded Egypt
USA was preoccupied with the upcoming elections and it did not want to risk direct confrontation with the USSR
The USSR used its veto power to block USA from taking any action

What were the consequences of the Hungarian uprising for the cold war

West did not intervene militarily → showed that they would not intervene in future in events behind the iron curtain → USSR invade Czechoslovakia in 1968, confident that USA would not help (they were right)

Undermined Khrushchev’s ‘different roads to socialism’ (can’t be neutral and still communist) + peaceful co-existence’ (killed 10,000 Hungarians → end of the thaw → Increased tensions between superpowers, strengthening the divide in Europe

What 2 space successes did the USSR have in the late 1950s/early 1960s

The first satellite in space - sputnik 1, 1957
The first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, 1961

How did the space successes make excellent propaganda for the soviet union

Two huge achievements, and nobody could ever be the first again
Showed soviet power, technology, and intelligence
Communism looked more impressive and successful than capitalism

What was John f Kennedy’s response to Sputnik 1 + Yuri Gagarin

Setting up the Apollo Space Programme, with the intention of landing a man on the moon

Was the Apollo Space Programme successful

Yes!! - Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong on the moon

How did Sputnik affect the Arms Race

It meant that the USSR could fire warheads from space at the USA

Impact of space race on the cold war

Accelerated the arms race -> USSR could now fire at the USA from space -> it had been difficult before due to the space between them -> MAD -> heightened tensions -> brinkmanship
Propaganda -> both sides using propaganda -> competition between east and west -> accelerated space race -> more money spent on developing space tech

What were the USA’s submarine based missiles

Polaris - they were more powerful than all of the bombs dropped in World War II, including the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Why did the American media sources exaggerate the extent to which the USSR was in the lead of the arms race

To justify the amount of money being spent of the creation of nuclear weapons
Kennedy could not dispute it (if he did it would mean admitting he was spying on Russia)
Sensationalism and panic make people buy papers

How did the arms race impact the cold war

Massively increased cold war tension -> competition increased, as both sides had to match weapons (eg. ICBM’s, Hydrogen bombs) -> MAD -> prevented war but only due to extreme fear
Extreme mistrust + they needed to know what each other were creating -> intense spying on both sides -> U2 crisis -> lost opportunity of Paris Summit -> flashpoint in CMC
So economically draining that by 70s, both sides wanted to limit it -> detente

What event sparked the U2 crisis

1st May 1960 - Gary Powers, an American spy pilot (who took photos of USSR’s military sites) was hit by a Soviet missile and captured

What was Khrushchev’s initial response to catching the USA spying

He announced that an American plane had been shot down (giving no further detail). -> setting a trap for the USA

What was the USA’s explanation for the plane?

It was a weather plane that had gone off course near Turkey and accidentally flew into USSR’s airspace

How did the USSR humiliate America in the U2 crisis

Khrushchev caught Eisenhower in a lie, revealing that the USSR had recovered spy photographs and equipment from the plane, and that Gary Powers had already admitted to spying. He demanded an apology

What happened at the Paris summit meeting

USA refused to apologise - claiming that they were only spying to protect themselves
USSR stormed out, and withdrew his invitation for Eisenhower to visit the USSR

What would’ve been discussed at the paris summit meeting

Reducing tensions over Berlin and germany as a whole + limiting the creation of nuclear weapons and the arms race

What were the impacts of the U2 crisis on the Cold War overall

Led to the Berlin wall because Peace talks around Germany to de-escalate tensions would’ve been discussed at the Peace summit but that didn’t happen

Would’ve also talked about reducing the arms race but now they talk to each other even less and communication is worsened so now the arms race is accelerated because there is no trust. Especially important because peace summits are very rare so this is an extremely valuable opportunity lost

When was the Berlin wall first put up and what was it at this stage

13th August 1961 - it was a role of barbed wire

What did the Berlin wall later become

A 45km long, 3.6m wide stone wall with a death strip in the middle, with watch towers, guard dogs, and soldiers with a ‘shoot to kill’ order

How could you cross the Berlin wall

8 Checkpoints (eg. checkpoint charlie). You could cross if you had a permit. It was much easier to travel from East to West

Why did the USSR claim to have built the wall

‘Anit-fascist protection barrier’ - to prevent Nazi ideas spreading into the East

Why did the USSR actually build the wall

To stop the brain drain - between 1945 and 1961, 2-3 million people defected to west berlin. Most were young, educated people.
to put pressure on new, inexperienced president JFK and see if he would back down and allow the USSR to take control of west berlin (they had tried in 1948, 1958, and 1961)

Why did young educated people defect?

They had a lot to gain and little to lose
Their education would only help them succeed in a competitive system (capitalism)
They often did not have families to take care of
Better standard of living in the west - higher paid jobs and more affordable goods
Greater freedom (in East Germany there were more Stasi secret police than anywhere else)

What was the USA's initial response to the wall?

Sent vice president Lindon B Johnson with additional troops to show the USSR that the USA would resist any attempt of a communist takeover

What is brinkmanship and give an example

Two sides testing each other to see how far they can go before they get a reaction. E.g. Checkpoint charlie

What happened at checkpoint Charlie

October 1961 - USSR’s and USA’s tanks were rolling towards each other. No shots were fired in the end, but there was a moment of extreme tension where the situation easily could’ve escalated

Give evidence of how the Berlin wall affected peaceful coexistence

USSR shooting people who tried to escape -> USA using propaganda to say USSR is using fear and violence to oppress people and had to trap people into a communist way of life
136 deaths caused
Checkpoint Charlie + increased number of troops
The wall removed an area of superpower tension and conflict, Berlin had been a problem since they divided it
It was settled peacefully -> Kennedy showed he would stand up to Khrushchev, but he did not want war -> ignored criticism from those who wanted him to act aggressively
Showed that the USSR had given up trying to take control of west berlin