cold war rivalries

the extension of the arms race including ICBMs; the space race; sputnik and space flight; the Berlin Crisis and the U2 affair; the significance and impact of the Berlin Wall

how were Eisenhower and Khrushchev extending the arms race?

whilst Khrushchev wanted peaceful coexistence he was also stockpiling weapons

Eisenhower continued to develop new types of weapons which also continued the space race

What is the arms race?

competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, especially between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.

What are ICMBs?

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles A MUCH BIGGER range than the nuclear weapons

What was the arms race timeline and turning points?

__***29 August 1949***__

* Soviets ended the USA nuclear monopoly

__***1 Novemeber 1952***__

* US 1st hydrogen Bomb it released a load of pollution into the air

__***8 August 1953***__

* Soviets 1S H-Bomb but it was less powerful than the West

__***1955***__

* SLBMS by the USSR

__***26 August 1957***__

* USSR ICBMS (first) could travel to bomb destinations now

__***4 October 1957***__

* Sputnik, the space race had begun

__***JULY 1960***__

* USA Submarine bombs by the US a submarine ICBMS

__***October 1961***__

* Tsar Bomb it was the biggest explosion and was time sensitive with the berlin wall just going up - biggest man-made explosion

__***June 1963***__

* The hotline

__***August 1963***__

* Test ban treaty, only underground testing was permissible

Gaither Report 1957

Top-secret government report issued by the Security Resources panel of President Eisenhower's Science Advisory Committee that assessed the state of missile technology in the U.S. it showed that the ussr was becoming more militarly and economically adavanced than the US

What caused the arms race between the US and USSR?

Arms were viewed as necessary to safeguard the interests of East and West.

The development of the atomic bomb sparked off a nuclear arms race.

Each side was determined to keep ahead of the other in the development of weapons of mass destruction.

Military influence in each country pressurised successive governments to maintain the arms race (often known as the 'military-industrial complex'). This was one of the reasons used to force Khrushchev's resignation in 1964 when he attempted to cut military spending.

Powerful economic/industrial concerns benefited from the manufacture of arms and wielded considerable control over politics. Eisenhower's concerns and Khrushchev's worries about arms spending floundered due to powerful opposition.

What was the impact of the arms race?

The arms race increased rather than reduced rivalry and insecurity.

Stalin was convinced that the USA used the atomic bombs on Japan as a warning to the Soviet Union. The USSR felt especially vulnerable in the years 1945-9 until they had developed their own atom bomb.

The result was a massive build up of US missiles

The danger of initiating nuclear war acted as a restraint on both sides. Limited war, such as in Korea and Vietnam, was used to avoid direct confrontation

In the 1950s, the USA developed the tactic of brinkmanship, of being prepared to go to the brink of a nuclear war in order to stop enemy aggression. This was shown most significantly in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In the 1970s, both sides had enough weapons to totally destroy each other. This led to MAD (Mutually Aided Destruction). A more flexible range of responses was necessary.

The arms race also provided one of the reasons for ending the Cold War because it partially bankrupted the USSR and prompted some of the political events of the late 1980s.

Space Race

The USSR was winning with launching Sputnik in October 1957

The West saw it as USSR threatening the existence of massive retaliation

The US shifted a huge focus on making a missile for the space race ($1 billion in 1958) it became known as flopnik

The US were lucky because their U2 planes allowed them to see that the USSR was not ahead as was suggested with 63 compared to 15

NASA 1958 was created then to show its power in space

What was the Berlin Crisis?

1956 GDR acted as a loyal state to the USSR

But, they were economically weak states which meant that east germans were fleeing to the West so that they could have a good income

the population was too small for the country to grow economically and this crisis was 3 years long

What were Khrushchev's aims in GDR?

he wanted to delay the arming of the FDR - west wanted to since Korean war

show that he was not soft on imperialism

What was the Berlin Ultimatium?

In November 1958, Khrushchev demanded a peace treaty and then gave a 6 months timeline to the west

if they said no he would sign with the GDR leader which is a problem because of the hallstien doctrine meant they did not recognise the GDR leader. ULBRICHT

What was the reaction of the western allies?

They ignored the timeline they rejected it in December 1958

but they were willing to discuss Germany for example the Geneva conferences

There were also the London letters showing that there was a divide in the way that people wanted to deal with the crisis

What did summit conference meetings improve?

september- may 1960, they solved nothing becuase nothing was ever decided about germany which was not easing tensions

U-2 plane and the arms race?

May 1960, the USSR shot down a u2 plane, Gary powers was alive and it showed that the arms race favoured the US

What was the impact of the Berlin wall?

It stopped East Germans from escaping into the West and ended the refugee crisis

It allowed Khrushchev to avoid war with America while still appearing strong

It became a powerful symbol for the division of Germany and Europe.

what was the significance of the Berlin wall?

The West used it to fuel anti-communist propaganda, referring to it as the 'wall of shame' designed to cordon off the inferior communist part of the city. It was a symbol of the bankruptcy of the Soviet Bloc.

It stopped the flood of refugees from east to west although some 5000 risked their lives escaping over or under the wall, of which 136 died.

Although the Wall was condemned by the West, once again the USA did not directly intervene to prevent its construction.