The cold war - part 1
1940s - Stalin, Roosevelt, Chirchill
==1941==
June 1941 - Hitler attacks Soviet Union
June 1941 - Grand Alliance formed
==1943==
November 1943 - Tehran conference
- P - Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
- E - Military descisions
- E - 2nd front in Japan, international body to be set up to settle disputes
- R - N/A
==1945==
Febuary 1945 - Yalta conference
- P - Churchill, Rossevelt, Stalin
- E - Stalin to have influence over Europe, all countries freed from Nazi occupation to have free elections
- E - Germany divided into 4 zones - Britain, France, USA, USSR, Nazi party banned, UN set up, borders in Poland return to 1921
- R - Germany to pay $20 billion
May 1945 - VE Day
July 1945 - Potsdam
- P - Churchill→ Atlee, Truman, Stalin
- E - no sign of Stalin allowing free elections in Europe
- E - 4 zones, Berlin divided into 4 zones, arguments about boundaries, economy run as whole
- R - arguments about how much USSR could take
August 1945 - USA drops atom bomb
- \
==1946==
Febuary 1946 - Kennans Long telegram
- USSR wants to destroy USA and its influence
- needs to be conflict (doesn’t have to be military)
- Stalin wanted to see the destruction of capitalism
- Soviet Union was not suicidal
- containment
March 1946 - Churchills iron curtain speech
- Where - college in Faulton, Missouri - wanted to be seen across the world
- Why - communist governments had been set up in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria (behind an iron curtain)
- Churchill on holiday
- travelled with Truman - did not see it till night before - will do nothing but good but will cause a stir
- mentioned casual speech to Atlee
- 1st Western statesman to single out the the USSR as a threat
- wated to tie USA to USSR
September 1946 - Novikov Telegram
- USA wants world domination - preparing military to be a part of a new war
- USA = imperialistic
- Soviet Union needs to expand for protection
==1947==
January 1947 - Communist government elected in Poland
March 1947 - Truman Doctrine
- promised money, troops & resources to all fighting evil
- end of isolationism - start of containment
- all countries had a choice between 2 options -
- Majority rule & freedom - everyone votes (capitalism)
- The will of the minority being forced on everyone (communism)
June 1947 - Marshall aid plan
- General George Marshall recommended spending over $12 bil to help economies in Europe after WW2
- countries = less likely to follow communism
September 1947 - First cominform meeting
- communist informaton Beureau
- 9 members - Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania & Yugoslavia, France, Italy
- strongest support form Yugoslav communists
- under leadership of Tito
- headquarters in Belgrade
- June 1948 - Yugoslavia expelled from cominform
- headquarters moved to Bucharist, Romania
- gave Stalin a way of controlling satellite states - made sure they took orders from Moscow and followed communism
- satellite states encouraged to trade wth other members
- 1st meeting - rejected Marshall Plan, began to spread propaganda against Germany
==1948==
Feburary 1948 - Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia
June 1948 - Berlin Blockade starts
- Stalin blocked off pathways to Belin - no communication → people will run out of food
- direct challenge to Truman
- Berlin Airlift / Operation Vittles
- flew supplies like food & coal
- risk - Stalin could shoot them down - makes USSR look bad
- USA used it as propaganda to look like the ‘heroes’
- led to berlin blockade being lifted & formation of NATO
==1949==
January 1949 - Comecon established
- alternative to Marshall aid
- council for mutual economic assistance
- members = Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romana and East Germany - (Albania joins 1950)
- used to organize industrial planning across all satellite states
- 5 year plan, nationalised industry & collectivist culture
- increased tensions - led to formation of NATO
April 1949 - NATO formed
- North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
- members - USA, Britain, France, & 9 others
- if 1 member was attacked all others would come to assist
- Ernist Bevin Speech
- European countries = welcome USA involvement
- called on other western countries
- resulted in ongoing military presence in Europe
May 1949 - Berlin Blockade ends
May 1949 - communist government elected in Hungary
May - September 1949 - formation of West Germany
- May 1949 - USA, Britain & France permitted their zones to come together as the Federal Republic of Germany
- August 1949 - West Germany elects new government (the Bundestag)
- September 1949 - 1st democratically elected chancellor took office (Konrad Audenauer)
- New capital = Bonn
October 1949 - German Democratic Republic founded
refused to accept eachother as nations
%%1950%%
June 1950 - Korean War
%%1952%%
November 1952 - USA successfully tests hydrogen bomb
- highly flammable/ larger explosion/ bigger impact
- USA spurred on by USSR making atomic bomb
- strong economy
- people were so fearful of communism they didnt mind the government spending loads of money on weapons
1952 - Dwight Eisenhower elected President of USA
%%1953%%
January 1953 - Eisenhower takes office
- secretary of state = John Foster Dulles
- strongly anti communist
- open to improving relationship between USA and USSR
March 1953 - Stalin dies
no successor
July 1953 - Korean War ended
August 1953 - Soviet union successfully tests hydrogen bomb
%%1955%%
May 1955 - West Germany joins NATO
May 1955 - Warsaw Pact
- members - Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania & German Democratic Republic - ‘Eastern block
- soviet leadership
- etended communist control
%%1956%%
1956 - Krushchev becomes prime minister
- openly opposed Stalin’s policies
- suggests there should be peaceful co-existence
Febuary 1956 - Krushchev makes speech criticising Stalin
Hungarian Uprising
- July 1956 - Rakosi falls from power
- October 1956 - Budapest protest/ riot against communism
- 24th October - Krushchev agrees Nagy can be new prime minister
- supported others, not USSR
- introduced ‘reforms - RISIC
- political reforms - accepts non communist in the government
- ends soviet censorship
- encourages freedom of speech
- realeases political prisoners
- Krushchev goes along with this for peace
- 28th October - Soviet troops withdraw from Budapest - government promises free elections and freedom of speech
- 3rd November 1956 - Nagy announces Hungary is leaving the Warsaw Pact
- 4 th November 1965 - Hungarian Uprising crushed
- 1000 tanks rolled into Budapest
- Nagy asked USA for support - none came - Eisenhower = sympathetic
- radio free Europe broadcast messages urging Eastern Europe to help
- NATO nations took in refugees
- involvement could cause nuclear war
- Hungary = satellite state - USA didn’t want to interfere - also not needed for containment
- 20,000 Hungarian people died
- Janos Kadar = new president
%%1957%%
June 1957 - USA launches 1st IBCM
August 1957 - Soviet Union tests first IBCM
%%1958%%
June 1958 - Nagy is executed
November 1958 - Berlin Ultimatum
- 6 months to demilitarise Berlin and Berlin to become a free city or Krushchev would hand over authority of pathways to East Germany - Forces West to recognise East Germany as a country
%%1959%%
Jan 1959 - group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara toppled pro - American gov off Cuba
- USA concerned about a pro - Soviet regime being established only 145km away
- American buisnesses had also invested heavily in Cuba
- tension - Fidel Castro =nationalist - did not want economy to be under USA control
- oil refineries, electricity, and phone networks = all controlled by USA
- USA = important investor in Cubas main export, sugar
- May 1959 - Cuban gov took over all land in Cuba
May 1959 - Geneva Summit
- Switzerland = neutral
- both leaders attend
- proposals put forward - no agreements made
- Krushchev invited to USA - no soviet leader been before - makes America look good
September 1959 - Krushchev visits USA - Camp David
- presidential ranch
- no agreement
- withdrew Berlin Ultimatum
- better relations
- further talks to be held in Paris
%%1960%%
==Jan 1960 - Castro made an agreement with Krushchev==
- Krushchev agreed to buy Cuban sugar and provide economic aid
- secret clause = Cuba would receive arms from the Soviet Union
May 1960 - Paris Summit
- Soviets shot down US U2 plane
- Us tried to claim it was a weather plane blown off course
- soviets interrorgated Gary Powers
- Eisenhower refused to apologise - ‘unavoidable’
- no descisions made
- Krushchev walked out of meeting
July 1960 - Eisenhower reduced amount of sugar the USA would buy from Cuba
October 1960 - Eisenhower banned all trade with Cuba
%%1961%%
January 1961 - JFK becomes US president
- built up military & tried to resolve difficulties with Soviets through talks
- inexperienced with foreign affairs
- April 1961 - invasion of Cuba (Bay of Pigs) failed - JFK’s reputation suffered
June 1961 - Vienna Summit - Berlin ultimatum renewed
- Khrushchev renewed ultimatum and refused to make any consescions
- no final decisions on Berlin
- relationship between JFK & Khrushchev = strained
- JFK increased spending on US armed forces by over 2 mil
August 1961 - construction of Berlin Wall
- 165km long
- West Berlin fire services tried to help people by catching them with blankets
- lookout towers with guards machine guns and searchlights
- Peter Fetcher - left dying for 45 mins - people shouted ‘murderers’ at the guards - friend escaped
- stopped refugees from leaving east
- Krushchev had to abandon plans to reunite Germany under Soviet control
- West Berlin became an emblem of freedom
- no longer able to escape communism