Cold War

1941-45

'the Big Three', Soviet and US forces met at River Elbe in central Germany

est 70,000 Soviet soldiers died due to Stalin's orders to attack and occupy Berlin before the Americans arrived, GB and US delayed 2nd front until 1944

Bolsheviks couldn't fight Germany and civil war so made peace treaty with Germany - West furious and against communism - intervened on White Army side

1938, GB FR and IT agreed to let Hitler take parts of Czechoslovakia with lots of ethnic Germans

had not been asked opinion, bitter enemies with Nazis, area close to USSR borders

1939, Hitler and Stalin agreed to split Poland between them

GB and FR felt betrayed - knew USSR wanted parts of Poland so thought it wouldn't allow Hitler to invade, declared war on Germany 1939 when it invaded Poland but USSR invaded too

Nov 1943

US and GB open 2nd front, Stalin declare war on Japan once war in Europe over, aim was complete German surrender, Poland would recieve land from Germany but USSR would keep land from 1939

Stalin fears about 2nd front delay - appeased by agreement made

Churchill wanted to open 2nd front in Balkans - FDR sided with Stalin, FDR seemed to view British colonialism as more of a threat to world peace than communism at times

Feb 1945

Germany 4 zones, Germany pay 2 billion in repatriations - half to USSR, Nazi party banned and war criminals prosecuted

Stalin agreed to enter war with Japan - 3 months after German defeat

Stalin agreed future Eastern European govs would be decided in free elections, borders of Poland return to 1921 position (significant Soviet gains), free elections in Poland

UN set up - all nations could join

Stalin wanted to keep new European territories - protect from future German invasion, US and FR disagreed with Stalin's suggestion that all 16 Soviet republics should have individual UN membership - just Russia, Ukraine and Belarus admitted, Stalin expected Polish elections to bring about pro-communist gov but GB supported non-communist London Poles

FDR died, Churchill lost 1945 general election, Germany surrendered May 1945, UN created in Treaty of San Francisco

July-Aug 1945

Germany divided into 4 (Berlin too), German economy run as a whole, each administering country take reparations from its own zone, USSR controlled poorest so allowed to take 1/4 industrial equipment from other zones

Truman and Attlee quite new to diplomatic discussions - harder to get their way with Stalin

'get tough' approach with Stalin - harder line in discussions, suspicious of Stalin - worldwide revolution, deliberately delayed conference date until atomic bomb ready - tested successfully day after conference began

main concern was to return to GB - didn't want talks to drag on

Soviets wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations - Truman worried about German economy recovery, Truman objected to Stalin's control of Eastern Europe - thought he was using as an army of occupation, Truman objected to Polish border arrangements made before and wanted new gov with less communist influence

blast equivalent to over 12,000 tons of TNT used in normal bombs

3 days after Hiroshima

est 120,000 Japanese civilians killed by the 2 bombs

Stalin more determined to create a buffer zone, 1st successful test in 1949

by 1964 - GB, FR and China also had one

Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, conquered by Soviets 1940 - treated as part of USSR

Yugoslavia and Albania

only democracy in Eastern Europe from 1919, post-WW2 - coalition tried to restore pre-war democracy, Stalin saw as a threat - communists overthrew Czech president and set up communist gov under Klement Gottwald

1944 Warsaw Uprising, Soviets promised to help but Red Army waited for uprising to be crushed, then invaded and put pro-communist gov in place, elections included some London Poles at first but forced to flee/prison 1947

1945 - some communists elected but not enough to form gov, 1947 - voters threatened in campaign supported by Moscow, 1949 - one party communist state

Bulgaria, Romania and Eastern Germany

1946 - Truman and Stalin asked embassies to report on attitudes in each other's countries

George Kennan - US ambassador in Moscow

Stalin wanted to destroy capitalism and felt outside world was looking to destroy communism, USSR not self-destructive so would soften position if faced with strong resistance

American gov agreed and adopted policy of containment to stop communism spreading

Nikolai Novikov

US wanted to use its massive military to dominate the world, since death of FDR Americans no longer wanted to cooperate with Soviets

further encouraged Stalin to take control of Eastern Europe

1946, Churchill no longer PM but still huge influence, Fulton Missouri, given due to communist govs being set up in Europe

USSR a threat to freedom and world peace

given in USA so must have been shown to Truman first - Stalin thought it was reflecting American views too

US hoped they would help rebuild Europe and make communism look less good, GB nearly bankrupt - aid becoming impossible, GB gov announced 1947 - no longer provide military support to Greek gov vs communist guerillas

given to US Congress 1947

announced 400 million aid to Greece and Turkey, stated world was divided into freee and oppressed countries, USA would support any nation resisting communism, previous policy of isolationism over

13 billion before, 13.7 billion as part of it, over 1/4 to GB

GB foreign secretary Ernest Bevin - 'a lifeline to sinking men'

offered to Eastern Europe on condition of a thorough review of their finances - knew Stalin wouldn't allow this

thought Doctrine was weakening role of UN - suggested it was USA's job to protect the world, Marshal plan a way of using economic might to divide Europe and establish an American economic empire - dollar imperialism

set up 1947, political association of European communist parties - let Stalin control satellite state govs

rejected Marshal plan at 1st meeting, spread propaganda and accused USA of being no different from Nazi Germany

set up 1949, aid package based on communist beliefs, all satellite states members

supported economic development, discouraged trade with West

Soviets wanted to take lots of material to rebuild USSR, West wanted to rebuild German economy - better trading partner and easier to resist communism, Stalin thought it should be one united communist country

Dec 1947 - talks between foreign ministers of occupying powers broke down and Soviets stormed out

GB and USA - 'Bizonia' 1947 before talks broke down, 'Trizonia' 1948

created 1948 to give Trizonia economic unity

Soviets furious - created separate economic unit from East and accepted splitting of Germany

only 2 agreed land routes and 2 air 'corridors' across Soviet zone into it

Trizonia wouldn't be able to communicate with West Berlin, food shortage

Stalin knew Truman couldn't ignore blockade due to recent speech on defending world from communism

June 1948, Stalin shut off land routes into Berlin

Operation Vittles, began in same month as blockade, flew food coal and other essentials in

people of West Berlin and Western troops created new airport at Tegel

Americans soon able to fly in at least 1,000 tonnes a day - similar British rate

Jan 1949 - 170,000 tonnes

Soviets gave in nearly a year after blockade began

Creation of East/West Germany, creation of NATO

Federal Republic of Germany, created 3 days after end of blockade, much bigger than East, new capital - Bonn

Germans could elect own parliament (Bundestag), Konrad Adenauer - first democratically elected chancellor

German Democratic Republic, response to Federal Republic, only recognised as a nation by communist bloc, Federal Republic refused to recognise split until 1970s

also response to communist takeover in Czechoslovakia, 12 Western countries joined 1949, if any member was attacked all would come to its assistance

Ernest Bevin made speech in parliament - European countries would welcome US involvement, USA kept bases in Europe throughout war

freed from Japanese control 1945, divided on 38th parallel, both recieved aid and military equipment from their liberator, both claimed to be rulers of whole country

domino effect if South Korea became communist

DELETE

met at request of USA, USSR not attending, North told to withdraw - ignored, UN force from 16 nations put together

UN troops mostly American, commander was General Douglas MacArthur

UN forces pushed North back to near Chinese border, Mao Zedong not prepared to see US-led forces defeat communist North

dismissed April 1951 - disagreed with Truman on how the war should be fought

spent est 67 billion, lost over 30,000

South Korea - 1 million civilian deaths

US defence budget tripled after war, 2.8 million Red Army soldiers 1950 - almost doubled by 1955

USA encouraged Greece and Turkey to join NATO, Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) formed 1954, Warsaw Pact when West Germany joined NATO 1955

USA developed 1945, Stalin instructed scientists to put all their energy into it - achieved 1949

USA developed 1952, USSR 1953, 1,000 times more powerful than atomic

inter-continental ballistic missile, could fire at target 5,000 km away, USA developed 1957, USSR testing a few months later

took office 1953, he and secretary of state John Foster Dulles strongly anti-communist, would block any attempt at expansion, aware of nuclear dangers - prepared to listen to Soviet proposals and have negotiations

effective ruler 1956, came to power after 3 year leadership struggle - Stalin hadn't named a successor

based on growing Soviet belief that communism was so superior that capitalism would collapse - meant little point in war

Iron Curtain an agreed boundary - new map of Europe accepted, reducing military spending would help both economies, 1955 agreement on how Austria should be governed, summit meeting Geneva 1955 - no agreement over disarmament and future of Germany but atmosphere of cooperation, end of Korean war 1953 - less opposition

short-lived - May 1955 West Germany joined NATO and USSR responded with Warsaw Pact

Western Germany on border with Soviet-controlled land

known as the 'Eastern Bloc'

liberated by Red Army 1945, non-communist parties banned, key police gov and army officials chosen by Stalin

Matyas Rakosi, firm supporter of Stalin and dealt strongly with communist opposition, 1949-56 over 300,000 Hungarians imprisoned and over 2,000 executed

1956 speech criticised Stalin's regime - de-stalinisation, let satellite states push for relaxation of Soviet control

new leader Wladyslaw Gomulka introduced series of moderate reforms - encouraged Hungarians to push for change

1956 - started to protest about lack of political freedom, fuel shortages and poor harvests, Oct riots in Budapest - police fought alongside protestors

Khrushchev sent Red Army to restore order and stabilise Warsaw Pact, agreed to replace Rakosi with Imre Nagy - former PM thrown out after arguing with Rakosi

thought there could be more personal freedoms in communism

Oct 1956, Hungary leave Warsaw Pact, become neutral, power sharing with non-communist groups

ordered tanks into Budapest Nov 1956, supporters fought and begged West for support, around 20,000 Hungarians killed

new pro-communist gov under Janos Kader, Nagy executed - 'a lesson to the leaders of all socialist countries'

Radio Free Europe - US-funded station broadcast messages encouraging rebellion, Marshal aid had been offered

Eisenhower sympathetic, some European NATO nations took refugees, no military support, containment meant stopping spread but not interfering in satellite states

USSR seemed strong, Satellite states scared, Khrushchev more confident dealing with USA - they had done nothing

1953 riots against gov - Soviet gov sent armed forces to restore order, by 1958 - 3 million East Germans crossed to West - over 1/6 population, many skilled workers knew they would earn higher salaries - eg. engineers technicians and teachers

wanted whole of Berlin to be in East - knew West would have to be forced to leave, Nov 1958 - demanded that West should officially recognise East as independent country

still thought Germany could be reunited - didn't want to recognise East as separate country

27 Nov 1958

Berlin demilitarised and Western troops withdrawn, 'free city' - city with its own independent gov, West had 6 months or Khrushchev would hand over control of all routes into Berlin to East German gov

forced them to talk to East German authorities - forcing them to accept it as a legitimate nation

May 1959

both sides made proposals but no agreement, Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to USA for further talks

Sept 1959

presidential ranch, Eisenhower and Khrushchev met face to face for 1st time, Soviets agreed to withdraw Berlin Ultimatum, agreed to further talks in Paris next summer

May 1960

1 May 1960 - Soviets shot down American U-2 spy plane

USA claimed it was a weather plane but pilot Gary Powers admitted to being a spy, Eisenhower embarrassed but refused to apologise - spying operations unavoidable

Khrushchev walked out of meeting - ended with no decisions made

June 1961

Jan 1961 - before Vienna

thought JFK was inexperienced in foreign affairs, knew JFK's reputation had been damaged in failed invasion of Cuba at Bay of Pigs in the same year, took a tough approach and renewed Berlin Ultimatum

refused to make any concessions - meeting ended with no final decisions on Berlin, increased military spending by over 2 billion - USA seemed prepared to fight over Berlin

more East Germans defecting in case Khrushchev decided to close border - one day Aug 1961 - 40,000 crossed

Aug 1961 - East German troops put up barbed wire fence at first

43 km section cut through Berlin, 'no man's land' - booby traps, barbed wire, minefields and lookout towers

cut through streets and buildings - one woman jumped onto a mattress in West Berlin but later died of injuries, West fire service tried to catch people in blankets, est 130 people killed, Peter Fechter

shot whilst crossing and fell back into East Berlin - lay dying for 45 mins

West had been hoping for reunification - initial outrage, some protests in East - quickly quashed by secret police, refugee problem had strained relations since 1945

Khrushchev had to abandon plans to unite Germany under Soviet control, people had to be 'locked' in

stopped refugees, showed West that communism would survive in Berlin

Soviets closed border without consultation, people couldn't escape communism

Khrushchev forced to accept Western control in West Berlin, West Berlin became symbol of freedom and defiance against communism

1963

thousands came - threw rice, flowers and shredded paper, speech praised Western freedom and compared with communism, 'Ich bin ein Berliner' - I am a citizen of Berlin

Jan 1959

group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara overthrew Fulgencio Batista (head of pro-American Cuban gov)

American businesses invested, lots of land owned by Americans, areas of industry/networks controlled by Americans, important investor in Cuba's main export - sugar, 145km from USA mainland

oil refineries, electricity and telephone networks, railways

reluctantly recognised new gov but refused to provide economic aid unless Cuba followed guidelines set out by International Monetary Fund, Oct 1960 - Eisenhower banned all trade with Cuba, Jan 1961 - broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba

nationalist - didn't want US involvement in Cuban economy, took all land owned by foreigners - paid compensation but US gov refused to recognise scheme - Castro did it anyway, 1960 agreement with USSR

Khrushchev buy Cuban sugar, provide economic aid, secret clause - Cuba recieve arms

agreed by CIA and Eisenhower - group of Cuban exiles trained to overthrow Castro - would look like Cuban counter-revolution - JFK agreed

DELETE

1,400

limited CIA training couldn't compete with experienced Cuban revolutionary army, to present as a Cuban effort USA couldn't send ground forces/air strikes, Cuban gov found out about plan - 20,000 soldiers, many ordinary Cubans happy with Castro - USA and exiles had expected their support

hypocritical - had condemned Soviets in Hungarian uprising, Castro showed wrecked planes etc to journalists around the world - couldn't deny involvement, Soviets pointed out people were happy under Castro - didn't like pro-US and corrupt Batista

Castro declared himself communist and asked Khrushchev to help defend Cuba from future US attack, Sept 1961 - Khrushchev publicly announced he would provide arms to Cuba, JFK warned that he couldn't allow Soviets to use Cuba as base to threaten USA - Khrushchev initially denied

Oct 1962 - US spy plane took pictures showing that Soviets were building missile launch sites in Cuba, missiles could reach most US cities, intelligence agencies informed JFK that fleet of Soviet ships was already on its way with more supplies

NATO had missiles based in Turkey - near USSR, Berlin wall presented as a failure by many Soviet critics, if US overthrew Castro - another defeat for communism

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara advised missiles would be ready to fire in 2 weeks, issues in Berlin at same time, upcoming elections to congress Nov - JFK's democratic party might do badly

JFK called together an Executive Committee (ExComm) - met every day

after several days of discussion JFK decided to set up naval blockade around Cuba - 'quarantine' to avoid being considered an act of war, JFK appeared on TV that evening, prepared 54 bombers each with 4 nuclear warheads in case of war

Khrushchev ordered Soviet ships to turn around - USA didn't know and ships only turned around next day

researchers at Harvard worked out that if USA and USSR had fired nuclear missiles at each other - 1 million from each would have died

few days after ships turned around Khrushchev sent telegram - offered to remove missiles from Cuba if USA agreed not to invade

day after first (before JFK could respond) - Soviets would only remove missiles if USA removed theirs from Turkey

U-2 spy plane shot down over Cuba - Hawks in USA demanded military action - JFK refused

ignored 2nd and agreed to proposal not to invade Cuba, Robert Kennedy secretly met Soviet ambassador in Washington and agreed to remove Turkish missiles, Khrushchev sent his agreement the next day (28 Oct)

'hotline' between Washington and Moscow set up June 1963, 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - agreed not to share Nuclear tech with other countries

strong leader - challenged Khrushchev and Hawks, agreement over Turkey kept secret, popularity gave him more confidence in dealings with USSR

claimed to be winner of dispute, military felt they had been forced into humiliating withdrawal, big factor in his dismissal 1964

1948 - Stalin supported coup that removed non-communists and set up pro-Soviet gov under Klement Gottwald

censorship and no freedom of speech, 1949-54 purges on Stalin's orders, 1966 student demonstrations

first secretary of Czech communist party

1968

committed to Warsaw Pact and devoted communist, 'socialism with a human face' - citizens should be able to speak out against decisions they don't like

censorship relaxed and gov criticism allowed, more power for trade unions, government control of industry reduced, more power for regional govs, trade with West increased, multi-party elections discussed

refusing to attend Warsaw Pact meetings

Tito refusing to accept control from Moscow

asked Dubcek not to go too far with reforms, ordered Warsaw Pact troops to carry out manoeuvres in Czechoslovakia to threaten Dubcek

Dubcek invited Romanian leader and Tito to Prague for talks

DELETE

500,000

Brezhnev had ordered Czech army to remain in its barracks in case it tried to fight invaders, invading forces told they had been invited to help restore law and order by Czech gov

arrested, sent to Moscow and ordered to reverse reforms, sent back to Prague, later removed from office

1969

Gustav Husak - extreme communist

introduced new wave of oppression - over 1,000 Czechs arrested

set out by Pravda in Sept 1968

actions of a communist country affect all communist countries - if these actions are threatening they must be stopped

Yugoslavia and Romania condemned it, Italian and French communist parties cut links to Moscow

East German and Polish govs felt more secure - wouldn't be challenged by reformers

protested but no action, attempted to pass UN resolution criticising invasion - vetoed by Soviets, Lyndon B Johnson cancelled meeting with Brezhnev

costly - USA beginning to adopt less confrontational approach towards Soviet Union

1963

not often, used 1971 by Nixon and Brezhnev during India/Pakistan conflict

1963

drawn up between USA Soviet Union and GB, further 113 countries signed after 1963

govs concerned due to more scientific understanding of dangers of radioactive fallout

no nuclear weapon test explosion outside conductor's borders - including ocean/outer space

1967

drawn up by USA Soviet Union and GB, later signed by 12 countries

exploration and use for benefit of all nations, no nukes/WMDs/harmful contamination, celestial bodies only for peaceful purposes, states responsible for damage caused by their space objects

1968

USA, Soviet Union, GB and 59 others

divided countries into 2 categories - Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) and Non-Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS)

same as P5, work towards disarmament, not help other nations get nukes

wouldn't develop nukes - accepted because very few had tech/financial ability/desire for them

Nixon, Vietnam, Social problems

1968

determined to take USA out of Vietnam, wanted to reduce Soviet tensions and establish relations with China

almost 60,000

around $170 billion spent

showed that military might would not always let it achieve its aims, large-scale demonstrations in USA

1968 assassination of Martin Luther King

felt they were nuclear weapon equals with USA, Vietnam showed USA could be beaten, spending lots on defence, falling behind in computer and microchip tech

almost 30% gross domestic product, only 13% in USA

1949

1950

Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance

Soviets provide economic aid worth $300 million, military assistance if China attacked by Japan/USA

Mao felt Chinese delegates in Moscow had been given poor accomodation and not treated with respect - still worked together in Korea though

didn't get along when Khrushchev visited Beijing 1958

criticised his policies in China

accused him of cowardice in Cuba, complained about Czechoslovakia, scared Soviet Union might attack China

1969 fighting between Chinese and Soviet troops on border - Mao pushed for friendlier relations with USA

tested atomic bomb 1964, first nuclear missile 1966

Korea, USA showed it was prepared to fight for Taiwan when China threatened it, mid-60s Mao's followers called the USA 'capitalist running dogs'

1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Japan

Chinese told to avoid US team but there was some friendly contact which led to US team being invited to play matches in China

after matches - Kissinger visited China and met with PM Zhou En-Lai - established a friendly relationship

1972 Kissinger accompanied Nixon to Beijing to meet Mao - signed Shanghai Communique

agreed that a peaceful solution should be found to problem of Taiwan

Chancellor of West Germany - started Ostpolitik policy

establishing links between East and West Europe - lots of Western nations started following Willy Brandt's lead

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

May 1972

only two ABM sites per country, max 100 ABMs per site

ICBMs and SLBMs

submarine-launched ballistic missile

Soviets allowed more because USA already had more strategic bombers

USA hadn't told Soviets that they could attach more than 1 warhead to a missile - MIRVs

multiple independently-targetable re-entry vehicle

laid out rules for conduct of nuclear warfare

both countries agreed to take care of their relations and 'make every effort to avoid this risk' if war looked likely, banned placing of warheads on seabed

publicly signed - symbolic importance, Nixon visited Brezhnev shortly after signing

1973

1974

basic principles agreement unrealistic, MIRVs, both still owned more than enough nukes to destroy the other many times over