increased tension

• This was a problem for the Soviet Union, as if Nagy succeeded, other Eastern European countries might follow and the Warsaw Pact would collapse
• West Berlin was deep inside Soviet-controlled East Germany, giving the USA a foothold inside the Eastern bloc, and many East Germans crossed into West Berlin to reach West Germany
• Between 1949 and 1961, 2.7 million East Germans crossed into West Germany via West Berlin, which looked bad for the Soviets as people clearly preferred West Germany
• Khrushchev issued an ultimatum in 1958 stating that all Berlin belonged to East Germany and occupying troops must leave in six months
• The Soviet Union knew that if it tried to push the West out of Berlin by force, a war would start that it could not win, so a series of summit meetings took place between the USA and Soviet Union
• Between 1949 and 1961, 2.7 million East Germans crossed into West Germany via West Berlin
• The population of West Germany increased while the economy benefitted from an influx of skilled workers
• Many left for the West, leaving the East with a skills shortage
• This looked bad for the Soviets: people dearly preferred West Germany
• Khrushchev's Berlin ultimatum

  Stated that all Berlin belonged to East Germany and that occupying troops must leave in six months
• The Soviet Union knew that if it tried to push the West out of Berlin by force, a war would start that it could not win, as the US had more nuclear weapons
• Summit meetings 1959-61 between the USA and the Soviet Union

  1. Geneva (May 1959)

  2. Camp David (Sept 1959)

  3. Paris (May 1960)

  4. Vienna Conference (June 1961)
• The USA refused to recognise Castro's government because it did not want a socialist country in their sphere of influence, especially not a country with close links to the Soviet Union
• The CIA tried to assassinate the leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro, with no success
• The CIA convinced President Kennedy that a US-backed invasion of Cuba, designed to overthrow Castro, could solve the problem
• Czechoslovakia's economy and living standards declined under Soviet rule
• Any opposition to communism was crushed
• Communist rule became very unpopular
• Alexander Dubček

  Became the Czechoslovakian leader in January 1968. He was a communist and supporter of the Warsaw Pact but wanted to make communism better and easier to live under. Dubček called this 'socialism with a human face'
• Dubček's reforms

  1. Relaxation of censorship

  2. More democracy allowed other parties alongside the Communist Party

  3. More power was given to the Czechoslovakian parliament and Soviet control was reduced

  4. The economy was also reformed with "market socialism allowing for the introduction of some 'capitalist elements

  5. The powers of the secret police were reduced
• Students, intellectuals, workers and young members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia welcomed Dubček's reforms enthusiastically
• The reforms also led to writers, such as Vaclav Havel and Milan Kundera, writing books that were highly critical of Soviet-style communism
• Not all Czechoslovaks were happy: members of the secret police and some senior army officers resented losing their power and status due to the reforms
• The Prague Spring horrified many older Czechoslovakian communists, as they felt it would lead to the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia
• Brezhnev and other communists in Eastern Europe, such as Eric Honecker, the leader of East Germany, were especially concerned. They feared the Prague Spring would lead to demands for reform elsewhere in the Eastern bloc that would threaten communist rule in Eastern Europe
• Brezhnev now had a dilemma: Dubček was a friend and military action would damage the Soviet Union's reputation. On the other hand, if he did nothing, expectations would rise and the whole Eastern bloc might collapse