how was the living standard different between East and West Berlin?
wages in WestBerlin were higher than in East Berlin. It was found that areas that were in West Germany were still 17% higher than in East Germany in 2018. This difference was even greater in the 1950s.
between 1952 and 1961 how many Eastern Germans migrated to West Germany?
3.5million
how did Eastern Germans migrating to the West affect the Soviets?
People were leaving their territory and moving to Americancontrolledterritory which caused problems for EastGermany as skilledworkers tended to leave meaning East Germany's output, productivity, and wealth didn't rise as much. There was a shortage of skilledlabour.
when did Krushchev propose the Berlin ultimatum?
November1958
what was the Berlin ultimatum?
Krushchev claimed that Berlin should be absorbed into East Germany.
what was the response to the Berlin ultimatum?
it led to a series of summit meetings between the leaders of the powers. The first summit happened in Geneva and the second at Camp David in September 1959.
when did construction of the Berlin wall begin?
13th August 1961
why was the Berlin wall constructed?
it was an effort to solve the refugeecrisis and keeppeople in East Germany and East Berlin. Initially it was a flimsyfence with a razorwire at the top but over time it became a heavierconcrete border.
how were foreigners allowed to travel from East to West Berlin?
by crossing "checkpointCharlie". There was a tense stand-off on 27th October1961 between the Sovietarmy (with tanks) and the Americancitizens trying to cross into East Berlin.
what was Kennedy's response to the Berlin Wall?
on a visit to West Berlin on the 26th June1963, the US president described himself as a "Berliner" in a symbolic speech.
why was there a growing opposition to communism in Czechoslovakia?
livingstandards had fallen under the soviet rule.
who became the leader of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and what did he want?
Alexander Dubcek: he had a good relationship with the SovietleaderBrezhnev and supported the Warsawpact but wanted communism to have a "humanface", introducing reforms that improved the lives of Czechoslovakian people.
what were the reforms made in Czechoslovakia that increased political freedom?
in April1968, cencorship was relaxed, more criticism of communism was allowed and other political parties were permitted. The secretpolice had their powersreducedandarresting and detaining without a trial was restricted.
what was the response to the Prague Spring?
many Czechoslovakians were enthusiastic about the reforms. Brehnev and the EastGermanyleader were especially concerned: they feared that Prague Spring would lead to calls for reformselsewhere in the USSR'ssphere of influence.
what did Brehnev do as a result of Prague Spring?
nothing, he was unsure how to act as he was close to Dubcek and did not want to risk his country's reputation by going to war.
when was the Prague Spring?
1968
how and when was Soviet control re-established in Czechoslovakia?
21st August 1968: troops from all the countries in the Warsawpact entered Prague and Dubcek was arrested and flown to Moscow. Nobody in Czechoslovakia was expecting an invasion, especially the armedtroops. Dubcek urged Czechoslovakians not to resist the invasion with violence.
what happened to Czechoslovakia after Dubcek?
it became a strictly-runSovietsatellitestate again, led by Husak. The process of rolling back Dubcek'sreforms was called "normalisation". Unlike Nagy in Hungary, Dubcek was returned to Czechoslovakia and given a lessimportantposition.
what was the Brezhnev doctrine?
a policy that the SovietUnion would use the Warsawpacttroops to maintain their position of influence in EasternEurope. Anyone proposingreforms or threateningcommunism in the Soviet sphere of influence was likely to be invaded.
how did the West respond to the Brezhnev doctrine?
it was condemned by Britain and America, but again West didn't want to go to war over a relatively peacefulinvasion within the Soviet'ssphere of influence. However, the Brezhnevdoctrine and the invasionharmed the Soviet's brand of communism.
which regions supported Soviet action?
LatinAmerican nations, like Castro'sCuba. However, Mexico, which had previously supported the SovietUnion, broke away.
what ended the cooperation between the USA and Cuba?
before 1959, Cuba cooperated with the USA under the leadership of GeneralBatista. In 1959, Castro led a socialistrevolution that overthrew US-supported GeneralBatista.
how did Cuba respond to their cooperation with the USA ending?
Cuba began to trade with the USSR. Links between the USSR and Cuba strengthened and the Soviets began to sell oil and fuel to Cuba. Brezhnev visited Cuba in 1974 as the relationship grew stronger.
what did Cuba ask the USSR for?
militarydefensesupport. At the same time, the USA was trying to bring Cuba back into the Americansphereofinfluence.
when was the Bay of Pigs?
17th April1961
what was the Bay of Pigs?
America invaded Cuba, the CIA told the USA that it would look like a Cubanrevolt. The USA assembled a group of Cubanexiles called "Brigade2506". The invasion was funded by the CIA and was launched from Guatemala. They were met with an army of 20000Cubans and the exilessurrendered.
why did the Bay of Pigs fail?
Castro had been informed about the impendinginvasion before it was launched, allowing him to prepare. The Americanplanes used in the raid made it obvious that it was an invasion.
what happened as a result of the Bay of Pigs?
1202 members of the Brigade 2506 were captured.Castro offered to release the men in exchange for $28 million worth of tractors before an agreement was struck in 1962 to deliver $53milliom worth of food an medicine.
what were the consequences of the Bay of Pigs?
destroyed the possibility of good Cuban-American relations
Castro cemented his socialist rule in Cuba
the USA lost face: they funded a failed invasion and pretended they weren't involved.
when did the USA discover Soviet missile sites on Cuba and why were they there?
October1962: Cuba had allowed the USSR to stationmissiles there to act as a deterrent to stop the USAattackingCuba again.
what was Kennedy's response to the Cuban missile crisis?
20th October1962, kennedy decided on a "quarantinezone". He thought an invasion of Cuba would risk nuclearwar. Instead, the blockade would try and stop any Sovietships reaching Cuba.
how was the Cuban missile crisis settled?
27th October1962, Krushchev and Kennedycompromised. The USSR would not place any missiles on Cuba if the USA removed its warheads (ICMBs) from its armybases in Europe (mainly Italy and Turkey) meaning neither superpower had missiles within the range of the opposition'sterritory.
what were the consequences of the Cuban missile crisis for the USA?
showed that there was no appetite for war between the USSR and the USA. This strengthened the "dove's" position politically in the USA. A hotline connecting the US president and the Soviet leader was set up so they could communicateimmediately during a crisis.
what were the consequences of the Cuban missile crisis for the USSR?
after 1962, the USSR had accumulated even more nuclearweapons. By 1965, the USSR and USA had the samenumber of nuclearmissiles. The USSR looked weaker than the USA. Krushchev was removed 2 years later.
what were the nuclear treaties?
August 1963: the LimitedTestBan Treaty was signed the USA and USSR. Nuclearweapons couldn't be tested aboveground.
1967: the OuterSpace Treaty agreed to not use nuclearweapons in space.
1968: USA and USSR signed the NuclearNonProliferation Treaty which stopped the two countries from sharing their nuclearmissiles with other nations.
when did the Cuban missile crisis take place?
20th-28thOctober1962
what was SALT 1?
a nuclearweaponslimitations treaty. It is placed a cap on what different kinds of missiles that they USA and USSR could have. No new ICMBs could be made and no new nuclearlaunchsites were allowed. No new nuclear submarines were allowed. A maximum of 2 ABMs.
when did SALT 1 happen?
1972
why was SALT 1 significant?
it was a positive sign of collaboration between the 2 superpowers. It capped the number of ICMBs, which marked a pause in the nuclear missiles arms race. Nixon and Brezhnev would go to visit each others countries. SALT 1 was so successful that it led to SALT 2 in 1979.
what was the Moscow summit?
1972: the ABM treaty and the SALT 1 were signed. The meeting was a high points of detente between the East and West.