Cold war

• Berlin Question


  West Berlin was a symbol of democracy and capitalism, which threatened the USSR
• Khrushchev's Berlin Ultimatum in 1958 demanding the withdrawal of Western troops from West Berlin was refused by Eisenhower
• The 1959 summit between Khrushchev and Eisenhower promised to continue the optimistic dialogue between the two powers
• The U2 incident in 1960 hindered further negotiations about Berlin
• Khrushchev felt he had to act to stem the flow of refugees out of East Berlin, so the Berlin Wall was built in 1961
• The Berlin Wall helped stabilise the situation in Europe, as it stopped mass emigration to West Berlin and gave East Germany the opportunity to rebuild its economy
• President Kennedy's 1963 visit to West Berlin and declaration "Ich bin ein Berliner" showed his solidarity with West Berlin and its people
• Berlin stabilised
• The West condemned Khrushchev, but was actually relieved
• Immediately after the Berlin Wall appeared, Soviet and Western troops were positioned either side of the wall, but then both powers agreed to back down
• The USA condemned the building of the wall, but took no further military action
• Kennedy was actually relieved-he'd been preparing for a confrontation of some sort
• The Berlin Wall


  • It succeeded in stopping mass emigration to West Berlin
  • It gave East Germany the opportunity to rebuild its economy, and strengthen itself as a communist state
• The Berlin Wall


  • In the West, it became a symbol of oppression and the failure of communism
  • In the USSR, it was seen as a sign of strength
• President Kennedy visited West Berlin in 1963 and gave a famous speech stating his solidarity with West Berlin and its people. He declared "Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a Berliner)
• The Cuban Revolution in 1959 Worried the USA
• In 1959, a rebel called Fidel Castro began a revolution and by 1959, he had enough support to take Havana's capital, and successfully overthrew the government
• The USA had a long economic history with Cuba, and owned most of the shares in all Cuban industries
• When Castro came to power in 1959, he nationalised US companies and decided on good relations with the USSR instead of America. This angered the USA
• In January 1961, the USA and all diplomatic relations with Cuba-the new US President John Kennedy no longer recognised Castro's government
• Kennedy couldn't let a communist state emerge next to America-he intervened
• Rebels backed by the USA Invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs


  1. Kennedy authorised an invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro rebels

  2. In April 1961, the rebels landed in the Bay of Pigs, but they were easily defeated and the USA didn't help-it was a bit of a fiasco

  3. The USA was humiliated, and had pushed Cuba even closer to the USSR
• In December 1961, Castro publicly announced that he was a communist, confirming US suspicions
• Khrushchev agreed to help Castro and began to build nuclear missile sites in Cuba
• Khrushchev planned to put Nuclear Missiles in Cuba


  1. In September 1961, Cuba asked the USSR for weapons to defend itself against the USA

  2. By July 1962, Khrushchev had decided to put nuclear missiles in Cuba

  3. Although Khrushchev already had missiles that could reach the USA, missiles in Cuba would be much closer and threaten all of central and eastern USA with very little warning

  4. In October 1962, American U2 spy planes spotted that nuclear missile bases were being built in Cuba

  5. President Kennedy demanded that Khrushchev remove the missile bases and ordered a naval blockade - all Soviet ships were to be stopped and searched to prevent missiles being transported to the island
• As tensions grew US bombers were put in the air carrying nuclear bombs and the USA prepared to invade Cuba. The world was on the brink of war
• On 27th October 1962, Khrushchev made a deal - demanding the missile bases in Cuba be removed, and in exchange the USA would lift the blockade, promised to not invade Cuba and secretly agreed to remove their missiles from Turkey
• The Cuban Missile Crisis


  • It forced everybody to face up to how quickly a tense situation could become an absolute catastrophe
  • In the short term, efforts were made to defuse tensions and improve communication between the powers - in 1963, a telephone hotline was established between Washington and Moscow
  • All nuclear missiles were moved from Cuba and then from Turkey by April 1963
  • Kennedy emerged from the crisis as a hero who had stood up against the threat of communism, but Khrushchev was discredited
• The Cuban Missile Crisis


  • In the long term, it prompted new measures to bring the build up of nuclear weapons under control - the Limited Test Ban Treaty, the Outer Space Treaty, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
• In 1968 discontent within the Soviet Eastern Bloc stirred again, Czechoslovakia wanted more independence from Soviet influence in a rebellion known as the Prague Spring
• The Prague Spring


  • Dubcek wanted Czechoslovakia to follow its own version of communism, with more freedom of travel, speech and opposition parties
  • The USSR grew increasingly concerned about Dubcek's reforms, worried they could lead to a rejection of communism in the Eastern Bloc
• The USSR Invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968


  1. On 21st August 1968 500,000 Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia

  2. The Czechoslovakians responded with non-violent demonstrations - people took to the streets with anti-invasion banners, and in January 1969 a student burned himself alive in the street in protest

  3. In April 1969, Dubcek was forcibly removed from office, and replaced with Gustáv Husák loyal to Soviet style communism
• There was an international outcry at the Soviet Intervention in Czechoslovakia, but no action was taken - countries were wary of interfering within the USSR's sphere of influence
• The Prague Spring


  • The USSR succeeded in turning Czechoslovakia back to Soviet style communism
  • Brezhnev used the Prague Spring as an opportunity to establish his authority in the Eastern Bloc, proving he was prepared to invade a friendly satellite state to uphold communism
  • The Brezhnev Doctrine stated the USSR would act to protect communism in any country where it was under threat, strengthening the USSR's control over its satellite states
• Soviet-American relations continued to be strained after the Prague Spring - both countries still distrusted one another, and the incident reminded them the Cold War wasn't over
• The Soviet Union was the first country to launch an artificial satellite into space, Sputnik.
• In response to the launching of Sputnik by the USSR, President Eisenhower created NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) on July 29, 1958.
• May 1, 1960


  Date of the U2 incident, where Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Union