his acceptance that there were ‘many roads to socialism’
better Soviet relations with the West and Yugoslavia
Berlin Rising: (June 1953)
new economic policy → greater emphasis on consumer goods
Walter Ulbricht (German communist) raised workers’ production quotes without increased pay → demonstrations provoked
400k workers protested for free elections, general strike and lifting of quotas
government responded with force, arresting and executing protest eader
demonstrated the unpopularity of traditional communist policy and that control was based on force
Poland: (1956)
Boleslaw Beirut’s death (Stalinist Polish communist leader) → increasing calls for liberation in February 1956
large demonstrations turned into anti-government protests (June 1956)
demands for Polish nationalist and Wladyslaw Gomulka (moderate communist) to be given power
Khrushchev tried to force Gomulka to back down but relented
certain economic reforms permitted as long as they remained committed to the Warsaw Pact
Khrushchev forced to compromise with demands of Polish communists
Mao Zedon (Chinese communist leader) publically supported the Polish reformers
Hungary: (1956) 1/2
Imre Nagy, anti-Stalinist communist became premier (July 1956)
protestors called for multi-party democracy, free press, Hungary’s withdrawal from Warsaw Pact (October 1956)
Nagy agreed to the demands → USSR viewed this as an act of open revolt
Hungary: (1956) 2/2
Red Army tanks entered Budapest to reassert Soviet control (4 November 1956)
‘nationalist’ Janos Kadar became premier (11 November 1956)
Kadar’s government imposed one-party control, arresting 35k protestors and executing 300 leaders of the uprising
Hungarian protestors assumed that they would receive US military assistance but they refused to suppress the Red Army
Eisenhower and Dulles take charge:
Eisenhower attacked Truman for being ‘soft’ on communism and rejected containment as ‘futile and immoral’
‘New Look’ policy which emphasised hard-line Cold War diplomacy
Impact of the Hungarian rising on the West:
US took in 25k Hungarian refugees
growing scepticism about USSR’s new mood of ‘accommodation’
direct Western involvement in Hungary would trigger a nuclear war
Why did Eisenhower want better relations with the USSR?
his military background made him strongly aware of the dangers of a nuclear conflict that could ‘destroy civilisation’
concerned that military spending was too high which could impinge on US living standards
better relations with the USSR → nuclear war less likely → US military spending reduced
U-2 spy planes’ intelligance showed USSR was behind in the arms race
Key features of the ‘New Look’ policy: 1/2
massive retaliation - greater use of nuclear threats and less reliance on conventional weapons
brinkmanship - warned China if Korean War would not end it would use nuclear weapons (1953) and issued nuclear threats when Chinese communists shelled nationalist-held islands (1954)
Key features of the ‘New Look’ policy: 2/2
increased use of covert operations - ensured pro-western Iranian to become the Shah (1953) and development of U-2 spy planes
Domino Theory (1954) - if Vietnam became communist, surrounding countries would too → SEATO formed
Eisenhower Doctrine (1957) - halted communist penetration and oil supplies falling to hostile hands in Middle East
‘Geneva spirit’ and conference diplomacy: (1954 to 1961)
Stalin’s death and end of Korean War → renewal of superpower conference diplomacy
assisted by Khrushchev’s pusuit of peaceful co-existence and Eisenhower’s belief in face-to-face meetings
improved US-Soviet relations but failed to tackle importnt issues (Germany’s future and arms race)
Geneva Conference: (April to July 1954)
first indication of success of superpower diplomacy
USA, USSR, Britain and France discussed Korea and Indochina
ceasefire declared and French troops to be withdrawn
Laos and Cambodia established as indepedent states
Vietnam temporarily divided into communist north → to be reunited through free elections by 1956