The Three Crises Of The Cold War

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Berlin (1)

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EastGermans fled to the West because they were dissatisfied with the economic andpolitical conditions of a communist society.

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Berlin (2)

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Eventually defectors (the word defector eventually replaced the term refugee) were well-educated engineers, scientists, teachers, doctors and lecturers. Defectors also made it very difficult for Khrushchev (Stalin’s successor) to prove that the Soviet system was better than the West.

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Berlin (3)

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He needed to stop the brain drain (the term given to the loss of highly educated professional people) if East Germany was to catch up with the West. By the summer of 1961, the number of defectors rose to 10,000 per week and Khrushchev knew that he would have to step in and prevent such a continued exodus of skilled people.

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Berlin (4)

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In November 1958, Khrushchev demanded that the three Western powers should leave West Berlin. It was agreed that they would meet Khrushchev in May 1960.

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Berlin (5)

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A US spy plane was shot down overthe Soviet Union on 1 May 1960. The pilot Gary Powers was put on trial inMoscow. President Eisenhower said he would stop all future U-2flights over the Soviet Union, but he would not apologise for the incident.

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Berlin (6)

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This came in the middle of a Summit Meeting in Paris and at one meeting with Eisenhower, Khrushchev famously stormed out. Khrushchev was able to use the U-2 incident to embarrass the USA who had initially lied about the plane. The summit meeting collapsed and relations between the USA and Soviet Union worsened dramatically.

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Berlin (7)

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In 1960, the number of defectors rose to 199,000 and in the first seven months of 1961, about 207,000 left East Germany. In September 1960, East Germany forced West Berliners who wanted to travel to East Berlin to obtain a police pass. The only way to plug the gap in the Iron Curtain was to cut off West Berlin from East Germany.

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Berlin (8)

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At the Vienna summit in June 1961, Khrushchev told the new President Kennedy that the Soviet Union was considering signing a peace treaty with East Germany. This would break the wartime agreements. By the early summer of 1961, East German President, Walter Ulbricht, told the Soviet Union that an immediate solution was necessary and that the only way to stop the exodus was to use force. East Germans, seeing the crisis worsen, fled to West Berlin in even greater numbers than ever. In July 1961, alone there were some 30,000.

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Berlin (9)

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The construction of the Berlin Wall started at 2:00 A.M. on August 13, 1961 when access routes were blocked by barbed wire. Two days later, the first concrete blocks being put in place and the barrier separating the two parts of the city was constructed in earnest.

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Berlin (10)

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After its construction, the number of refugees entering West Berlin and West Germany fell drastically

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Berlin (11)

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Khrushchev did not have to worryabout defectors and there was also a clear dividing line between East and West.There was less confrontation between the two sides in Berlin.

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Berlin (12)

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Many Berliners were caught on the wrong side of the Wall and were cut off from their families. Although visits across the Wall began in 1964, it was impossible to reunite families until 1989.

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Berlin (13)

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Many people tried to escape from the East and 300 people were killed trying to cross the Wall

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Berlin (14)

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President Kennedy ordered three increases in the US defence budget in the next two years. He realised that he could not afford to lose out again. In 1963 he visited Berlin and made a speech to hundreds of thousands of West Berliners. In it he said, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’.

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Cuba (1)

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In 1959 Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba. Until then Cuba had been under US influence and many companies had invested heavily in the country. Castro appealed to the USA for aid, but Eisenhower turned him down and cut imports of sugar from Cuba by 95%. Castro then nationalised all businesses. He was not at first a Communist, but US actions forced him to accept aid from the Soviet Union.

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Cuba (2)

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In 1960 the Soviet Union signed an agreement to buy 1,000,000 tonnes of Cuban sugar every year for five years. This tied the two countries closely together. There was now a Communist country in the western hemisphere. In the coming years the CIA tried to murder Castro. There were at least fourteen attempts, all of which failed.

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Cuba (3)

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In January 1961 relations between Cuba and the USA became more strained when the USA broke off diplomatic relations. When Kennedy became president, he decided to allow the plan to continue for the Bay of Pigs.

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Cuba (4)

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The exiles were men who had left Cuba in 1959 when Castro had seized control from Batista. They aimed to remove Castro. Once they had been trained by the USA would invade Cuba and then begin a national uprising which would topple Castro. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was granted a large amount of money to train the exiles and bases were set up in Florida and Central America. The exiles soon numbered about 1,500.

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Cuba (5)

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The exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs but were met by Castro’s forces numbering about 20,000. The whole episode was a disaster and the exiles were all either killed or captured. Kennedy, who had known about it but had not been involved, was made to look foolish.

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Cuba (6)

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In December 1961, Castro announced that he was a communist. There was now a communist country within 90 miles of American soil. The USSR began to offer more and more aid to Cuba. On 14 October 1962, a US spy plane took photographs which showed Soviet missile bases being built on Cuba. This meant that all US missile defence systems were now useless.

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Cuba (7)

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From 16 October, Kennedy spent one week asking his defence chiefs for possible reactions and considering alternatives. Kennedy decided on a blockade (quarantine) because it would halt the build up of the sites and it was not an act of war. The problem with deciding on the blockade was that there was a Soviet fleet moving towards Cuba. There was the possibility of fighting when the ships met.

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Cuba (8)

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The blockade came into effect on 24 October after Kennedy had given Khrushchev a warning. 180 ships were used including a fleet of nuclear submarines was made ready for action and 156 ICBMs were made ready for combat. Kennedy ordered the air force to be combat-ready. This meant that there were bombers were in the air on patrol throughput the crisis. The US army was placed on combat alert. 185,000 troops were moved into Florida. The air force was preparing 21,600 long-range bombers.

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Cuba (9)

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Khrushchev’s response to the blockade was a statement accusing the USA of interfering in Cuba’s internal affairs. The Soviet ships sailing to Cuba slowed down and even began to sail in circles.

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Cuba (10)

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Khrushchev now sent two letters. Onein public was defiant, the second offered a compromise. The second said thatthe missile sites would be destroyed if the USA guaranteed to leave Cuba alone. On 27 October, Kennedy agreed toKhrushchev’s offer in the second letter. At the last minute agreement wasalmost prevented when a U2 was shot down over Cuba, but Kennedy immediatelyapologised.

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Cuba (11)

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The blockade was removed, the sites were destroyed and Cuba was left alone. The sites and Soviet weaponry were removed by 20 November.

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Cuba (12)

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In a secret meeting between Robert Kennedy and the Soviet ambassador on 28 October, the US government agreed that US missiles would be removed from Italy and Turkey. However as these were in a NATO force it could not be announced immediately. They were removed three months later. Kennedy also suggested that the two leaders should begin talks on arms reduction.

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Cuba (13)

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Khrushchev lost prestige – he was seen to have failed and the Soviet Communist Party removed him from office in 1964. Mao Zedong of China criticised Khrushchev for backing down. Kennedy won praise from all over the western world. He was seen as the man who had at last challenged the Soviet Union and won

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Cuba (14)

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The two agreed to set up a telephone ‘hotline’ to talk to each other directly in any future crisis.

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Cuba (15)

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The crisis focused the minds of the leaders of the Superpowers on their responsibilities. In August 1963, the Superpowers signed the Test Ban Treaty. This banned all nuclear tests except underground ones and it was to stay in force without time limit. Five years later, there followed by the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

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Cuba (16)

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Talks about limiting arms began in 1969 and these led to the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in 1972.

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Cuba (17)

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One further development was the USA’s decision to sell the USSR grain in 1963.

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Czechoslovakia(1)

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The Czech Communist Party had complete control of public life, the armed forces, the media and education. There was extremely strict censorship. There was a low standard of living, as a very high proportion of government spending went on the armed forces.

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Czechoslovakia (2)

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President Novotny had been leader since 1957 and he rigidly followed Stalinist policies so that there was little hope of change in the light of Khrushchev’s de-Stalinisation speech. When he did introduce change, it was rather slow and did less than some of the other Soviet satellite states. Czechoslovakia began to experience economic stagnation and this added to the climate of disappointment within the country.

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Czechoslovakia (3)

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In 1965, Novotny tried to improve the situation by restructuring the economy when he introduced the New Economic Model. This failed to bring any visible improvements. At the same time there were calls from some writers for greater freedom and for the first time, Novotny experienced widespread opposition.

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Czechoslovakia (4)

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Alexander Dubcek, leader of the Slovakian Communist Party openly challenged Novotny and then invited Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union, to visit Prague. Novotny was replaced as First Secretary of the Czech Communist Party by Dubcek on 5 January 1968. Novotny then gave up his role as President being replaced by Ludvik Svoboda.

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Czechoslovakia (5)

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In early February 1968, one of Dubcek’s closest supporters published an article in the Communist party paper, Rude Pravo (Red Justice) calling for the removal of obstacles which were preventing the introduction of economic and social reforms.

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Czechoslovakia (6)

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By March 1968, the Czechoslovak leadership was criticised by five Iron Curtain party leaders i.e. Brezhnev (Soviet Union), Gomulka (Poland), Kadar (Hungary), Ulbricht (East Germany) and Zhivkov (Bulgaria).

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Czechoslovakia (7)

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Dubcek put forward his ideas more clearly in his Action Programme in April. It also came to be known as ‘socialism with a human face’. Dubcek was committed to socialism but wanted to remove the worst aspects of communist rule. He was careful to explain how any reforms would take place under the rule of the Czech Communist Party.

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Czechoslovakia (8)

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Dubcek announced a series of reforms. These included: Political reform which would result in a multi-party state and a new form of democratic socialism, the abolition of censorship and the right of citizens to criticize the government. Newspapers began publishing revelations about corruption in high places; free speech - it was the duty of party members to act according to his conscience. It criticized the traditional view of members being forced to provide unconditional obedience to party policy. Freedom of movement was to be guaranteed; freedom of assembly and religion; a reduction in the powers of the secret police

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Czechoslovakia (9)

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One problem for Dubcek was that there were many now in Czechoslovakia who demanded further and more rapid change. This alarmed the Soviet Union just as much as Dubcek’s reforms did. In July 1968, Dubcek was summoned to attend conferences in Warsaw and Moscow, but refused to go. The whole Soviet Politburo then visited Prague to try to persuade Dubcek to reverse the reforms.

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Czechoslovakia (10)

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Brezhnev feared any reforms in Czechoslovakia because he could see a potential break from the Warsaw Pact. Czechoslovakia was geographically strategic and if it left the Warsaw Pact would leave a wedge which NATO would be more than ready to fill. He did not want Czechoslovakia to act as an example to other Warsaw Pact members – on the other hand, he was being pushed by East Germany and Poland to step in to prevent the reforms.

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Czechoslovakia (11)

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Finally, the economic links that Czechoslovakia was trying to establish with West Germany added to the Soviet Union’s concerns. The fear was that West Germany and then other capitalist countries might come initially to dominate the economy of Czechoslovakia and then the remaining satellite states. Brezhnev took the decision to invade Czechoslovakia.

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Czechoslovakia (12)

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On 20-21 August 1968, about 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and several thousand tanks poured into Czechoslovakia. The Czech army did not resist, but many ordinary citizens did. About 100 civilians died.

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Czechoslovakia (13)

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Dubcek disappeared but reappeared in Prague on 27 August and announced that the reforms had been stopped. In October 1968, all reforms were reversed and a temporary Soviet military occupation was announced.

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Czechoslovakia (14)

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The following year, Dubcek was dismissed from the Central Committee of the Czech Communist Party and was sent as Czech ambassador to Turkey. Gradually, all Czech leaders were purged and the new leader, Gustav Husak, re-established a strong communist state.

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Czechoslovakia (15)

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The Soviet invasion had important consequences for the Soviet Union and its satellite states. In November 1968, the Soviet Union issued what became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine

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Czechoslovakia (16)

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The Brezhnev Doctrine declared that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene in any neighbouring country where socialism was threatened. Brezhnev used this as the reason behind the invasion of Czechoslovakia. This was to be the basis for the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979

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Czechoslovakia (17)

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There were some protests from the USA but 1968 was the height of the Vietnam War and there were many domestic upheavals which diverted President Johnson’s attention.