Cold War Revision Notes - AWS

C o l d W a r R e v i s i o n N o t e s

• Friday 8th June 2018 - 2pm (1hr45 mins)

• Cold War and Early Elizabethan England are on

the same exam

• 3 Q types – consequences, narrative account,

importance (all 8 marks)

Tehran, 1943 Yalta, Feb 1945 Potsdam, Jul/Aug

1945

Stalin takes control

of Eastern Europe, 1945-1948

Novikov and Long Telegrams, 1946

Truman Doctrine

and Marshall Plan, 1947

Cominform, 1947 Berlin Blockade and Airlift, June 1948- July 1949

NATO, April1949 Comecon, 1949 Warsaw Pact, 1955 Arms Race, 1949-

1965

Hungarian Uprising, 1956

Cuban Revolution, 1959

Paris Summit, 1960 Bay of Pigs, April

1961

Vienna Conference, June

1961

Berlin Wall, Aug 1961

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

Hotline and Test Ban Treaty, 1963

France leave NATO, 1966

Outer Space Treaty, 1967

Czechoslovakian Uprising, 1968

Brezhnev Doctrine, 1968

Non-Proliferation Treaty, 1968

SALT 1, 1972 Helsinki

Conference, 1975 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1979

Carter Doctrine, 1980

SALT 2 NOT ratified ,1980

Moscow Olympics, 1980 (LA Olympics,

1984) Star Wars/SDI, 1983

Glasnost and Perestroika, 1985

Geneva Conference, 1985

Reykjavik Conference, 1986

INF Treaty, 1987

End of the Warsaw Pact, July 1991

Fall of the Berlin Wall, Nov 1989

K e y E v e n t s o f t h e C o l d W a r , 1 9 4 3 - 9 1

1. Communism/Capi ta l i sm overv iew

C o m m u n i s m C a p i t a l i s m

M a i n c o u n t r y • USSR • USA

A l l i e s

• Eastern Europe

• Warsaw Pact (from 1955)

• China

• Cuba (from 1959)

• Western Europe

• NATO (from 1949)

B e l i e f s

• Equality

• No private property

• State controls business

• Democracy

• Private business

• Free market economy

K e y F e a t u r e s

• Censorship

• Secret Police

• No free speech

• Free speech

• Freedom of movement

• Fair trial

T e l e g r a m s

Novikov Telegram, 1946

• USSR Ambassador reported that the USA

was building up its military strength to

prepare for war with the USSR

Long Telegram, 1946

• USA Ambassador reported that the USSR

was building up its military strength to

prepare for war with the USSR

• Ambassador Kennan also reported that

the USSR wanted to destroy Capitalism

2 . E a r l y C o l d W a r C o n f e r e n c e s , 1 9 4 3 - 1 9 4 5

T e h r a n Y a l t a P o t s d a m

Date • 1943 • Feb 1945 • Jul/Aug 1945

Leaders

• Roosevelt

• Churchill

• Stalin

• Roosevelt

• Churchill

• Stalin

• Truman (has an a-bomb)

• Churchill/Atlee

• Stalin

Agreements

• Open a second front in the

West by invading Nazi

occupied France in June 1944

• Poland would be communist

• That the USSR would help the

war against Japan

• United Nations would be set

up to keep peace after WW2

• Germany AND

Berlin to be

divided into 4

zones of

occupation

• Nazi Party banned and

prosecuted for Holocaust

• Germany would lose its

army

Dis-

agreements • N/A

• Should Germany should pay

reparations? Stalin wanted to

treat Germany harshly; Britain

and the USA wanted to allow

it to rebuild

• This decision was delayed

until the next conference

• Still could not decide how to deal with Germany – Stalin wanted massive compensation to make up for the 20M Russians killed in WW2; Truman wanted Germany to be strong to prevent Communism spreading

• Truman wanted free elections in Poland, Stalin wanted to create a ‘buffer zone’ to protect Russia

Tension • No tension - Hitler still needed

to be defeated

• Low tension – Hitler still

needed to be finally

defeated

• Increased tension – Truman

has an atomic bomb and

Hitler is dead

3 . S t a l i n ’ s S p r e a d o f C o m m u n i s m , 1 9 4 5 - 1 9 4 9

C o u n t r y S t a l i n ’ s A c t i o n s

R o m a n i a

• Coalition government set up in 1945

• Communist members of the government

threatened the non-Communists

• Soviet Army disarmed the Romanian Army

• Communists won the next election with 80%

of the vote

H u n g a r y

• Communists controlled the police in

Hungary from 1945

• In 1947 the Communists took control of the

government and banned all other political

parties

• Matyas Rakosi ‘the Bald Butcher’ became

leader of Hungary – he imprisoned 20,000

opponents and killed 2000 enemies of

Communism

P o l a n d

• In 1945 a coalition government was elected

• In Jan 1947 elections were rigged to ensure

the election of totally Communist

government

4 . T r u m a n ’ s P o l i c y o f C o n t a i n m e n t , 1 9 4 7

T r u m a n D o c t r i n e , 1 9 4 7

• President Truman was worried that Communism would spread across Europe

• His doctrine stated the USA would use military and economic means to stop Communism

from spreading and to contain it within Eastern Europe

M a r s h a l l P l a n / A i d , 1 9 4 7

• The Marshall Plan aimed to reduce poverty to stop the spread of Communism

• The USA offered $17B to rebuild Europe -12 countries accepted. Britain received $3B

• Communist countries in Eastern Europe were also offered this help in an attempt to

encourage them to become capitalist, but they were unable to accept it by the USSR

C o n s e q u e n c e s o f C o n t a i n m e n t :

1. Economic: By 1953 (Stalin’s death) the USA had provided $17B to help rebuild Europe –

US machinery helped European factories to recover. US advisers helped rebuild

infrastructure

2. Political: Europe became more divided – Stalin prevented Eastern Europe from

accepting Marshall Aid as he did not want to show how weak the Soviet economy was

5 . USSR’s Methods of Control

C o m i n f o r m , 1 9 4 7 - ‘Communist Information Bureau’

• Allowed USSR leader to control Communist parties throughout Europe

• It was set up to ensure that countries like Poland and Czechoslovakia followed Soviet rules

• It also ensured leaders of Communist countries ruled as they were told to

C o m e c o n , 1 9 4 9 - ‘Communist Economic Council’

• Allowed USSR leader to control Communist economies throughout Europe eg. tell Hungary to produce food

• It encouraged trade between Communist countries eg. the

USSR got steel from Poland at a preferential (cheaper) rate

• Set up a Communist bank

6 . B e r l i n B l o c k a d e a n d A i r l i f t , 1 9 4 8 - 4 9

C a u s e s E v e n t s C o n s e q u e n c e s

1. Trizonia – USA, UK and French zones of West Berlin become 1. This would make them stronger and more

powerful as they could combine their resources

2. New Currency – in Trizonia a new currency was created

called the Deutschmark. This made the economy of WEST Berlin was stronger and more stable

3. Marshall Aid – as WEST Berlin

was CAPITALIST, it could receive Marshall Aid. This meant West Berlin was recovering more quickly than East Berlin

• Stalin blocked off roads and railways entering WEST Berlin FROM EAST Germany

• Stalin shut off power stations

in EAST Berlin supplying power to the WESTERN sectors

1. Berlin Airlift – for 10 months the USA and UK flew supplies in to WEST Berlin from WEST Germany. 1M

tonnes of coal, necessities and even luxury items like cars! 1 plane landed every 90 seconds

2. Stalin called off the

Blockade in May 1949 – he had to accept defeat. This made him look weak

3. NATO – formed in April 1949 (see next page)

4. East and West Germany

become different countries – the GDR (EAST) and FRG (WEST)

7. NATO, 1949 and the Warsaw Pact , 1955

N A T O – A p r i l 1 9 4 9

• Mutual Defence Pact

• 23 Capitalist countries promised to protect each other from an attack from the USSR by

providing weapons, troops and/or money

C o n s e q u e n c e s :

1. USA was now committed to defending western Europe

2. Stalin saw it as a threat to him, which increased tension

3. Warsaw Pact was formed in 1955

W A R S A W P A C T – 1 9 5 5

• Mutual Defence Pact

• Countries in Eastern Europe agree to defend each other against threat from Capitalist

countries

• Formed in 1955 after WEST GERMANY joined NATO (this meant NATO troops could position

along the West/East German border)


1. World now divided into 2 rival camps – NATO vs. Warsaw Pact

2. Arms Race intensifies – competition for power increases

8. Top ic 1 P ract ice Qs (a l l 8 marks)

Q u e s t i o n T o p i c s

1 E x p l a i n 2

c o n s e q u e n c e s o f …

• The Potsdam Conference, 1948

• The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949

• The Warsaw Pact, 1955

2 W r i t e a n a r r a t i v e

a c c o u n t o f …

• The Soviet takeover of the ‘satellite states’, 1945-

1948

• The key events of the Berlin Crisis, 1948-1949

• The agreements of the Grand Alliance in 1945

3

E x p l a i n t h e

i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e

f o l l o w i n g t o

I n t e r n a t i o n a l

R e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n

t h e s u p e r p o w e r s

• The Long and Novikov Telegrams, 1946

• The Truman Doctrine, 1947

• Cominform, 1947

• Comecon, 1949

9. Khrushchev’s Secret Speech, 1955

C o n t e n t o f S p e e c h :

Khrushchev said…

Stalin was a brutal despot

Khrushchev promised to ‘De-Stalinise’ the USSR – end

censorship and free political prisoners

C o n s e q u e n c e s / I m p o r t a n c e o f t h e S e c r e t S p e e c h :

1. Suggested Khrushchev’s leadership would be less brutal and more free than Stalin’s

2. Khrushchev ‘thaw’

3. 1000s of political prisoners were freed

4. Censorship rules ‘relaxed’ = more freedom of expression

5. Led to the uprising in Hungary, 1956 – people had been given hope that Communist rule

from Moscow would change

• Khrushchev became Soviet leader in 1955

• After Stalin’s death in 1953 there was a struggle for power, which Khrushchev won

C a u s e s : 1. Rakosi (bald butcher) =

cruel and brutal (2000 opponents killed and 200,000 imprisoned)

2. October 1956 – riots in

Budapest and Stalin’s statue torn down

3. Nagy became PM –

made big reforms eg. Free speech, free elections, shut down the AVO (secret police)

4. Khrushchev accepted

reforms initally, but when Nagy asked to leave the Warsaw Pact…

E v e n t s :

• 1000 Soviet tanks

• 2000 Hungarians killed

• 20,000 wounded

• 200,000 fled to Austria

• 80,000 fled to USA

• USA sent $20M in aid

C o n s e q u e n c e s : 1. Nagy arrested, taken to Moscow and

executed “a lesson to the leaders of

all socialist countries”

2. Replaced by strict leader, Janos Kadar

3. Condemned by UN and USA – but

nothing more

4. 1956 Olympics in Melbourne boycott by Spain, Netherlands and Sweden in protest

10. Hungar ian Cr i s i s , 1956

1 1 . B e r l i n C r i s i s , 1 9 5 8 - 1 9 6 1

R e f u g e e C r i s i s , 1 9 4 5 - 6 1 C o n f e r e n c e s , 1 9 5 8 - 6 1 T h e B e r l i n W a l l , 1 9 6 1

• 2.7M fled from EAST to WEST

Germany between 1945-1961

• This was mainly because the East

German government was very

strict and unpopular, and there

was a feared secret police, the

Stasi

• Another reason people left was

because living standards were

higher in West Germany as it had

benefitted from Marshall Aid, so

some went for greater freedom

and wealth

• Khrushchev wanted to control

ALL of Berlin, so in 1958 he issued

an ULTIMATUM, telling the USA

they had to withdraw their troops

from Berlin in 6 months

Geneva, 1959

• Khrushchev and President

Eisenhower agreed to discuss Berlin

Camp David, 1959

• Khrushchev withdrew his ultimatum

Paris, 1960

• Before the summit a US spy plane

was shot down over the USSR

• Eisenhower refused to apologise for

the incident - Khrushchev walked

out and the talks ended

Vienna, 1961

• Khrushchev met JFK for the first

time – Khrushchev thought he

could bully JFK, who had only

been president for 4 months.

• Khrushchev told the USA they had

6 months to leave Berlin

• The USA refused to leave Berlin. In

case of war, Kennedy put $3.2

billion more into military funds, and

spent $270 million on nuclear fall

out shelters

• Khrushchev could not force US

troops to leave Berlin, but he

had to be seen to be powerful

and in control

•

• 12 August 1961, East Germany

sealed off West Berlin with

barbed wire

• By September, it had become a

wall, 3M high with watch towers,

trenches and flood-lights

• In October 1961 USSR and USA

tanks ‘faced off’ at Checkpoint

Charlie (the only place people

could cross from EAST to WEST).

After 12 hours of tension, the

USSR tanks slowly pulled back

1 . R e v o l u t i o n – J A N 1 9 5 • JAN 1959 – CASTRO replaces BATISTA (corrupt leader of

Cuba, who is backed by the USA)

• JAN 1960 – Castro NATIONALISES LAND in Cuba (takes land from USA businesses and gives it to the Cuban people)

• FEB 1960 – Castro makes a deal with KHRUSHCHEV to buy

Russian oil, Khrushchev promises to buy 1M tonnes of Cuban sugar per year

• JULY 1960 – USA BANS all trade with Cuba

2 . B a y o f P i g s – A P R I L 1 9 6 1 • USA COUP to overthrow Castro

• 2000 EXILES invade –CIA wanted it to look like a revolt

AGAINST Castro

• Castro’s government knew about the attack and the initial

planes missed most of their targets. JFK cancelled the second air strike

• 2000 exiles faced 20,000 of Castro’s troops -500 killed and 1500 captured in 3 days

• JFK had to pay $53M in aid to get exiles released

• AUGUST 1961 Khrushchev places missiles in Cuba

3 . C u b a n M i s s i l e C r i s i s – O C T 1 9 6 2 • 16 Oct – EX COMM formed – HAWKS and DOVES

• 22 Oct – USA BLOCKADE of Cuba

• 24 Oct – USSR ships approach blockade, stop and turn around

• 26 Oct – Khrushchev sends JFK a letter saying he will withdraw missiles from Cuba

• 27 Oct – USA spy plane shot down over Cuba - pilot killed. USA make a new deal with Khrushchev – USSR will withdraw weapons from Cuba in exchange, the USA will not invade Cuba and will withdraw its missiles from Turkey in secret

• UN overseas WITHDRAWAL of USSR missiles from Cuba

• USA withdraws missiles from Turkey in secret

1 2 . C u b a n C r i s e s , 1 9 5 9 - 1 9 6 2

C a u s e s :

• Alexander Dubcek

became leader of

Czechoslovakia in 1968

• He made the PRAGUE

SPRING REFORMS in April

1968 which allowed

freedom of speech,

freedom of travel and also

ended censorship

• Dubcek made it clear that

he wanted Czechoslovakia

to remain Communist, but

that he wanted to create

'socialism with a human

face‘

• To try and reassure

Brezhnev, Dubcek said he

wouldn't pull

Czechoslovakia out of the

Warsaw Pact (as

Czechoslovakia was on the

edge of the Iron Curtain)

E v e n t s :

• Brezhnev warned Dubcek

about his actions, saying that

his reforms were going too

far, but Dubcek did nothing

• Czechoslovakia was invaded

by 50,000 Warsaw Pact

troops in August 1968

• Dubcek told the Czech

people not to fight the

invading troops – they threw

flowers at the tanks instead!

• Less than 100 people were

killed

• Dubcek was arrested and

taken to Moscow


1. Political: Dubcek was forced to sign the Moscow Protocol

which meant his reforms would be reversed in

Czechoslovakia. Gustav Husak (very strict) replaced Dubcek

as leader

2. Political/International: Brezhnev Doctrine – “If any Warsaw

Pact country threatens the security of the Eastern Bloc, they

will be invaded by the Warsaw Pact’s army”

3. International: USA did not get involved – they ‘condemned’

Brezhnev’s actions but they were too busy in Vietnam to

commit money or troops to solving the problem

13. Czechos lovak ian Cr i s i s , 1968



1 E x p l a i n 2


• Hungarian Uprising, 1956

• Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

• Election of Alexander Dubcek as leader of

Czechoslovakia



• Key events of the Berlin Crisis, 1968-1961

• The Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961

• Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968

3

E x p l a i n t h e






• Khrushchev’s Berlin Ultimatum, 1958

• Cuban Revolution, 1959

• JFK’s speech in Berlin, 1963

• Prague Spring, 1968

• Brezhnev Doctrine, 1968

1967

OUTER SPACE TREATY

• Created to stop arms race spreading to outer space

• Stopped the USA and USSR from being able to store or use any nuclear weapons in space

14. Détente 1 – 1960s

1963 TEST BAN TREATY • Banned testing of nuclear weapons in

the atmosphere and in space (but not underground)

HOTLINE • Telephone line set up between the

White House (USA) and Kremlin (USSR)

1968 NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY • Neither USA or USSR would supply

nuclear weapons to other states, nor help them develop

• Stopped superpower conflict engulfing other areas of the world

Détente = relaxing tensions

1975

HELSINKI ACCORDS/AGREEMENTS

• International co-operation

• USA and USSR trade deal – oil and grain

• Share medical knowledge

• Discuss protection of human rights

• NOT ABOUT WEAPONS

14. Détente 2 – 1970s

1972 SALT 1 • Limited the number of nuclear weapons

each superpower could have • USA = 1500, USSR = 1550 ICBMs

• USA = 41, USSR = 42 Nuclear Subs • Can scrap old weapons and make new

ones

1975 APOLLO-SOYUEZ MISSION • A joint space mission, the US

Apollo and USSR Soyuz

spacecraft was docked in space

• Marked the beginning of USA and USSR co-operation and teamwork in space

• Slowed down the space race

Détente = relaxing tensions

15. A fghanis tan, 1979 -1989

C a u s e s :

• In April 1978 Muhammed

Taraki, leader of the

PDPA – Communist part

of Afghanistan –

overthrew the

government

• Taraki imprisoned and

tortured leading Muslims

• In 1979, Hafizullah Amin

became leader of

Afghanistan and

continued the anti-

Islamic policies

• A civil war broke out in

Afghanistan between

the Communists and the

Mujahedeen (Muslims)

• Afghanistan is in the

Persian Gulf and

produces 65% of the

world’s oil – a crisis in this

region would be

disastrous

E v e n t s :

• 25th Dec 1979 - Brezhnev ordered 50,000 USSR troops to invade

Afghanistan to support the Communists

• 27th Dec 1979 – Amin was assassinated

• 23rd Jan 1980 – Jimmy Carter promised to provide aid to countries in the

Persian Gulf. He also issued the ‘Carter Doctrine’ which stated that the

USA would defend its interests (oil) in the Middle East with force

• The USA provided $32B of weapons and CIA training to the Mujahedeen

• The invasion was a disaster for the USSR – their tanks were not suitable for

the terrain, they struggled to fight in the unmapped mountains

• The only good weapon they had was their airplanes –so the USA gave the

Mujahedeen anti-aircraft missiles


1. Political: SALT 2 was not ratified by the US government

2. International: 1980 Moscow Olympics were boycotted by the USA and

other members of NATO. In 1984 the USSR and members of the Warsaw

Pact boycotted the LA Olympics – they held the ‘Friendship Games’

instead

3. Money: Jimmy Carter increased military spending by 5%

4. Political: The USSR were hugely embarrased by their defeat. By the time

they withdrew in 1989, 15,000 soldiers had died

• In 1981, Ronald Reagan became president of the USA

• As a strong anti-communist, in 1982 he called the Soviet Union

the "evil empire" and increased spending on arms (weapons)

to $1Trillion

• The US military developed a stealth bomber which was

invisible to radar and the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI/Star

Wars) using space satellites in 1983

• Reagan also developed NUTS – where USA weapons would

target USSR warheads, not cities, so their weapons would be

destroyed, not their people

16. Reagan’s At t i tude to the USSR

1 9 8 3 – S D I / S T A R W A R S :

• Incoming USSR nuclear missiles would be broken up

by lasers before entering the US atmosphere

• Cost $60B of tax payers money

• USSR did not have money or technology to create

their own version

• USA were in the lead in the arms race once again

17. Gorbachev’s ‘New Th ink ing’ , 1985

1985

Glasnost - Openness

• Freedom of speech • End to censorship

• Freedom of travel • Soviet troops pulled out of Eastern

Europe

1985

Perestroika – Restructuring

• To improve the USSR economy • Private business allowed • Foreign investment in the USSR and

Eastern Europe

• Gorbachev’s reforms did not mean to

weaken Communist control but once

changes started to happen in Eastern Europe,

he found it difficult to contain it

18. Gorbachev and Reagan

Geneva , 1985

• Gorbachev and Reagan meet for the first

time

• Around a log fire, they realised they both

wanted to bring the arms race to an end

• Nothing decided, they would meet again

Reykjavik, 1986

• R & G agree to remove all weapons from

Europe and cut ICBMs by 50%

• Reagan refused to scrap SDI (Star Wars)

Washington, 1987

INF Treaty signed

• All mid-range nuclear weapons would be

scrapped

• USA would scrap 900 ICBMs

• USSR would scrap 1800 ICBMs

• Passed by the USA Seate 93-5

Moscow, 1988

• Gorbachev wanted to remove soldiers

from Eastern Europe, but Reagan

disagreed

19. Col lapse o f the USSR, 1989 -1991

• Glasnost and Perestroika encouraged

revolutions in Eastern Europe • The USSR did not have the means or

the will to continue to impose military control

September 1989: • Poland: Communist government

defeated in free elections

October 1989: • Hungary: Free elections held for the

first time since 1947. Opened its

border with Austria – East Germans could travel to West Germany

November 1989: • Germany: Berlin Wall can no longer

prevent East Germans travelling to West – people start to tear the wall down – Soviet troops do not stop them

January 1991 • Warsaw Pact dissolved – no members

left

G o r b a c h e v ’ s R e s i g n a t i o n : • Although Western leaders saw Gorbachev as a

hero (he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990), in Russia he was seen as a villain

• August 1991 – Gang of 8 coup tried to remove

Gorbachev from power. The coup failed

• 25th December 1991 – Gorbachev had become increasingly weak since the August coup. On

Christmas Day, Gorbachev announced the dissolution of the USSR and resigned as leader

X



1 E x p l a i n 2


• Test Ban Treaty, 1963

• Helsinki Accords, 1975

• Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, 1979

• Gorbachev’s decision to abandon the Brezhnev

Doctrine



• Improving superpower relations, 1963-1979

• Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1979-1989

• Key events leading to the break up of the Warsaw

Pact, 1985-1991

3

E x p l a i n t h e






• SALT 1, 1972

• Olympic boycotts in the 1980s

• Carter Doctrine, 1980

• Reagan’s foreign policy, from 1981

• Gorbachev’s ‘New Thinking’, from 1985

• INF Treaty, 1987

Cold War Revision Notes - AWS

Documents

Transcript of Cold War Revision Notes - AWS