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Key Terms + Aims
Aims
- Destalinisation (although fp barely differed from him)
- Peaceful Coexistence "capitalism + communism could exist side by side without military conflict"
- Security
- Revitalise Economy Western Aims
- Containment
- Security Brinkmanship = faking the approach to a nuclear war to convince other side to concede
Detente = period of lessened tension
Destalinisation = attempts to liberalise USSR -
Dictatorship to Collective Leadership
Designed to improve living standards + dismantle police state
More relaxed atmosphere/international climate -
April Speech
Eisenhower
- ended war in Korea
- reduced military spending by $10 million by 1956 -
Operation Solarium (USA)
- National security goes beyond geographcial territory (defnd capitalism)
- Cut conventional forces and develop nuclear arsenal
- More emphasis on the role of the CIA
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East German Revolt
Why?
- Food Shortages
- Mass Emigration into West from East- Ulbricht ordered to slow Sovietisation
- BUT too late so strikes and riots
- Soviet Response via troops, 125 die
- Made a firm commitment to GDR and consolidate influence in satellite states
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“New Course” in foreign policy
- Opened diplomatic channels with West
- Removed soviet military bases in Finland
- Austrian Treaty which re established Austria as independent
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Geneva Conference
- Spirit of Geneva
- Agreed to coexistence, hoped it would be one of several conferences to reduce tensions
- Death of Stalin reduced fear
- Discussed German reunification, security and disparagement
- No agreement over Germany
- Khruschev's proposal to disband Warsaw and NATO rejected
- Eisenhower’s “open skies policy” was rejected
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Warsaw Pact
Allowed members to consult on issues of mutual interest and give them necessary assistance if attacked
Response to West Germany (FRG) joining NATO -
Apology to Tito
Khruschev travels to Belgrade to apologise for Stalin's attitude towards him -
FDR joins NATO
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Poland
- Poznan factory workers staged protests over pay and conditions
- Stormed the Communist Party Headquarters
- Soviets fired at demonstrators (battle for poznan)
- Polish Communist Party re-elected Gomulka
- Showed the government were not going to be pushovers
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Hungarian Uprising
- Replaced Stalinist leader w/ Erno Gero so it would become independent communist regime
- Huge demonstration in Hungary in support of Poles, 30,000 troops
- Gero replaced with Nagy
- 'Principles of Friendship', appeared to seek compromise
- 4th Nov, Troops enter Hungary, 30,000 killed
- Soviets capture ropads, railways etc
- Nagy executed
- If hadn't reacted they would've exposed weakness to USA, UK and FR
- Threat of leaving Warsaw Pact
- Condemned by West
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Moscow Conference
- States must stick to soviet political and economic model to gain the benefits of tolerance and economic help
- USSR = 'first and mightiest'
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Berlin Wall
- Built to stop the increased movement of workers into west berlin (1/6 of East Germany fled West)
- Avoided direct confrontation w/ west
- Let Ulbricht develop his new economic system
- Stop “brain drain”
- forced them to recognise EB as separate state
- scaled a makeshift wall
- imposed no economic sanctions
- humiliated Khruschev + showed communism couldn't compete with capitalism -
Cuban Missile Crisis
- Kennedy + Khruschev concerned w/ how close the world had come to nuclear war
- Want to minimise the possibility of nuclear conflict
- BIG EFFECT ON RELATIONS
- Public success for America but privately removed missiles
- new american ICBMs
- huge economic drain to USSR
- pressure from communist China -
Test Ban Treaty
- Banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, under water and in outer space (only USSR and USA would really count)
- Second Berlin crisis demonstrated dangers of nuclear war
- Economic considerations, both want to reduce arms expenditure + space race drained both budgets
- Impact of Cuban Missile Crisis
- Public opinion in USA against missile tests