1.

​Reasons For The Cold War

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Identifying ideological differences between communism and
capitalism.
●​ Understanding relations between the countries in the Second
World War.
●​ Understand how the relationships between Allied countries
developed into the “Cold War”.

1.1 Long-Term Rivalry Between The Soviet Union And The

West
​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Know about historical background to Soviet-US rivalry.
●​ Knowing about the ideological differences between capitalism
and communism.
●​ Understand the poor relations and why they were poor before
the start of the Second World War.

East-West Relations, 1943-45:

●​ November 1943: Tehran Conference, the “Big Three” meet to plan
war strategy.
●​ February 1945: Yalta Conference, the “Big Three” discussed
arrangements for the post-war world.
●​ May 1945: VE Day, all about the victory in Europe, Allies
defeated Hitler’s Germany.
●​ July 1945: Potsdam Conference, the “Big Three” agreed to split
Germany.
●​ August 1945: USA drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in Japan.

The Grand Alliance:

●​ 1941-1945: Britain, the Soviet Union, and the USA had fought
against Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
○​ The leaders of these countries were:
■​ Stalin [Soviet Union]
■​ Roosevelt [USA]
■​ Churchill [Britain]
○​ They had joined in an informal agreement, later on
Winston Churchill named the “Grand Alliance”.
 ●​ The Soviet Union was invaded by Germany in 1941, the USA and
Britain provided the Soviets with weapons, ships, aircraft, and
food in order to resist invasion.
●​ 1945: Grand Alliance close to winning the war.
○​ Britain + France attacking Germany from the west + south.
○​ Soviets attacking from the east.
●​ 25 April 1945: Soviet + US forces end up meeting at the River
Elbe in central Germany. They reach the German capital Berlin
where Germany greets defeat.
●​ The USA + Soviet Union were allies but deeply suspicious of each
other. Like deeply.
○​ Seen in Stalin’s determination for the Soviet forces to
enter Berlin before the US forces did.
■​ An estimated 70,000 Soviet soldiers died because
Stalin ordered them to attack and occupy the city
before the Americans arrived.
■​ The Allies had already agreed to divide Germany
and Berlin after war ended, but Stalin wanted
control of important German military sites.

Page 3: Extend Your Knowledge

​ The Great Patriotic War:
Unlike the USA and Britain, the Soviet Union was invaded by Germany in the
Second World War. Stalin labelled the fight to save his country from Nazi
conquest ‘The Great Patriotic War’. By the time it ended, over 11 million
Soviet soldiers and nearly 17 million civilians had been killed.

Page 4: Extract A
​ A British historian explains why Stalin was determined to reach Berlin
first.

Stalin was desperate to get his hands on the German nuclear research centre,
the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in the southwest of Berlin – before the Americans
got there. The Soviets knew through their spies of the American atomic bomb
programme. Stalin’s own nuclear programme, Operation Borodino, was not
moving fast enough and Soviet scientists wanted to find out exactly what the
Germans had come up with during the war.

Deteriorating Relations:
 ●​ April 1945: Soviet troops took control of large parts of Berlin.
Hitler accepted that Germany had been defeated.
●​ 29 April 1945: He married his long-term girlfriend, Eva Braun, and
on 30 April 1945 they committed suicide together. Very
romantically, and then descended up into the space between
spaces where they could für immer pretend that Germany = die
welt.
●​ 8 May 1945: Germany’s formal surrender.
●​ The USA and the Soviet Union’s friendly relationship didn’t last.
○​ Worsened so rapidly actually that within a year they had
begun a “Cold War”.
○​ Not a military conflict, a war of words.
○​ Each superpower used propaganda, spying, and
threatening war on each other to force views down the
others throat.
○​ Military alliances formed and huge arsenals of
conventional and nuclear weapons developed. Für kein
ficken grund.
○​ Those weapons were never used in direct fighting between
them.
○​ Because of their happy cooperation during the Second
World War, it may be confusing as to why their
relationship deteriorated so much by the end of 1945.
■​ In truth, relations just returned to how they were
before the alliance was made for the purposes of
defeating Nazi Germany.
■​ At the beginning of the war, the relations between
the Soviet Union and the west had already been
poor, containing little trust between them.
●​ This lack of trust can be explained by looking
at the differing beliefs they had, and the way
they treated each other since the very
dramatic year of 1917 when the tsar was
overthrown and Russia first got communisms.

Page 4: Source A
​ An American soldier and a Soviet soldier greet each other at the River
Elbe in Germany in April 1945.

Page 4: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Victims Of The War:
Hitler was not the only German leader to take his own life at the end of the
war. The Nazi minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, had his six children
(Helga, 12, Hildegard, 11, Helmut, 9, Holdine, 8, Hedwig, 6 and Heidrun, 4)
injected with morphine to put them to sleep. Then cyanide was pushed into
their mouths to kill them. Goebbels did this because he saw no future in a
Germany without Hitler. After the children’s deaths, Goebbels shot his wife,
and then himself.

Key Terms:
●​ Superpowers: the name given to the two most powerful nations in the
world at this time – the USA and the Soviet Union.
●​ Soviet Union: short for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The
republics were Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and
several smaller countries. In theory, all republics were partners in the
union, but in practice, it was ruled from Moscow, the capital of Russia.

Ideological Differences Between Communism And Capitalism:

●​ Basis of mistrust between east and west was due to beliefs.
●​ The Soviet Union feared the west imposing their beliefs on Soviet
people.
●​ The west feared that the Soviet Union wanted to spread
communism weltweit.
●​ An important disagreement: how countries should be run.
●​ The USA and Britain followed an ideology called capitalism.
●​ The Soviet Union followed something much cooler –
communisms.
●​ Opposing ideologies created tension between countries from the
beginning of the Grand Alliance.
●​ When it was clear that Nazi Germany and its ally Japan would
be defeated, tension increased as different ideologies led to
conflict on how to govern Europe post-war.

Differences Between Nations:

Soviet Union USA + Britain

Politiks Single-party rule. Free elections with a

choice of parties to
 vote for.

Social Structure Classless society, Some people have

everyone equal. more power than
others (because of
family background,
wealth, education or
personal
achievements).

Economy All property owned Private ownership

by the state, no and a competition
individual ownership. between businesses.

Rights Rights of all workers Individual freedoms

more important than valued but limited by
individual rights. majority opinion.

Key Terms:
●​ Ideology: a set of shared beliefs. In 1941, the USA and the Soviet Union
had different ideologies concerning how a country should be governed
and how its society should work.
●​ Capitalism: capitalists believe everyone should be free to own property
and businesses, and to make money. The USA’s economic ideology was
capitalist.
●​ Communism: communists believe that all property, including homes
and businesses, should belong to the state, to ensure that every
member of society has a fair share. Communism is based on the
writings of Karl Marx and was the political and economic ideology of
the Soviet Union.

Early Conflict:
​ The Revolution:
●​ The Soviet Union didn’t like the actions Britain and France
took, in attempts to prevent communisms in Russia.
●​ During the First World War Russia fought on the same side
as Britain and France.
●​ October 1917: Revolution in Russia where the Bolsheviks
take over.
●​ Bolsheviks faced opposition from the people and couldn’t
fight a civil war and a war against Germany and the axis
powers at the same time.
 ●​ They make a peace treaty with Germany and drop out of
war.
●​ Britain, France, and the USA infuriated with the Soviets
because of it.
●​ They additionally disapproved of the Bolsheviks’ political
beliefs.
●​ They send forces to Russia to support the opponents of the
Bolsheviks.
●​ They wanted defeat of the Bolsheviks and Russia back in
the war.
●​ Failed on both counts, lol.
●​ Allies return home, Bolsheviks left with no doubt that the
West wanted them overthrown.

Deteriorating Relations In The 1920’s + 1930’s:

●​ 1922: Bolsheviks win the civil war.
●​ Russia is now the Soviet Union.
●​ Run as a communist country.
●​ West disapproved of communism.
●​ 1920’s-1930’s: Relations mad poor between Russia and the West.
●​ Became even worse just before the Second World War’s
outbreak.
●​ 1938: Britain, France, and Italy agree to let Hitler have parts of
Czechoslovakia containing large numbers of ethnic Germans.
●​ The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were bitter enemies, and
Czechoslovakia had close borders to the Soviet Union.
●​ Stalin was not asked for his opinion on Hitler’s domination of
Czechoslovakia.
●​ He realises Western powers aren’t interested in friendly
relationship with his country.
●​ He was convinced that the West would be happy if his country
was attacked by Nazi Germany and if communism was
destroyed.
●​ Britain and France knew Hitler wanted to take over Poland.
●​ They figured he wouldn’t invade however because the Soviet
Union also wanted parts of Poland. Basically everyone wanted a
piece of Poland, it was the hottest country in Europe back then.
The Soviet Union was very sigma and totally set to get all the
pieces of Poland, but Nazi Germany had an agenda, they were
 going to use Poland for bad stuff. Honestly, I’m glad Poland’s
single now.
●​ August 1939: Hitler and Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Agreeing
to chop Poland in half and share between them. And then I was
all like… you guys sleeping with the same chick like that?
Absolutely verrückt.
●​ Britain and France were betrayed by what Stalin did, they didn’t
expect the Soviet Union to go out country-trafficking by
themselves?!! Why weren’t they invited?!! Shookethness.
●​ Stalin had noticed they were bad friends that’s why he took the
Soviet Union out country-trafficking by themselves.
●​ September 1939: Soviet and Nazi forces enter Poland and take
control. Like totally rapist vibes.
●​ Britain and France felt like they had ‘no choice’ but to wage war
on Germany.
●​ Second World War starts.
●​ June 1941: Hitler invades the Soviet Union, so the Soviet Union
and the West finally join forces.

Key Term:
●​ Second Front: another centre of fighting. The Soviet Union and
Germany were fighting on the Eastern Front. Stalin wanted Britain and
the USA to start another front in France.

Tensions + Disagreements During The Second World War:

●​ Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin are ‘the Big Three’.
●​ This was because their beliefs and ambitions dominated politics
from 1941 to 1945, when Roosevelt died.
●​ Suspicions by each political figure on the other political figures,
especially with Churchill and Roosevelt on the Western side,
about Stalin on the Eastern side, played a big role in
relation-shaping from 1941.
●​ Differences in personal political beliefs reinforced said
suspicions.
●​ These suspicions were an important reason for breakdown of
relations as the Second World War came to a close.
●​ Churchill and Roosevelt feared Stalin wanted communism
installed in the rest of the world too. Specifically Eastern
European countries Germany had conquered.
 ●​ Stalin feared Churchill and Roosevelt wanted Nazi Germany and
the Soviet Union to fight a long war, destroying resources of both
countries and making them weaker once said war was over.
●​ Stalin saw this as the primary reason why Britain and the US had
delayed the opening of a second front until 1944. It was
necessary to take pressure off the Soviet Union and the Eastern
Front. Stalin believed the delay was deliberate and the Soviet
Union was to be made weaker by fighting the Germans all alone.
●​ After Germany’s defeat, Western Allies continue fighting Japan
on their own.
●​ August 1945: Americans drop the nukes on Japan, two of them,
nichtwirklich gut.
●​ They kept news of developments from Stalin until the last
second.
●​ Stalin was worried that they did this because the Americans
planned to use their nukes on them too.
●​ Once war finally finished, it was obvious that these countries
would have strained relations with each other because of the
terrible communication between them and the endless
assumptions of the others’ next move.
●​ Ideological differences and the loss of trust made it impossible
for agreements to be made on how post-war Europe should be
governed.

Franklin D. Roosevelt [1882-1945]:

●​ 1933-45: Presidency.
●​ Believed in democracy but formed an alliance with Stalin.
●​ 1941: Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt thinks he needs
Soviet support against Japan.
●​ His needing support explains why in negotiations he was not as
tough with Stalin as Churchill would’ve liked.
●​ Roosevelt believed long-term settlement would only be possible
if the Soviet Union was accepted as a partner in peace.

Winston Churchill [1874-1965]:

●​ Prime Minister Of Britain: 1940-45, 1951-55.
●​ Conservative and from an aristocratic background he believed in
traditional values.
 ●​ He believed in the British Empire, when Roosevelt believed that
colonies should be allowed freedom to govern themselves.
●​ Political attitudes made him the most suspicious of Stalin.
●​ Throughout the Grand Alliance he thought his role was to prevent
Soviet expansion.

Joseph Stalin [1878-1953]:

●​ Leader of the Soviet Union: 1920’s – 1953.
●​ Strengthened one-party rule in the Soviet Union.
●​ Cut back on people’s individual rights.
●​ Convinced the West had it out for communism, so the Soviet
Union had to stand strong in negotiations with the West’s
“superpower”, the USA + close ally of theirs; Britain.
●​ Felt it was important to keep Germany weak, and wanted to set
up the areas of pro-Soviet countries known as a “buffer zone”
between Germany and the Soviet Union.

Page 9: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Franklin D. Roosevelt:
The American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had contracted polio in 1921
when he was 39 years old. The disease paralysed Roosevelt from the waist
down, though he later managed to stand and walk very short distances with
the help of leg braces. Despite his disability, he was elected governor of New
York in 1929 and president in 1932. Although the White House had to have
ramps fitted for Roosevelt’s wheelchair, many people did not know of his
disability. He was usually photographed from a distance, whilst standing, and
pictures of him in a wheelchair were not made public.

US + Soviet Attitudes After The Second World War:

●​ USA: Defeating fascist Germany was a win for their capitalist
political system. They needed to keep peace in future and
prevent communism by spreading capitalism and democracy.
Believing that people in Europe should have the same rights and
freedoms as Americans do. This way they would be more keen on
supporting America and being allies.
●​ Vodkanation: Defeating Germany is a win for communist political
system. People made enormous sacrifices in the war and it was
believed this gave them the right to spread communism to the
rest of Eastern Europe, eventually throughout the whole world.
 Wanted Soviet satellite states under their control. This way the
Union would be protected from future attacks from the West.

Page 9: Extract B
​ A description of the Cold War from a book on modern world history,
published in 2008.

The USA and the Soviet Union each believed that its particular political
philosophy was the ‘right’ one. And that their system was the most fair and
best for creating a just society. Each side, mistakenly, believed that it offered
the only true path to ‘peace, freedom, justice and plenty’ for all. However,
behind this idealism was the reality. Both the USA and the Soviet Union were
motivated by their own self-interests.

Key Characteristics Of The Cold War:

●​ Loans + Aid.
●​ Spying.
●​ Arms Race.
●​ Threats.
●​ Propaganda.

1.2 The Conferences At Tehran, Yalta And Potsdam

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand the key features and significance of the wartime
conferences.
●​ Understand the attitudes of Truman and Stalin.
●​ Understand the impact of the atomic bomb on relations between
the USA and the Soviet Union.

The Tehran, Yalta + Potsdam Conferences:

●​ Britain, USA, and the Soviet Union needed to ignore their
differences in order to team up and defeat Japan.
●​ Additionally they needed to agree on Europe’s governing
post-war.
○​ Including what would go on with Germany.
○​ The governing of countries that would be liberated from
Germany’s control.
●​ Leaders of Grand Alliance nations would meet three times over
the course of the Second World War.
 ○​ 1943: Tehran.
○​ February 1945: Yalta.
○​ July 1945: Potsdam.
​ ​ Tehran, November 1943:
●​ This meeting was to find out what their winning strategy
for the war would be.
○​ It was decided that Britain and the USA would open
a ‘second front’ by launching an attack on Germany
in Western Europe.
■​ It would ease the pressure on the Eastern
Front, where Soviets were suffering heavy
losses.
■​ Germans would be forced to take troops to
the Western Front.
○​ Stalin was to declare war against Japan and supply
Soviet troops to help the USA win their war against
them. Only once war in Europe was over because
Soviet manpower was still required to uphold the
Eastern Front.
○​ The Big Three additionally discussed Germany and
its overtaken territories, no formal agreement made,
but aim was to make Germany remain weak even
after the war closed.
■​ It was agreed that Poland should get land
from Germany, however the Soviet Union
could keep land it had seized from Poland in
1939.
●​ It was important to Stalin in order to
secure his western border, post-war.
○​ General agreement over an international body to be
used to discuss disputes through negotiations
instead of war. This laid the groundwork for creation
of the United Nations.
●​ The Tehran Conference had an important impact on the
relations.
○​ Stalin arrived with concerns that the USA and
Britain were deliberately delaying the second front
against Germany.
○​ He was pleased with the agreement to open it up in
the West.
 ○​ Churchill was less pleased about it however, because
he wanted the front to be in the Balkans.
○​ Roosevelt did end up siding with Stalin over the
matter.
○​ There was tension between the US and Britain,
primarily due to Roosevelt viewing colonialism the
British exhibited as a greater threat to peace than
the communism of the Soviets.
○​ Good relations between Roosevelt and Stalin made
the Big Three seem like they might become a Big
Two, and after 1945, it really was just the US and the
Soviet Union.

Key Terms:
●​ United Nations: the global organisation set up in 1945 to try to
maintain world peace.
●​ Colonialism: economic, political and cultural control of a country by a
more powerful one. In 1945 Britain still had a large number of colonies
in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

​ ​ Yalta, February 1945:

●​ Two years pass since the Tehran Conference, the Big Three
hold a second meeting in Yalta in the Soviet Union.
○​ They discuss how to close the war with Germany
successfully.
○​ Additionally discussing post-war Europe’s governing.
●​ By this point the second front had been launched in
France, British and American forces had pushed Germans
back to Berlin.
●​ The Soviets had defeated Germany in the Soviet Union
and now had control over most of Central and Eastern
Europe.
●​ Stalin was determined to keep territory he won between
the Soviet border and Germany as cushion against future
invasion.
○​ It was agreed upon that Germany would be split
into four zones. Each controlled by a different
country; the USA, Britain, France, and the Soviet
Union.
 ○​ Germany would have to pay $20 billion in
reparations, half of which would go to the Union.
○​ Nazi party would be banned and war criminals
prosecuted.
○​ The United Nations would be set up with the first
meeting on 25 April 1945.
■​ All nations were allowed to join but the USA
and France didn’t agree with Stalin that all 16
Soviet republics should be given individual
membership.
■​ Instead just Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
admitted.
○​ Stalin agreed to join in the war against Japan, 3
months after the defeat of Germany.
○​ Stalin agreed to future governments of Eastern
Europe being decided in free elections.
○​ Poland was a major issue at the conference. Whose
bitch was this? It was agreed that the borders of
Poland would return to their original 1921
positionings. Giving the Soviet Union significant
gains. There would be free elections however Stalin
expected a pro-communist government.
○​ The British supported the non-communist London
Poles.
○​ Roosevelt and Stalin were pleased due to agreement
for free elections and the United Nations, however
on the topic of Poland, this was hard to solve even in
future discussions.

Key Terms:
●​ Reparations: payments in money or goods, after a war, from the losing
country to the victors. Reparations are compensation for loss of life
and damage to land and the economy.
●​ The London Poles: a Polish government in exile, set up in France. When
the Germans captured France in 1940, the government moved to
London.

Page 11: Source B

​ A telegram sent by Churchill to Stalin on 29 April 1945.
There is not much comfort in looking into a future where you and all the
countries you dominate are all drawn up on one side, whilst those who rally
to the English-speaking nations are on the other side. It is quite obvious that
their quarrel would tear the world to pieces. All of us leading men who had
anything to do with it would be shamed by history. Starting on a long period
of abuse and counter-abuse would be a disaster hampering the
developments of world prosperity.

Page 11: Source C

​ Comments made by Stalin to the Americans in May 1945.

In Soviet government circles, it is the impression that the American attitude

towards the Soviet Union cooled once it became obvious that Germany was
defeated. It was as though the Americans were saying that the Soviet Union
was no longer needed. Much can be achieved if the Soviets are dealt with in
a frank and friendly manner. But steps against the Soviet Union in any form,
would have the opposite effect.

Page 12: Source D

​ A photograph showing the Big Three — Winston Churchill, Frank
Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin — at the Yalta Conference in February 1945.

​ ​ Potsdam, July-August 1945:

●​ This conference near Berlin took place only a few months
after Yalta, and a great many important events had taken
place which switched up the whole vibe of it.
○​ April 1945: Roosevelt died and was replaced by
Harry S. Truman.
○​ 1945: Winston Churchill lost British general elections,
and the new prime minister was Clement Attlee.
○​ May 1945: Germany’s surrender.
○​ American scientists developed an atomic bomb,
tested the day after the conference began.
○​ June 1945: United Nations created in Treaty of San
Francisco.
■​ 51 members signed this treaty at some point.
■​ Permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council were to be; the USA, the
Soviet Union, Britain, France, and China.
 ●​ They had power to veto resolutions they
didn’t like.
●​ Relations between new leaders at Potsdam caused the
conference to be very different from how the other two
prior were.
○​ Roosevelt and Churchill could get their way with
Stalin easily through diplomatic discussion. This was
much harder for the new leaders Attlee and Truman,
who were new to such conversations.
○​ Truman, determined on a ‘get tough’ approach with
Stalin, much more suspicious about Stalin’s motives
than Roosevelt, believed Soviets wanted worldwide
communism and destruction of capitalist society.
■​ Additionally he deliberately delayed the
conference until the atomic bomb was ready
in order to be ‘edgy’.
○​ Attlee wanted to return to Britain as fast as possible
and didn’t want the conference to be dragged on
too long.
●​ The development of the atomic bomb did worsen relations,
and the defeat of Germany removed the common enemy
they had previously needed to work against, the allies still
managed to find common ground.
○​ Germany’s division into four zones each being
administered by the US, the Soviet Union, Britain,
and France. Germany’s economy would be run by all
four.
○​ Berlin, the capital, also to be divided into four zones,
controlled by the four different countries, regardless
of its being based well inside Soviet-controlled
Germany.
○​ The Soviet Union wanted heavy reparations from
Germany, Truman concerned about the recovery of
the German economy. Agreed upon that the
administering countries would take reparations from
their own zones of Germany.
○​ The Soviet Union gets to control the poorest zone.
Yippee!
○​ It was then allowed to take a quarter of the
industrial equipment from other zones.
 ○​ Agreement never reached on governing of Eastern
European countries.
○​ Truman objected to Soviet control. Truman also
believed Stalin was using the countries as army
occupation because he was not leaving them.
■​ Without risking more wars, Truman couldn’t
do much about this.
○​ Truman objects to previously agreed Polish borders.
He wanted to see a new government for them with
less communist influence.
●​ Members of the Grand Alliance did agree on many issues
at these conferences, but by August 1945 there were
significant issues they couldn’t agree on.
○​ Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe for the
security of the Soviet Union. Getting control over
liberated countries was a defensive measure.
○​ Truman believed Stalin was trying to spread
communism to the liberated countries. That Stalin
was all about communist aggression.
○​ 1945-46: Basic disagreements and suspicions turned
wartime alliance into peacetime hostility.

The Impact Of The Atomic Bomb On US-Soviet Relations:

●​ 6 August 1945: USA drops nuke on Hiroshima.
●​ 9 August 1945: USA drops second nuke on Nagasaki.
●​ Blast at Hiroshima equivalent to over 12,000 tons of TNT used in
regular bombs.
●​ In total, by the two bombs, over 120,000 Japanese civilians were
killed.
●​ Historians argue that USA didn’t need atomic bombs to get the
victory over Japan.
●​ The USA likely used the bombs to be intimidating in future
negotiations and whatnot with the Soviet Union.
●​ The atomic bombs were suspected to make Truman more
confident in negotiations at Potsdam.
●​ Atomic bomb creation may also have made Eastern European
nations more confident in being placed under the protection of
America rather than seeking arrangements with the USSR.
●​ Atomic bombs were not persuading Stalin to give Eastern
European nations more freedom.
 ●​ Stalin felt more determined than ever to keep the USSR’s
security high.
●​ Wanted a buffer zone of nations between the USSR and
Germany.
●​ The effect of development of nuclear weapons was the opposite
on the USSR as the Americans had hoped for.
●​ USA’s nuclear monopoly didn’t last long. Soviet scientists work on
their own version of the atomic bomb and the first test takes
place on 29 August 1949, only four years after the US.
●​ 1964: Britain, France, and China also had nuclear weapons.
●​ Bombing dramatically increases cold war tensions. Nuclear
weapons like the atomic bomb and a war that involved them
could really ruin the world. There were terrible consequences that
would come with going to war and having these atomic bombs
be a threat to any nation.
●​ Instead of war, which would destroy everything, they had an
arms race to see who could look more sigma and threatening. No
one did unless their flag was yellow and red.

Page 16: Source E

​ This cartoon, 'The Big Fourth', was published in a British newspaper on
17 July 1945. The label on the bomb reads: 'The terrible weapons of future
wars unless agreement is reached on world policy.'

2.​ Early Developments In The Cold War, 1945-49

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand how relations between East and West became worse
in the years 1945-49.
●​ Understand the steps taken by both the USA and the Soviet
Union to protect their interests.
●​ Understand how the division of Germany became accepted.

2.1 Soviet Expansion In Eastern Europe

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand the steps taken by the Soviet Union to control
Eastern Europe.
●​ Understand why the Soviet Union took those steps.
●​ Understand how Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe affected its
relations with the West.
The Creation Of Soviet Satellite States In Eastern Europe:
●​ 1944 + 1945: Soviet Red Army liberated many Eastern European
nations from Nazi Germany’s rule.
●​ They did this as they were advancing west to Germany.
●​ The war ends and Stalin doesn’t want to give up control of these
countries because he needs them for his buffer zone.
●​ Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, sometimes referred to as the
Baltic States, were conquered by the Union in 1940.
○​ Afterwards they were treated as if they were a part of the
USSR.
●​ Yugoslavia + Albania were communist countries.
○​ Never occupied by the Soviet Red Army so had more
independence in comparison to other nations bordering
the Union.
●​ Stalin turned six countries into satellite states, with communist
governments and little independence from the USSR.
○​ This caused worsening relations between the USSR and
the US because Truman thought this meant that
communism was to be worldwide.
●​ 1919: Czechoslovakia, the only democracy in Eastern Europe,
after the Second World War coalition attempted to restore
pre-war policy.
○​ Stalin saw it as a threat to his buffer zone, so he supported
the Czech communists in overthrowing their president,
Eduard Benes, in February 1948 and then they had a
communist government underneath Klement Gottwald.
●​ 1944: Poles rebelled against German occupation in the Warsaw
uprising. The Soviets promised to help them but instead the Red
Army waited until the uprising was crushed and then invaded
Poland to put pro-communist government in there.
○​ At first the communist government included some London
Poles, but after the ‘free elections’ in 1947, London Poles
had to flee or be put in prison.
●​ 1945: Hungarian elections. Communists elected, not enough to
form a government.
○​ 1947: Next election in Hungary, voters threatened in
Moscow backed campaigns and forced to vote in a
communist government.
○​ 1949: Hungary is now a one-party communist state.
 ●​ 1944 + 1945: Soviet Red Army takes over; Bulgaria, Romania, and
parts of eastern Germany.
○​ In Poland there were ‘free elections’ but voters felt
threatened into voting for a communist government.

Key Term:
●​ Satellite State: a nation that was once independent but is now under
the control of another. In the Cold War, ‘satellite states’ usually
describes nations under the political, economic and military control of
the Soviet Union.

Page 23: Source A

​ Klement Gottwald speaking at a communist rally in Prague, February
1948. After a coalition government was overthrown, Gottwald became
president of a communist Czechoslovakia.

Rising Tensions:
●​ Truman and Stalin worried about wartime alliance breakup.
○​ Because increased tensions could lead to future
conflictions.
●​ 1946: They both asked their embassies to report on attitudes in
each other's countries, to know how their rivals were thinking.
○​ Reports came in telegrams, written messages sent over a
telegraph line.

Key Term:
●​ Embassy: the building where diplomats from a foreign country are
based.

​ ​ Soviet Attitudes: George Kennan’s View In The Long

Telegram:
●​ George Kennan was the USA’s Moscow ambassador, who
lived and worked there as a diplomat.
●​ His views on US-Soviet relations sent through his telegram
were taken seriously by the American government.
●​ Most telegrams sent were short, but because he wrote his
like letters, they became known as the Long Telegram.
●​ It contained a message that worried the government,
reporting that Stalin wanted capitalism destroyed and
 thought the world outside the Union wanted to see the
destruction of communism.
●​ Kennan also believed that the USSR wasn’t going to
self-destruct, and when faced with strong resistance, it
would soften.
●​ This telegram played a key role in the Americans policy
towards the Union in future years.
●​ The American government agreed with Kennan about
containment policies to stop the spread of communism.

Key Term:
●​ Containment: limiting the spread of something. In American foreign
policy, it came to mean preventing the spread of communism.

Page 24: Source B

​ From the Long Telegram sent to Washington by the US ambassador to
the Soviet Union, George Kennan, on 22 February 1946.

We have here a political force committed fanatically to the belief that... it is

desirable and necessary that... our traditional way of life be destroyed, the
international authority of our state be broken, if Soviet power is to be
secure... But... the problem is within our power to solve... without... military
conflict.

Page 24: Source C

​ From the Novikov Telegram sent from Washington to Moscow by
Nikolai Novikov, Soviet ambassador to the USA, on 27 September 1946.

US foreign policy has been characterized in the postwar period by a desire

for world domination. All these steps to preserve the great military potential
are not an end in itself, of course. They are intended only to prepare
conditions to win world domination in a new war being planned by the most
warlike circles of American imperialism...

​ ​ US Attitudes: The View Of Nikolai Novikov:

●​ Nikolai Novikov, a Soviet diplomat working in Washington.
●​ His telegram to Moscow shows equal distrust on the Soviet
side.
●​ The telegram said that the USA wanted massive military
power to dominate the world.
 ○​ Since Roosevelt’s death the Americans no longer
wanted to cooperate with the Union.
○​ American people would support their government if
it all ended in war.
●​ These views had major impacts in Moscow.
●​ Made Stalin feel that developing protection using the
buffer zone countries was his top priority.

​ ​ A British Point Of View: Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain

Speech:
●​ March 1946: Winston Churchill no longer prime minister,
but still had massive influence.
●​ On a visit to Fulton, Missouri, he gave a speech now seen
as a defining moment for relations between the USSR and
the US.
●​ He thought the USSR threatened freedom and world
peace.
●​ He made this speech because of the communist
governments being set up in Hungary, Poland, Romania,
and Bulgaria.
●​ Churchill showed his speech to Truman first, so Stalin
believed that Churchill’s speech reflected American beliefs
too.
●​ The speech and the Novikov Telegram increased tensions
further, and led the USSR to strengthen their forces and
begin using anti-West propaganda.
●​ Whether or not it was intended, Churchill’s speech made
East-West relations worse than ever.

Page 24: Source D

​ From a speech given by Winston Churchill on 5 March 1946 at
Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri. Here he describes the Soviet Union's
growing control over Eastern Europe.

From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has
descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the
ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe... all are subject in one form or
another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in some cases,
increasing measure of control from Moscow.
2.2 The Impact On US-Soviet Relations Of The Truman
Doctrine And Marshall Plan
​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand why President Truman introduced his 'Truman
Doctrine'.
●​ Understand how the Marshall Plan supported the Truman
Doctrine.
●​ Understand how the US policy of containment affected its
relations with the Soviet Union.

The Truman Doctrine — Stating The US Position:

●​ The USA had hoped Europe’s wealthier countries could help
those liberated from Nazi Germany’s rule be rebuilt in order to
make communism look less appealing for them.
●​ However, six years of war had left Britain nearly bankrupt,
providing aid to other countries was not an option for them.
●​ 1947: British government announces it couldn’t continue
providing military support to the Greek government against
communist Guerrillas.
○​ President Truman decides it’s time to take action.
●​ 12 March 1947: Truman delivers speech to US congress.
○​ To announce an economic aid package to Greece and
Turkey.
○​ The US would provide $400 million in aid, and send
American civilian and military personnel to the regions.
○​ Truman additionally used the speech to state differences
between communism and democracy.
■​ Truman stated that every country had to pick
between two ways of ruling.
●​ The first giving majority rule and freedom
from oppression.
●​ The second for the will of minorities to be
forced upon the majority and this was
communism.
●​ Truman believed democracy over communism
was like good over evil.
○​ He stated that the US should send
troops and aid to countries trying to
suppress communism because it should
not be allowed to grow.
 ■​ All these ideas were known as ‘the
Truman Doctrine’ and indicated
new beginnings for the approach
to international relations for the
US.
●​ Prior to the Second World War the USA was prone to isolationism
and now this policy was being abandoned.
●​ Setting themselves up to be the leader to defeat communism
and isolationism replaced with containment.

Page 25: Extend Your Knowledge

​ The Greek Civil War:
During the Second World War, the German occupation of Greece was resisted
by two separate groups in Greece, a communist group and a pro-royalist
group. After the Germans left, the two groups fell out. The British restored the
Greek monarchy and put down a communist rebellion. When the communists
renewed their fight in 1946, the British tried to suppress them, but asked the
USA to take over in 1947. The communists were finally defeated in 1949 and
fled to Albania.

Key Term:
●​ Isolationism: staying apart, not getting involved in the affairs of
others. The USA followed a policy of isolationism after the First World
War. It was forced to abandon this policy in 1941, when Japan bombed
Pearl Harbor. However, in 1945, when the war ended, many Americans
hoped the country would return to isolationism.

Page 26: Source E

​ From the Truman Doctrine speech delivered on 12 March 1947 to the US
Congress. Immediately before this extract, Truman described the first way of
government as American-style democracy with majority rule and freedom
from political oppression.

The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed
upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and
radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. I believe
that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is
essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.

Page 26: Source F

​ A British cartoon from 1947. It is suggesting that the USA needs to
'prop up' western Europe.

The Marshall Plan — Fighting Communism With Financial Aid:

●​ The US didn't suffer damages to infrastructure or industry like
European nations had. This gave it the upper hand with giving
the European countries financial aid.
●​ Three months after Truman’s speech, details were given about
how the aid would be provided by US secretary of state, George
Marshall.
●​ The Marshall Plan was a practical outcome on the Truman
Doctrine.
○​ It was all about giving war-torn countries financial
support in order to take their interests off becoming
communist nations.
○​ 1948-1952: USA gave $13.7 billion in aid.
○​ Before the Marshall Plan they had already given $13
billion.
○​ European countries this plan helped were; Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey, West Germany, and the Netherlands.
○​ Britain received more than a quarter of the total aid
package.
○​ Money given out was distributed based on how
industrialised countries were before the war and their
populations.
○​ It took until the 1950’s for the full effects of the plan to be
seen, but they were pretty big.
○​ British foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, said it was ‘a
lifeline to sinking men, giving hope where there was none’.
○​ In the US there was debate on helping out the Union and
its satellite states. It was decided that it would be offered
but the countries would need to agree to thorough review
of their finances.
■​ The USA knew Stalin wouldn’t allow such a review of
the USSR’s economic situation, so in the end the
Eastern European nations didn’t benefit from the
Marshall Plan.
Page 27: Source G
​ American and British officials watching Caribbean sugar, sent under
the Marshall Plan, being unloaded at Woolwich Docks in London in 1949.

Page 28: Source H

​ From a speech made by US secretary of state, George Marshall, on 5
June 1947. Marshall said Europe could not possibly meet its own needs for
food and essential products for the next 3-4 years and needed substantial
help.

Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger,
poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a
working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and
social conditions in which free institutions can exist...

Page 28: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Smaller-Scale Marshall Aid:
Marshall Aid was not just loans and grants to governments. It also involved
making direct grants to groups in need. It included nets for Norwegian
fishermen, donkeys for Greek farmers and food for starving people. One
hungry boy who received free soup from the back of a lorry in his school was
called Helmut Kohl. He grew up to be the first chancellor of a reunited
Germany after the Cold War.

‘Dollar Imperialism’ — The Soviet Response:

●​ Truman saw the new policy as a defensive measure against the
spread of communism.
●​ Stalin saw the Truman Doctrine as the USA expanding its
influence in Europe.
●​ He also felt it was weakening the international role of the UN by
playing the role of the hero for everyone.
●​ Stalin argued the Marshall Plan was introduced as an economic
might that would divide Europe. And to establish an American
economic empire there.
●​ Soviets called the whole fiasco ‘Dollar Imperialism’.
●​ The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan had massive impacts
on international relations from 1947.
○​ Belief in the Grand Alliance’s existence was gone, because
the USA was in direct opposition to the USSR.
 ○​ Stalin is even more suspicious of the West now. He
believed he had evidence that the US was trying to
destroy the USSR.
○​ The Marshall Plan successfully tied Western European
nations into support for the US.
○​ Stalin rejected the Marshall Plan and set up Comecon, his
own plan.
○​ Europe was divided into two political and economic
camps.
○​ History of Europe for the following 50 years was all about
rivalry between the two superpowers and which one would
win diplomatic and political victories over their rivals.

Page 28: Source I

​ From a speech by the Soviet foreign minister, Andrey Vyshinsky, given
at the United Nations in September 1947.

It is becoming more and more evident that the implementation of the

Marshall Plan will mean placing European countries under the economic and
political control of the United States and direct interference in those
countries. Moreover, this plan is an attempt to split Europe into two camps,
and with the help of Britain and France, to complete the formation of a group
of countries hostile to the interests of the democratic countries.

The Formation Of Cominform And Comecon:

●​ The Marshall Plan gives Stalin an economic challenge.
●​ He set up two organisations for the countries of communist
Europe.
○​ Cominform, the Communist Information Bureau, was a
political organisation set up in 1947.
○​ Comecon, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance,
was set up in 1949.
●​ His strengthening of power led to a stand-off in Berlin in 1948.
●​ It also led to the Western European nations and the USA
creating NATO, a military alliance in 1949.

​ ​ Cominform, 1947:
●​ Set up on 22 September 1947, an association of communist
parties from all over Europe.
 ●​ New body gives Stalin a way to control satellite states’
governments.
●​ At the first meeting it rejects the Marshall Plan.
●​ Cominform used propaganda and claimed the US wasn’t
any different from Nazi Germany.
●​ Responsible for ending opposition to Moscow and ensuring
loyalty of the satellite states.

​ ​ Comecon, 1949:
●​ Stalin wanted communist states to keep their
independence from capitalism and not have the US
become powerful in Eastern Europe.
●​ So he didn’t allow satellite states to accept the Marshall
Plan’s aid.
●​ He knew he needed a good alternative to American aid so
he offered an aid package based upon communist beliefs.
●​ Comecon was established on 25 January 1949, two years
after the announcement of the Marshall Plan.
●​ Members of Comecon were; Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the USSR.
●​ East Germany and Albania joined in 1950.
●​ Comecon was the direct competition of the Marshall Plan,
aiming to support economic growth in its member states.
●​ It discouraged trade with the USA and Western Europe.

2.3 The 1948 Berlin Crisis And Its Consequences

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand why Stalin established the Berlin Blockade.
●​ Understand how the USA broke that blockade.
●​ Understand how the blockade led to the creation of East and
West Berlin.

Germany Divided:
●​ Potsdam: Grand Alliance had agreed to divide Germany and the
capital into four separate zones to be controlled by four separate
countries.
○​ This division was meant to be temporary but ended up
lasting many years.
 ●​ The Allied Control Commission or the ACC was the central
organisation for the four zones. In Berlin there were military
checkpoints between zones.
●​ Disagreements between occupying powers.
○​ The Soviet Union wanted to take as much as they could
from Germany to help rebuild the USSR.
○​ The Western countries wanted to help rebuild Germany’s
economy.
■​ They hoped it would become a better trading
partner if they did this for them, and also that they
would find it easier resisting communism.
●​ December 1947: Talks between foreign ministers of occupying
powers caused the powers to break down into Trizonia and the
Soviets stormed out.

Uniting The Western Zones:

●​ Without the USSR’s cooperation the remaining countries had to
decide how their part of Germany would be run.
●​ 1947: British and American zones combined into Bizonia.
●​ March 1948: The French add their zone to create Trizonia.
●​ Germany and Berlin were now split into two parts. There was
western Trizonia and eastern Soviet-controlled Germany.
●​ June 1948: Three allies create the single currency called the
Deutschmark, giving Trizonia economic unity.
○​ The decision for this mark took place at an ACC meeting in
Berlin.
○​ Soviets were furious for a couple of reasons.
■​ New currency created a separate economic unit
from eastern Soviet-controlled Germany.
■​ The acceptance of the two Germany’s, East and
West.
○​ For Stalin, making this decision showed further proof that
the West had it out for him and his country.
○​ Formation of Trizonia was seen by him as a way to drive
the Soviet zone into poverty.
○​ Even more determined to protect Soviet interests against
the West. He believed Germany should be one united
country following communist ideologies.

Page 31: Extend Your Knowledge

​ German Attitudes To The Soviets:
Stalin hoped that, after the war, a united Germany might become communist.
But this was very unlikely. Even in the Soviet zone, the Soviets were not
popular. As the Red Army advanced into Germany at the end of the Second
World War, its soldiers carried out violent acts in revenge for what the Nazis
had done in the Soviet Union. This created deep anger amongst many
Germans.

The Berlin Blockade:

●​ Stalin knew the Western-occupied zones of Berlin would be easy
to attack seeing as they were surrounded by entirely
Soviet-controlled territory.
●​ There were also only two land routes and two air routes across
the Soviet-controlled zone of Germany into Western-occupied
Berlin.
●​ June 1948: Stalin shuts off the land routes and this becomes
known as the ‘Berlin Blockade’.
●​ He did this to show the USA, Britain, and France that dividing
Germany wasn’t going to work out.
●​ Trizonia wouldn’t be able to communicate with the capital, and
people in Berlin would soon run out of food.
●​ If the blockade was successful, Stalin would win huge
propaganda success at the expense of the West. And that
Western powers would have to give up control of their zones in
Berlin, allowing the whole capital to become Soviet-controlled.
●​ It was a direct challenge to Truman and Stalin knew this because
of his recent speech on defending the world from communism.
●​ Western powers realised that forcing supplies into Berlin through
closed land routes would be an act of war and may engage
military confrontation.
●​ So they used air routes and Truman had doubted that Stalin
would shoot the planes out of the sky and if he did go that far he
would be marked the aggressor.

The Berlin Airlift:

●​ 26 June: Western Allies launch Operation Vittles, also known as
the Berlin Airlift.
●​ Got the Berliners food, coal, and other essentials. They flew the
supplies in from the Allied zones along air corridors.
 ●​ Pilots took a huge risk because no one was sure if the Soviets
would shoot the planes down.
●​ A new airport at Tegel was created by people of West Berlin and
Western troops so the supplies could get in.
●​ Americans were able to fly in 1,000 tonnes of supplies everyday,
the British achieving something similar.
●​ January 1949: The peak month of flying, at least 170,000 tonnes
of supplies taken into Berlin.
●​ 9 May 1949: Almost a whole year has passed and the Soviets
give in and lift the blockade.
●​ Stalin’s attempts at propaganda victory had not succeeded.
●​ West had responded peacefully to a now aggressive looking
move made by Stalin.

Page 32: Source J

​ A photograph of children watching as a supply aeroplane arrives in
Berlin during the Berlin Airlift.

Page 32: Extract A

​ A modern historian writing about the Berlin Airlift.

Special difficulties arose over Berlin, which became a centre of Cold War
conflict. The communists saw Berlin as a capitalist base in eastern Europe. It
provided an escape route to the West for people in the East. It was a hotbed
of western spies operating in eastern Europe. It could be used as a western
base to attack the Soviet Union's allies. Soviet policy was to remove the West
from Berlin as soon as possible. Stalin hoped to do this by cutting off
communications between the western zones and West Berlin.

Page 33: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Operation Little Vittles:
While he was landing at Tempelhof Airport to deliver supplies, the American
pilot Gail Halvorsen saw children watching from the fence. He decided that,
on his next flight, he would parachute-drop sweets to them. Soon other pilots
did the same. Their actions were nicknamed 'Operation Little Vittles'.

The Creation Of East And West Germany:

●​ After the Berlin Blockade had ended the division of Berlin was
clearly set to continue.
●​ The Western Allies wanted to create a separate West Germany.
 ○​ 8 May 1949: Three days after the end of the blockade, the
US, Britain and France allowed their zones to come
together and be known as the Federal Republic of
Germany.
○​ 14 August 1949: Germans were allowed to elect their own
parliament in this new country, called the Bundestag.
○​ 15 September 1949: Konrad Adenauer, first democratically
elected chancellor of this republic, takes office.
○​ Federal Republic’s new capital was Bonn.
○​ New country much bigger than East Germany.
○​ Western-controlled zones of Berlin continued and still
known as West Berlin.
●​ Stalin’s response was to create the German Democratic Republic
in October 1949.
●​ Only communist countries recognised it as a nation.
●​ The Federal Republic refused to accept Germany’s being divided
into two until the 1970’s.
●​ 40 years of talk ensued about East and West Germany but to
each German living in whichever one, that one was the real
Germany to them.

The Creation Of NATO:

●​ Stalin’s threat to Berlin and his communist Czechoslovakia
takeover happened the same year, convincing Western powers
of the need for military alliance to protect against the USSR.
●​ They wanted to send Stalin the message about their
determination against communism.
●​ April 1949: USA, Britain, France, alongside nine other nations of
the West join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Members
agreed that if any member was attacked all members would be
of assistance to them.
●​ British foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, played a big role in
bringing NATO together. He made a speech in the British
parliament where he said European countries would welcome
American involvement and called on other Western European
nations to connect with the US.
●​ The Truman Doctrine did defeat America’s old policy of
isolationism, but offering formal military alliance was a step
beyond what it had stated.
 ●​ NATO ended up in American bases in Europe throughout the
Cold War and right up until now they’re still there.

Page 33: Source K

​ An extract from the NATO Charter. Article 5 stated:

The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in
Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and
consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them...
will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking such action as it deems
necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the
security of the North Atlantic area.

3.​The Cold War In The 1950’s

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand how relations between East and West deteriorated in
the 1950s.
●​ Understand how the arms race contributed to increased mistrust.
●​ Understand the impact of the Hungarian Uprising.

3.1 From Korea To Hungary

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand the impact of the Korean War on relations between
East and West.
●​ Understand how both sides moved from conventional to nuclear
weapons.
●​ Understand how new leaders affected relations between East
and West.

The Impact Of The Korean War:

●​ 1945: Korea freed from Japanese control.
○​ After this took place forces from the Soviet Union entered
the north of the country and US forces entered from the
south.
○​ Division created between North and South Korea along
the 38th parallel. Country made into two separate
countries.
■​ People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, North Korea.
■​ Republic of Korea, South Korea.
 ○​ North Korea got military aid and support from the USSR.
○​ South Korea got it from the USA.
■​ Both countries claimed rulership over the whole
country.
○​ President Truman didn’t want communism for South Korea.
○​ Americans are already trying to prevent the spread of
communism in Europe and if South Korea fell to
communism there would be a domino effect of other
nations turning to communism as well.

Key Terms:
●​ 38th Parallel: the border between North and South Korea after the
Second World War. It is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of
the Equator.
●​ Domino Effect: the idea that if one country became communist others
would too, like a row of falling dominoes.

​ ​ War:
●​ 25 June 1950: North Korea invaded South Korea.
○​ Security Council and UN meet because the US wants
to decide what to do about this.
○​ The USSR not attending the UN at this time led to
them not being part of this decision to support
South Korea.
○​ North Korea was told to withdraw but didn’t. As a
result, 16 countries of the UN’s force come together
to help out South Korea.
■​ Most troops were American, their commander
being General Douglas MacArthur.
●​ He pushes the North Koreans back past
the 38th parallel and almost to the
Chinese border.
●​ Then the Chinese communist enter the
war and push the UN out of North
Korea.
●​ Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, was not
prepared for the defeat.
●​ MacArthur disagreed with Truman
about how this war was meant to be
 handled, and in April 1951, Truman
dismissed him.
●​ War continued for two more years after
his dismissal.
●​ UN had claim over successfully stopping
a North Korean takeover.

Page 40: Extend Your Knowledge

​ The Korean War:
When North Korean troops invaded South Korea in June 1950, President
Truman was convinced that the Soviet Union had told North Korea to invade.
We now know that Stalin was actually not very keen on the invasion and it
had been the North Korean leader, Kim Il-sung, who pushed Stalin into
agreeing with the invasion. The North Korean invasion was very successful to
start with, and South Korean and American forces were pushed back into a
small area in the south-east corner of their country. But General MacArthur
led a counter-attack. He forced the North Koreans back across the 38th
parallel and, by October, had captured the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
However, as MacArthur's troops came close to the border of China, its leader,
Mao Zedong, sent a force of 200,000 men to stop his advance. The UN forces
under MacArthur retreated and, by the end of 1950, were back at the 38th
parallel. The war continued until July 1953 and there were often heavy
casualties, but neither side made major gains in the last few years of the war.

Page 40: Source A

​ President Truman explaining why he sent American troops to Korea.

I felt certain that if South Korea was allowed to fall and if the communists
were allowed to force their way into South Korea without opposition from the
free world, no small nation would have the courage to resist threats and
aggression by stronger communist neighbors.

Page 40: Source B

​ A cartoon published in the USA in 1949. On the left is Stalin and on the
right is Uncle Sam, representing the USA.

Page 40: Extend Your Knowledge

​ The Price Of War:
It has been estimated that the USA spent $67 billion on the war. Over 30,000
American soldiers were killed and it is still not known what happened to
almost 8,000 others. However, the cost to Korea in human lives was much
greater. South Korea suffered 217,000 military deaths and 1 million civilian
deaths. North Korea lost 406,000 troops and 600,000 civilians. China, too,
suffered heavy casualties, losing 600,000 troops.

Page 41: Source C

​ General MacArthur in a letter to an American politician in early April
1951. A few days after the letter was read out in the House of
Representatives, President Truman decided to dismiss MacArthur.

It seems strangely difficult for some people to realise that here in Asia is
where the communists have made their play for global conquest... that here
we fight Europe's war with arms, while there the diplomats still fight with
words. If we lose this war to communism in Asia, the fall of Europe is
inevitable; win it and Europe will most probably avoid war and yet preserve
freedom.

​ ​ The Impact Of The War:

●​ This war had impacts on relations.
○​ US committed to saving countries in Asia from
communism. Additionally strengthening land forces
in Europe, encouraging Greece and Turkey to join
NATO. Defence budget tripled for them after the war
in Korea.
○​ September 1954: USA, Britain, France, New Zealand,
Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan
form SEATO together. Stood for Southeast Asia
Treaty Organisation. Purpose was to stop the spread
of communism over there.
○​ USSR worried about the strength of the US armed
forces and so tried strengthening their own arms.
■​ 1950: 2.8 million soldiers in the Red Army.
■​ 1955: 5.6 million soldiers in the Red Army.
○​ 1955: West Germany joins NATO.
■​ USSR responded by bringing eight countries
that were communist together in the Warsaw
Pact. Member states come to defence of any
other member nation attacked.
●​ Despite the theory that the Korean War had taken place
between two small countries and was not such a big deal
 to nations in Europe, it had a massive impact on global
politics between the USSR and the US.
●​ Suspicion and distrust increase on both sides, the arms
race continues further, both sides continue attempts at
gaining military supremacy over the over. For no reason,
verrückt!

The Impact Of The Arms Race: Soviet Union Versus USA,

1950-58:
●​ 1945: USA develops atomic bomb.
○​ Feels secure with the knowledge that they are the only
country in the world with such a powerful weapon on their
side.
○​ President Truman knows it’s necessary to have such a
powerful weapon to counter the USSR’s massive artillery
closet.
●​ Stalin got his scientists to focus all their energy on developing a
Soviet atomic bomb.
○​ Goal achieved in 1949.
●​ 1952: USA develops hydrogen bomb.
○​ 1,000 times more powerful than atomic and restores
American advantageousness.
○​ A year passes and the Soviets have this bomb in stock too.
●​ 1957: USA develops an ICBM, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.
○​ Could fire a nuclear weapon at a target around 5,000 km
away.
■​ 5 months later and the Soviets are testing their own.
●​ The arms race made each side more and more powerful.
●​ Both superpowers spent lots of money on large armies, navies,
submarine fleets, and stocks of conventional and nuclear
missiles.
●​ Became important for each superpower to stay ahead since so
much artillery could help in disagreements with the rival
superpower.
●​ Past the 1950’s, the weapons became so powerful that both
countries could’ve destroyed the world many times over.
●​ Such developments led to change in war thought.
○​ Weapons used to be developed for use.
 ○​ Now they were being developed so war wouldn’t take
place at all because of the damage that could be done,
and the knowledge of which both sides contained.
○​ Nuclear weapons end up acting as a war deterrent.

Page 42: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Payment For Treachery:
George Koval was a Russian spy who managed to become involved in the
Manhattan Project producing America's first atomic bomb. He smuggled
secrets back to the Soviet Union, which allowed it to produce its own bomb in
1949. He eventually returned to the Soviet Union but, in 1999, was so short of
money that he contacted the American embassy in Moscow. He had heard
somewhere that all who had served in the American army during the Second
World War could apply for special social security benefits. He had spent 3
years in the US army from 1943 to 1946, so wondered if he qualified for
benefits. The astonished Americans told him that he did not!

Key Term:
●​ Deterrent: a force that prevents something from happening. In the
Cold War, many politicians believed in the ‘nuclear deterrent’. They
thought a country would be deterred from using nuclear weapons if
there was a danger that their enemy would reply with an equally
destructive nuclear attack.

Page 43: Source D

​ A US atomic bomb test in the Pacific, in 1951.

Page 43: Source E

​ From a lecture given by George Kennan (see page 23) on BBC radio in
1957. He said that nuclear war had to be avoided because there could never
be such a thing as a 'limited' nuclear war.

I cannot accept that it would prove possible, in the event of an atomic war, to
arrive at a workable understanding with the enemy about the degree of
destructiveness of the weapons that would be used... This seems to me to be
a very slender and wishful hope indeed.

New Leaders For The USA And Soviet Union:

●​ 1953: USA and Soviet Union get new leaders.
 ○​ USA: Dwight Eisenhower, elected president in 1952 and
took office in January 1953.
■​ Presidential campaign focused on the defeat of
communism.
■​ Him and his secretary of state are both
anti-communist.
■​ Secretary of state was John Foster Dulles.
■​ Eisenhower was determined on blocking communist
expansion, also aware of the dangers of nuclear
weapons.
●​ Such awareness made him want to hear out
the USSR’s proposals to have negotiations to
improve relations.
○​ USSR: Nikita Khrushchev, becomes effective ruler in 1956.
Stalin had died on 5 March 1953, but had not named a
successor. Struggle for power over this three year gap.
■​ At Communist Party Congress the same year he was
elected he criticised Stalin’s treatment with the West
and said that the USSR should try to improve
relations with them.
■​ Have a peaceful co-existence or whatever.

Key Term:
●​ Peaceful Co-Existence: living side-by-side in peace.

Peaceful Co-Existence:
●​ This was based on the USSR’s belief that communism was so
superior to capitalism that eventually capitalism would collapse
in the West.
●​ Hence making it pointless to have confrontation with the West at
that time because communism would eventually topple
capitalism anyway. No point in a fight. No need for destructive
war.
●​ Results of this more peaceful approach were Eisenhower and
Khrushchev hoping that tensions could be reduced between the
superpowers.
○​ Borders between capitalist West and communist USSR
clearly defined, the Iron Curtain was an agreed boundary.
Insecurity and fear the superpowers felt at the end of the
 Second World War was now replaced with acceptance on
Europe’s new map.
○​ July 1953: Korean War came to an end and the
superpowers were obviously supporting opposing sides so
the closure of this war was vital for improvement in
relations.
○​ USSR and US reduced the amount spent on the arms race
to benefit their economies.
○​ Hope for reduced tensions was additionally strengthened
in 1955 by the agreement on Austria’s governing at the
summit meeting in Geneva, July 1955.
■​ They failed to agree on disarmament and the future
of Germany. But cooperation at this meeting
reduced tensions too.
○​ Bettered relations were only short-lived.
■​ May 1955: West Germany joins NATO. Full support of
Western powers and meant that if they had any
disputes with the Union that they would be backed
by said powers.
●​ Soviet’s responded to this by organising their
own military alliance.

Page 44: Source F

​ A photograph of Nikita Khrushchev, answering questions at a press
conference in Paris in 1960.

​ ​ The Warsaw Pact, 1955:

●​ After West Germany joins NATO in May 1955, this is the
military alliance that the USSR responds with.
●​ They did this military alliance because West Germany was
now armed and powerful and on the borders of
Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe.
●​ Within a week of West Germany joining, the USSR formed
its own communist defensive military alliance.
○​ This was called the Warsaw Pact.
○​ Members being the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, and East
Germany.
○​ Member countries now known as the ‘Eastern Bloc’.
 ○​ Despite several member states, leadership and
control was entirely under the USSR.
●​ Europe definitely was divided and looked like two Europes.
●​ One Europe working on the defeat of communism.
●​ The other Europe was looking to spread communism.
●​ Confrontation and hostility between these two drove the
international relations for the next 35 years.

3.2 The Hungarian Uprising, 1956

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand why Hungary was important to the Soviet Union.
●​ Understand why Nagy's reforms were seen as a threat to the
Soviet Union.
●​ Understand how the Soviet invasion affected relations between
East and West.

The Impact Of Soviet Rule On Hungary:

●​ 1945: Red Army liberates Hungary from German occupation.
○​ Hungary ever since under strict Soviet control.
●​ Non-communist political parties banned and key officials in
government, police and army chosen by Stalin.
●​ Hungarian Communist Party leader, Matyas Rakosi, was a strong
Stalin supporter and dealt with non-communist antics very well.
●​ 1949-56: Over 300,000 Hungarian people imprisoned and well
over 2,000 executed.

De-Stalinisation:
●​ Khrushchev had a speech in 1956 that criticised Stalin and
reduced the strict Soviet control in many countries being
controlled by the USSR.
●​ Poland got a new leader after this speech, Wladyslaw Gomulka,
who introduced a series of moderate reforms.
●​ Such acts from Poland encouraged Hungarians to have their
own way about their own country.
●​ 1956: People in Hungary protest about lack of political freedom,
which was due to fuel shortages and poor harvests.
●​ October: Riots in Budapest, police fight with the protestors.
●​ De-Stalinisation policy was now looking to threaten the Warsaw
Pact’s stability.
●​ Khruschev sends the Red Army to Hungary to restore order.
 ●​ He agreed to replace Rakosi with Imre Nagy, former prime
minister who was thrown out of the communist party after a
fight with Rakosi.
●​ Nagy was a communist but figured there should be more
personal freedoms within the regime.
●​ The Red Army then withdrew.
●​ October 1956: Nagy had a set of proposed reforms. One being
Hungary’s leaving the Warsaw Pact and becoming a neutral
country, additionally a degree of power shared with
non-communist groups.

Page 46: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Prime Minister Imre Nagy:
Imre Nagy became a communist during the First World War, when he was a
prisoner of war in Russia. In 1944, Nagy joined the new communist
government in Hungary as minister for agriculture. His support for peasant
farmers (rather than the state) got him into trouble and he was expelled from
the Communist Party in 1949. After a public statement of loyalty to the Soviet
Union, Nagy rejoined and even became prime minister (1953-55), but was
expelled again in 1955. After the 1956 uprising, Nagy was arrested and then
executed in 1958.

The Soviet Invasion:

●​ Nagy’s proposals made Khrushchev concerned.
●​ Hungary breaking away from the Warsaw Pact would make
other countries follow suit.
●​ Whole strategy of surrounding the USSR with pro-communist
countries for its security would be threatened.
●​ Khrushchev orders the Soviet Invasion of Hungary.
●​ 4 November: Tanks roll up at Budapest.
●​ Nagy supporters put up a fight and beg the West for support. No
support came.
●​ 20,000 Hungarians believed to have been killed by the invasion.
●​ New pro-communist government set up under Janos Kadar,
Nagy later executed in 1958.
●​ Nagy and supporters believed that Khrushchev’s criticisms of
Stalin meant a more soft approach with satellite states. They
were wrong, Khrushchev wasn’t allowing any threat to the
USSR’s security.
 ●​ When Nagy was executed Khrushchev said it was a lesson to all
other leaders of socialist countries.

Page 47: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Polish Protests:
In the summer of 1956, there were also protests against Soviet control in
Poland. Here, the Polish leader, Gomulka, was able to prevent an armed
invasion by persuading the Soviets that, while Poland wanted to make some
of its own decisions, the Poles were totally loyal to the Warsaw Pact and to
communism.

Page 47: Source G

​ From a transcript of Imre Nagy's last-minute plea for support as Soviet
tanks rolled into Budapest on 4 November 1956.

This fight is the fight for freedom by the Hungarian people against the
Russian intervention, and it is possible that I shall only be able to stay at my
post for one or two hours. The whole world will see how the Russian armed
forces, contrary to all treaties and conventions, are crushing the resistance of
the Hungarian people. I should like in these last moments to ask the leaders
of the revolution, if they can, to leave the country... [For] today it is Hungary
and tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, it will be the turn of other
countries, because the imperialism of Moscow does not know borders and is
only trying to play for time.

Page 47: Source H

​ Hungarian rebels waving their national flag in Budapest, Hungary.
They are standing on top of a captured Soviet tank.

International Reaction To The Soviet Invasion Of Hungary:

●​ Nagy’s supporters expected support from the West because of
Nagy’s proposal to leave the Warsaw Pact.
●​ Radio Free Europe, a US government-funded radio station,
would broadcast encouraging messages to Eastern European
countries to rebel against communist regime.
●​ USA offering financial support through the Marshall Plan, made
people in Eastern European countries think they would be ready
to help them in other ways.
 ●​ Eisenhower sympathetic to Hungarians, but some NATO nations
in Europe were taking in Hungarian refugees, but no military
support was offered during the uprising.
●​ US policy of containment meant that the US would only take
action to prevent the USSR from spreading communism beyond
satellite states.
○​ Not prepared to deal with the affairs of an already
communist country.
○​ Military attacks on US satellite states could’ve also meant
nuclear war.
■​ Nuclear destruction on both sides would be so much
worse than Hungarian rebels having to fight Soviets
alone.

Page 48: Source I

​ An article in an American magazine in December 1956.

It is understandable, certainly, that we in the United States should feel

shamed by our inability to act in this nightmare. Nevertheless, we should not
forget, in all the suffering and pain, that we owe the people of Hungary more
than our pity. We owe them also pride and praise. For their defeat has been
itself a triumph. Those Hungarian students and workers and women and
fighting children have done more to ruin the future of Communism than
armies or diplomats had done before them. They have given more and done
more. For what they have done has been to expose the brutality of
Communism for all of Asia, all of Africa, all the world to see. So long as men
live in any country who remember the murder of Hungary, Soviet Russia will
never again be able to pose before the world as the benefactor of mankind.

Page 48: Extract A

​ From a modern world history published in 2001.

Nagy made an appeal to the United Nations for help, and radio messages
begged for assistance from the West. The western powers, however, did not
send support. In 1956 Britain, France and the USA were squabbling over who
should control the Suez Canal. The Americans were not prepared to send
troops into Hungary. Preventing the spread of communism was one thing,
sending troops to fight in a country that was already communist was too
much to ask.
Page 48: Source J
​ A radio broadcast to the West by Hungarian freedom fighters on 4
November 1956.

There is no stopping the wild onslaught of communism. Your turn will come,
once we perish. Save our souls! Save our souls! We implore you to help us in
the name of justice and freedom.

The Impact Of The Hungarian Uprising On International

Relations:
●​ This uprising gave Khrushchev a stronger position in the USSR
and a much stronger position in the Warsaw Pact.
○​ Members felt they had to do as told and were scared to
rebel out of fear of Soviet invasion.
○​ They additionally knew they couldn’t expect support from
the West so there was really no hope behind having their
own uprisings.
●​ Khrushchev was confident in dealing with the USA, now knowing
they were unlikely to risk military action that could potentially
bring forth a nuclear war.
●​ Failure of the Hungarian Uprising reflected badly on the West
since they hadn’t helped out simply because the country was
already communist. Like they could’ve turned them capitalist
and won some sort of advantage?
○​ They also encouraged these countries to rebel but weren’t
prepared to back them up with military support.
●​ Regardless of the USA not taking action over the Hungarian
Uprising they clearly did despise the whole invasion.
●​ Khrushchev’s tough policy damages relations once more. And
the more times relations get damaged the harder they get to
repair.
●​ Friendlier relations at the Geneva Summit looked like the Cold
War might not have been so cold after all, but this was all quite
short-lived and what occurred next in the 1960’s made the cold
war colder.

4.​Three Crises: Berlin, Cuba And Czechoslovakia

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand why the Berlin Wall was built and its impact on
relations between East and West.
 ●​ Understand why the Cuban Missile Crisis was such a threat to
world peace.
●​ Understand why the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia and the
reaction of the West.

4.1 Berlin 1958-63: Increased Tension And The Impact Of

The Berlin Wall
​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand why there was a crisis in Berlin, 1958-63.
●​ Understand how Khrushchev tried to deal with the refugee
problem and how Kennedy reacted.
●​ Understand how the Berlin Crisis affected international relations.

The Refugee Problem In Berlin, 1958:

●​ 1949: Germany divided into West Germany, which was
democratic, and East Germany that was under the control of the
communist Soviet Union.
●​ West Germany got Marshall Aid during the 1950’s and became a
wealthy country with a high standard of living. East Germany
didn't get economic aid, and in the 1950’s, economic policies by
the government were largely unsuccessful. East Germans had a
low standard of living.
●​ Communist regime in East Germany became increasingly
unpopular.
○​ Limits on what people could do.
○​ Secret police kept a close watch on the actions of ordinary
citizens.
●​ 1953: Riots against the government.
○​ The USSR's government sent an armed force to restore
order.
●​ It wasn't surprising that East Germans should want to leave
home and move to West Germany.
○​ Quality of life in West Germany was higher and it was easy
to cross the border. All they had to do was travel from East
to West Berlin.
○​ Once they got to West Berlin, they were officially in West
German territory.
○​ 1958: 3 million East Germans, which was the 1/6th of the
country's entire population, had crossed to the West.
 ●​ People leaving East Germany were exactly the people urgently
needed to rebuild its economy and they were being lost to West
Germany. These people were skilled workers like engineers,
technicians and teachers.
○​ They knew they would earn better salaries in West
Germany.
●​ Khrushchev didn't want this situation to continue. East Germany
was losing valuable people but communism was facing
propaganda disaster.
●​ In Berlin, there was a choice between communist east and
capitalist west, and many people were making it clear that they
preferred the west.

Khrushchev’s Berlin Ultimatum:

●​ Khrushchev decided the answer for the refugee problem was for
the whole of Berlin to become the surrounding territory of East
Germany.
●​ Americans, British and French leaving Berlin would make it
harder for East Germans to get into West Germany.
●​ But Khrushchev knew that Britain, France and the USA wouldn't
agree to leave. He would have to force them.
●​ November 1958: Khrushchev demands Western countries
officially recognise East Germany as an independent country.
●​ However, the Western nations still believed that Germany could
be reunited and didn't want to recognise East Germany as a
separate country.
●​ 27 November: Khrushchev issued a Berlin ultimatum demanding
that:
○​ Berlin should be demilitarised and Western troops would
be withdrawn.
○​ Berlin would become a free city.
●​ They had six months to make the changes, or Khrushchev would
hand over control of all routes into Berlin... to the government of
East Germany!
●​ Khrushchev's threat to hand over control of transport to the East
Berlin government was a clever move because Western powers
would need to talk to the East German authorities about access
to Berlin. Forced to accept East Germany as a legitimate
country.
 ●​ The Berlin Ultimatum had a major impact on the relations
between the superpowers.
●​ The West was angered by Khrushchev’s demands and saw his
actions as an example of how the Union was looking to extend
communism.
●​ However, Khrushchev saw his demands as essential action to
solve the problem of Western-controlled areas existing in
communist East Germany and to stop the flood of skilled citizens
leaving East Germany.
●​ 1958: USA and Soviet Union had large numbers of nuclear
weapons.
○​ Neither side wanted the crisis to resort to war. Even the
West German chancellor, Adenauer, strongly opposed to
recognising East Germany as a legitimate country,
believing West Germany was the only ‘real’ Germany.
■​ He didn't think the issue of Berlin serious enough to
justify nuclear war.
●​ 1959-1961: Series of talks held to solve the Berlin problem.

Key Terms:
●​ Ultimatum: a final demand, often backed up with a threat to take
action.
●​ Free City: a city with its own independent government. Khrushchev did
not really mean to make Berlin independent — he wanted it to be
controlled by the Soviet Union.

Page 55: Source A

​ Extract from Nikita Khrushchev's speech about Berlin, given on 10
November 1958.

The time has obviously arrived for the signatories of the Potsdam Agreement
to renounce the remnants of the occupation regime in Berlin and thereby
make it possible to create a normal situation in the capital of the German
Democratic Republic. The Soviet Union, for its part, would hand over to the
sovereign German Democratic Republic the functions in Berlin that are still
exercised by Soviet agencies. This, I think, would be the correct thing to do.

Page 55: Source B

​ Extract from a note sent from the Soviet Foreign Ministry to the
American ambassador at Moscow. It was entitled 'Regarding Berlin' and sent
on 27 November 1958. It became known as the Berlin Ultimatum.

If the statesmen responsible for the policy of the Western powers are guided
by feelings of hatred for communism and the socialist countries in their
approach to the Berlin question as well as other international problems, no
good will come out of it.

The Summit Meetings Of 1959-61:

​ ​ Geneva, May 1959:
●​ First summit meeting between foreign ministers of various
countries held in Geneva, in neutral Switzerland. Both sides
made proposals for Berlin's governing.
●​ No agreement was reached. President Eisenhower invited
Khrushchev to the USA for further talks.

​ ​ Camp David, September 1959:

●​ Eisenhower and Khrushchev met face to face for the first
time at the presidential ranch. No agreement. The Soviets
did agree to withdraw the Berlin Ultimatum.
●​ They agreed to establish better relations between the two
leaders and agreed further talks would be held in Paris the
following summer.

Page 56: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Khrushchev In The USA:
In 1959, Khrushchev made the first ever visit by a Soviet leader to the USA.
He ate hot dogs, met ordinary people, visited Hollywood and seemed to
enjoy himself. However, after a meeting between Khrushchev and
Eisenhower, the American president was not convinced that the Soviet policy
on Berlin had actually changed.

​ ​ The U-2 Incident And The Paris Summit Conference, May

1960:
●​ Various parties prepared for Paris talks. As that was
happening, the Soviet Union made an announcement to
destroy the chance of those talks being successful.
●​ 1 May 1960: They shot down an American U-2 spy plane as
it flew over the USSR.
 ○​ Americans claimed it was a weather airplane that
had gone off course.
○​ Soviets interrogated the pilot, Gary Powers, and he
admitted to being on a spying mission.
○​ President Eisenhower was embarrassed by what had
happened. He refused to apologise. He said spying
operations could not be avoided.
○​ Khrushchev walked out of the meeting and it ended
with no decisions being made.

Page 57: Source C

​ Soviet people looking at the remains of the U-2 spy plane shot down
over the Soviet Union in May 1960.

Page 57: Extract A

​ A recent account of the Paris Summit and U-2 incident from the US
Department of State Official History website.

Khrushchev had publicly committed himself to the idea of "peaceful

coexistence" with the United States... [Had] the United States apologized, he
would have continued the summit. Eisenhower, however, refused to issue a
formal apology... On May 11, Eisenhower finally acknowledged his full
awareness of the entire program and of the Powers flight in particular.
Moreover, he explained that... such spy flights were a necessary element in
maintaining national defense, and that he planned to continue them.

Page 57: Extend Your Knowledge

​ US Spy Planes:
During the Cold War, the US Air Force (USAF) and the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) used ultra-high altitude U-2 jet aeroplanes to fly spy missions
over enemy countries. It was hoped that the aircraft would fly beyond the
reach of enemy radar and aircraft. Many flew over the Soviet Union, often
from USAF bases in friendly nations such as Pakistan.

​ ​ Vienna, June 1961:

●​ January 1961: John F. Kennedy was the president of the
USA. So no more Eisenhower.
●​ Kennedy followed the policy of building up the USA's
military forces and at the same time trying to resolve
difficulties with the USSR through talks.
 ●​ Khrushchev believed that Kennedy was inexperienced in
foreign affairs, and he could get an advantage over him.
He knew Kennedy's reputation suffered because of the
American invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961
that failed.
●​ New round of talks in Vienna in June 1961.
○​ Khrushchev took a tough approach, renewing the
Berlin Ultimatum of 1958.
●​ Kennedy was concerned by what the leader was doing, but
was determined not to appear weak. He refused to make
concessions.
●​ The meeting ended with no final decision on Berlin again.
●​ Personal relationship between Kennedy and Khrushchev
was very strained.
●​ After Vienna, Kennedy increased spending on American
armed forces by over $2 billion to protect the USA.
●​ If war broke out the USA was prepared to fight over Berlin
if necessary.

Page 58: Source D

​ President Kennedy speaking to the American people after his return
from the Vienna Summit in 1961.

We do not want to fight - but we have fought before. And others in earlier
times have made the same dangerous mistake of assuming that the West
was too selfish and too soft and too divided to resist invasions of freedom in
other lands... We cannot and will not permit the Communists to drive us out of
Berlin, either gradually or by force... Our pledge to that city is essential to the
morale and security of Western Germany, to the unity of Western Europe,
and to the faith of the entire Free World.

Page 58: Extend Your Knowledge

​ President John F. Kennedy:
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was one of the youngest men ever to be elected
president of the USA - he took office aged just 43. Born in 1917, he came from
a very wealthy family. He fought in the Second World War and served as a
senator before becoming president. Many, like Khrushchev, saw Kennedy as
an inexperienced youth, whose wealth gave him no understanding of the real
world. Events in Berlin and Cuba proved Khrushchev was wrong.
 Building The Berlin Wall:
●​ Khrushchev’s tough line on Berlin forced Britain, France, and the
USA to become involved in talks about the city’s future.
●​ It had an unfortunate side effect. The tension between the East
and West grew.
●​ The East Germans decided to cross to the West because of how
bad it had gotten, in case the Soviets decided to close the
border.
●​ August 1961: 40,000 East Germans crossed to the West.
●​ The East German leader, Walter Ulbricht, was told by Khrushchev
to close the border.
○​ 12 August 1961: East German troops built a barbed wire
fence around Berlin and between East and West Berlin.
■​ That was only the beginning of the Berlin War. Soon
a concrete wall would stretch around 165 km.

Page 59: Source E

​ No-man’s-land (or the ‘Death Strip’, as many called it) between East
and West Berlin.

Impact Of The Berlin Wall:

​ ​ The Impact In Berlin:
●​ The Berlin Wall cut off streets and even buildings.
●​ When it was being built, many people were making more
escape attempts.
○​ One woman threw a mattress out of her window into
West Berlin and jumped onto it. She landed on the
mattress but died of her injuries.
○​ West Berlin fire service helped others ready to jump
back, catching them in blankets.
●​ Towards the end of the summer, the wall was finished.
Along the 43 km section that cut through the center of
Berlin were, strictly speaking, two walls, one facing east
and the other west, separated by a zone known as
‘no-man's-land’. Packed with booby traps, barbed wire,
minefields and car barriers, all guarded by hundreds of
lookout towers with machine gun nests and powerful
searchlights.
●​ Berliners couldn't visit their family and friends on the other
side of the Berlin Wall.
 ●​ Families, friends and neighbors separated, often for years.
●​ People who worked on either side of the wall had to give
up jobs because they could not travel to the other side.
●​ In desperation, some tried to cross the Wall. East German
border guards were instructed to shoot everyone making
the attempt.
●​ An estimated over 130 people were killed.
○​ Saddest failed attempt to cross the Berlin Wall was
in August 1962.
■​ Two building workers tried to cross from East
Berlin to West Berlin. One reached West Berlin,
safely, but the other Peter Fechter was shot.
●​ He fell back into East Berlin and lay
down for 45 minutes.
●​ Thousands of West Germans yelled ‘murderers!’ across the
border, East German guards eventually took the body
away.

Page 60: Source F

​ The body of Peter Fechter being carried away by East German border
guards.

​ ​ Impact On Relations Between East And West Germany:

●​ When the Wall was first built there was outrage in West
Germany and relations with East Germany worsened.
●​ The Western powers were hoping for a unification of
Germany. The Soviet Union was considering it. Or seemed
to be considering it.
●​ There were protests in East Germany as well, but they
were quickly quashed by the secret police. The building of
the Wall improved relations in some ways between the two
countries.
○​ The issue of refugees crossing into the West had
been a problem that strained relations since 1945.
■​ Now the stream of refugees had been cut off
once protests were over. It may have been
possible to improve relations.

​ ​ Impact Of The Wall On The USA And The Soviet Union:

 ●​ Building the Berlin Wall had positive and negative results
for the USA and the Soviet Union.

Negative Outcomes Positive Outcomes

Soviet Union Khrushchev had to The Wall stopped

abandon plans to unite refugees leaving for the
Germany under Soviet West through East
control. The Wall Berlin. The Wall sent the
showed that the Soviet West a message that
Union had to 'lock' communism would
people into East survive in Berlin and
Germany to stop them that any attempt to
leaving. Given a choice, reunite Germany under
they seemed to prefer Western control would
capitalism over fail.
communism.

USA The Soviet Union had The Wall showed that

closed the border Khrushchev had been
without consulting the forced to accept
USA. Those people who Western control in West
wanted to escape from Berlin, and that he did
communism were no not think he could get
longer able to. away with bullying
Kennedy anymore.
West Berlin became a
symbol of freedom and
defiance against
communism.

○​ Positive results were for Kennedy's reputation.

■​ Demonstrated when he visited West Berlin in
1963. Thousands of West Berliners turned out
to see him.
■​ He was treated like a rock star or a sports
hero.
■​ Crowds chanted his name.
■​ The West began to celebrate freedom in
contrast to restrictions of life in the East.
■​ As well as the arrival of famous visitor.
■​ During the visit, Kennedy praised the
freedoms of the West, comparing them with
 communism in a famous speech, in which he
said; “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
●​ Meaning: I'm a citizen of Berlin.

Page 62: Source G

​ From a speech given by Kennedy on 26 June, 1963. The speech was
given in a public square in West Berlin.

Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was 'civis Romanus sum' [I am a
Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin
ein Berliner' [I am a citizen of Berlin].

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they
don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist
world. Let them come to Berlin.

There are some who say that Communism is the future. Let them come to
Berlin.

And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the
Communists. Let them come to Berlin.

And there are even a few who say that it is true that Communism is an evil
system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin
kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

Page 62: Source H

​ John F. Kennedy giving the ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech, on 26 June
1963.

Page 62: Extend Your Knowledge

​ ‘Ich Bin Ein Berliner’:
In Kennedy's 1963 speech in Berlin, he said 'Ich bin ein Berliner'. 'Berliner'
means 'citizen of Berlin' but also 'doughnut' - so some people have argued
that Kennedy literally said, 'I am a doughnut'! The crowd in Berlin doesn't
seem to have thought this, or cared if that was what he said. They loved
Kennedy's message and the fact that he tried to say it in German.

4.2 The Cuban Missile Crisis

​ Learning Objectives:
 ●​ Understand why Cuba became a threat to the USA.
●​ Understand how Kennedy dealt with Khrushchev's attempt to
put nuclear missiles in Cuba.
●​ Understand how the crisis affected international relations.

The Cuban Revolution:

●​ January 1959: Group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro and
Che Guevara, overthrew Fulgencio Batista, the head of the
pro-American government of Cuba.
●​ President Eisenhower was concerned about revolution due to
close links between the US and Cuba.
○​ American businesses heavily invested in Cuba.
○​ Much land owned by Americans.
○​ Cuba’s oil refineries, electricity and telephone networks,
and railways also controlled by US.
○​ USA was also main investor in Cuba’s sugar, its main
export.
●​ New leader, Fidel Castro, a nationalist that didn’t want his
country’s economy in American hands.
○​ Tension was thus created between the US and Cuba. Later
grew into a crisis that threatened world peace.
●​ Aftermath of revolution, three main areas of tension:
○​ American government reluctantly recognised the new
government of Cuba, however refused to provide them
with economic aid unless they followed guidelines set out
by the International Monetary Fund.
○​ May 1959: Cuban government takes over all land in the
nation owned by foreigners. Did pay compensation to
previous owners, but the US government didn’t recognise
the scheme. Castro took land regardless.
○​ Castro was already appointing communists to his
government before February 1960, when he made an
agreement with the USSR. Khrushchev agreed to buy
Cuban sugar and provide economic aid. Additionally, a
secret clause stated they would provide Cuba with arms.
■​ USA concerned pro-Soviet regime being established
only 145 km from their mainland.
●​ July 1960: Eisenhower reduces the amount of
sugar the US would buy.
●​ October: He bans all trade with Cuba.
 ●​ January 1961: The US breaks off diplomatic
relations.

Page 64: Source I

​ Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev meet at the United Nations in New
York, in 1960.

The USA Intervenes In Cuba: The Bay Of Pigs Incident:

●​ President Kennedy took over power from Eisenhower in 1961.
●​ He didn’t want ally of communism so close to America.
●​ He gave the CIA support to a plan they’d agreed with
Eisenhower, the CIA suggested a group of Cuban exiles could be
trained to overthrow Castro.
●​ Using Cuban exiles would make it look like a counter-revolution,
making the US look innocent.
●​ 17 April 1961: Invasion of 1,400 Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of
Pigs in Cuba.
○​ The US hoped they’d help overthrow and put in an
American-friendly government controlling the island
instead. This ended up completely failing.
■​ Volunteers had little military experience. Got some
training from the CIA but couldn’t compete with the
revolutionary army.
■​ The US needed it to look like a counter-revolution
and so, couldn’t help by sending US ground forces or
air strikes.
■​ Castro’s government found out about the plans and
20,000 soldiers were there to fight off 1,400
invaders.
■​ Most Cubans didn’t support any of this because they
were quite content with Castro’s leadership.
○​ Castro shows evidence of victory to journalists around the
world, Americans couldn’t deny involvement, defeat was
public humiliation for them.

Page 65: Source J

​ Anti-Castro fighters captured during the Bay of Pigs operation.

Page 65: Source K

​ Extracts from a 1961 US government inquiry into the Bay of Pigs
operation.

Scrutiny of the plans for the operation would have shown that Castro's ability
to fight back and roll up internal opposition needed to be taken more
seriously... Why did the United States contemplate pitting 1500 soldiers,
however well-trained and armed, against an enemy vastly superior in number
and arms. We can confidently assert that the CIA had no evidence that
Cubans in significant numbers would join the invaders... The project had lost
all elements of secrecy as for more than 3 months the American press had
been reporting on the recruitment and training of Cubans. The CIA's name
was freely linked with these activities. Denial was a pathetic illusion.

The Effects Of The Bay Of Pigs Incident On International

Relations:
●​ The incident was a humiliating and embarrassing failure for the
US.
●​ They had accused the USSR of trying to build an empire in
Eastern Europe, now they looked exactly like that. Wanting to
restore American influence in an independent country by
supporting armed uprising against its government.
●​ The USSR quickly points out the happiness of Cubans under the
leadership of pro-communist Castro. How they showed little
support for the US-backed attempt to restore a pro-American
government and corrupt the Batista regime.
○​ Khrushchev said this was clear evidence of communism's
popularity.
○​ This incident also resulted in strengthened relations
between Cuba and the USSR.
○​ After the invasion, Castro declared himself communist and
asked Khrushchev to help defend Cuba against future
attacks from the USA.
○​ September 1961: Khrushchev publicly announces that he
would provide Cuba with arms. Kennedy was extremely
concerned.
○​ Cuba would have modern military equipment and training
from the Soviets.
○​ If the USSR gave Cuba nuclear weapons the USA would be
under threat directly.
 ○​ Kennedy warned Khrushchev not to use Cuba as a base to
threaten the US. Khrushchev said he had no intention of
doing something like that, but later Americans found out
he did.

The Cuban Missile Crisis:

●​ 14 October 1962: American spy plane takes pictures that serve as
evidence that the USSR was building missile launch sites in Cuba.
●​ Americans knew missiles launched could reach most American
cities.
●​ American intelligence agencies told Kennedy that fleets of
Soviet ships were already on the way to Cuba with more supplies
that would enable nuclear missiles to be fired at the US.
●​ Khrushchev taking this step had several reasons behind it.
○​ NATO had missile bases from Turkey within reach of USSR.
Khrushchev thought the USA should know what that felt
like.
■​ He may have also wanted missile bases in Turkey
removed.
○​ Building of the Berlin Wall was seen as a failure for him,
him outwitting Kennedy over Cuba could save his
reputation.
○​ He may have also feared another American attack. If
Americans ever did manage to overthrow Castro it would
weaken international views on communism and make it
and the Union appear weaker.
●​ The Union could fire missiles at America from where they stood
anyway, the placement of bases in Cuba didn’t make practical
difference.
●​ Did make a huge political difference.
●​ Kennedy knew the Union had to be stopped from putting missiles
in Cuba’s hands.
○​ He needed to stop them without starting a major war.
○​ Defense secretary, Robert McNamara, advised missiles
would be able to fire in two weeks so Kennedy better think
fast.

Page 67: Source L

​ This photo, taken on 23 October 1962 by an American U-2 spy plane,
showed that further work had been done on the missile launch site in Cuba
since it was originally spotted on 14 October.

Page 68: Source M

​ From a statement made by Dean Acheson, one of Kennedy’s advisers,
at a meeting held on 17 October 1962 to discuss what action the USA should
take over Cuba.

We should proceed at once with the necessary military action and do no

talking. The Soviets will react someplace. We must expect this, take the
consequences and manage the situations as they evolve. We should have no
consultations with Khrushchev, Castro or our allies, though we should alert
our allies.

The Thirteen Days, 16-28 October 1962:

●​ 16 October: Kennedy calls an Executive Committee meeting to
discuss how USA should react. They met everyday for the span of
thirteen days, the world was under the threat of nuclear war.
●​ 22 October: Kennedy decides not to launch an attack but rather
set up naval blockade around Cuba, but Americans called it
‘quarantine’ since blockades were considered by them to be acts
of war.
○​ No ships allowed past the blockade without permission.
○​ Kennedy was on US television and shocked the nation with
the news of Cuba having access to missiles.
○​ Americans expected the Union to ignore blockade, since
the US would have to sink their ships and war would
commence.
■​ Kennedy, being aware, prepares 54 bombers, each
having 4 nuclear warheads.
■​ Khrushchev didn’t want to start a war any more
than Kennedy did.
●​ 23 October: Orders his ships to turn around.
Kennedy didn’t know, thinking that at any
time Soviet ships would show, and they would
be forced to start nuclear war with the Union.
●​ 24 October: When they got the news they were
relieved. Dean Rusk, US secretary of state,
 told Kennedy, ‘We are eyeball to eyeball, and
I think the other guy just blinked!’

Page 69: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Deadly Nuclear Power:
Researchers at Harvard University worked out that, if the USA and the Soviet
Union had fired nuclear missiles at each other during the Cuban crisis, then
100 million people would have been killed in the USA and another 100 million
in the Soviet Union. That would have meant the death of 53.6 percent of the
population of the USA and 44.6 percent of that of the Soviet Union.

From Confrontation To Agreement:

●​ USSR’s decision to not break through the blockade meant direct
fighting between the superpowers had been avoided.
●​ Soviets still had missiles in Cuba and the USA still wanted them
removed.
●​ 26 October: Khrushchev sends Kennedy a telegram offering the
removal of missiles from Cuba if Americans agreed to not
invade.
●​ 27 October: Before Kennedy’s response there was already
another telegram, saying that missiles would be removed if the
one’s in Turkey were removed by the USA as well.
●​ Same day, an American U-2 plane shot down over Cuba.
●​ Hawks in the USA demanded military action but Kennedy
refused to do it that way.
●​ Kenneday ignores the second telegram and agrees to the first.
●​ 28 October: Khrushchev sends an agreement.
●​ Kennedy’s brother Robert met the Soviet ambassador in
Washington the day before agreeing to remove Turkish missiles.
This part of the deal was kept secret.

Key Term:
●​ Hawks: during the Cold War, those who supported going to war were
known as Hawks. Those who tried to find solutions to problems without
going to war, were known as Doves.

The Consequences Of The Cuban Missile Crisis:

●​ The Cuban Missile Crisis became an example of what would
happen if the USSR and USA continued relations that followed
the policy of brinkmanship.
 ●​ Khrushchev and Kennedy had been under pressure to take
actions that would’ve led to major war.
●​ Both countries wanted no future misunderstandings to cause
war not to break out.
○​ June 1963: Direct communications line set up between
Washington and Moscow, became known as the ‘hotline’.
○​ 1968: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signed to stop
spread of nuclear weapons. Countries that signed up to
the treaty agreed to not share nuclear weapons with other
countries.
●​ Cuban Missile Crisis led to world becoming a safer place.
●​ Led to change in relations between Kennedy and Khrushchev.
●​ Kennedy seen as a strong leader, standing up to Khrushchev and
the Hawks in his own government.
○​ He grew more popular in the US. Especially because
agreement over Turkey had not been made public.
■​ Increased popularity gave him confidence in
dealing with USSR.
●​ Khrushchev said he was the winner because he helped
guarantee the security of Cuba. Not the feeling in Moscow, the
military were forced into a humiliating withdrawl.
○​ His unpopularity was a significant factor of his dismissal in
1964.

Key Terms:
●​ Brinkmanship: pushing disagreements to the point where there is a risk
of war (the brink). In 1956, a former US secretary of state, John Foster
Dulles, wrote, ‘If you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost’.
●​ Non-Proliferation: stopping the spread of something, usually weapons
or armaments.

Page 70: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaties — Who Signed?:
The USA and the Soviet Union were the most important countries to sign the
treaties limiting the spread of nuclear weapons, but they were not the only
ones. Britain and France also had nuclear weapons and signed up, as did
many countries around the world that did not have nuclear weapons. Some
countries, including Israel, Pakistan and India, either never signed the treaty
or developed nuclear weapons anyway.
Page 70: Extract B
​ An extract from Khrushchev’s memoirs, published in 1967.

We sent the Americans a note saying that we agreed to remove our missiles
and bombers on condition that President Kennedy gave us assurances that
there would be no invasion of Cuba. Finally Kennedy gave in and agreed to
make a statement giving us such an assurance. It was a great victory for us
— a spectacular success without having to fire a single shot.

Page 71: Source N

​ A cartoon published in the Washington Post on 1 November 1962.

Page 71: Extract C

​ A comment on the Cuban Missile Crisis from a book on modern world
history written in 2008.

Recent evidence seems to support the view that Kennedy acted in a

statesmanlike way, was prepared to compromise and was not motivated by
his own self-interest. The tape recordings of the ExComm meetings at the
time show Kennedy repeatedly pushing for a compromise and point to the
fact that he was very aware of the dangers of a nuclear war.

4.3 Czechoslovakia, 1968-69

​ Learning Objectives:
●​ Understand why Dubcek introduced reform in Czechoslovakia.
●​ Understand why the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia.
●​ Understand the impact of the Prague Spring on international
relations.

Opposition To Soviet Control:

●​ 1948: Stalin supports Czechoslovakian coup that removed
non-communists from power, establishing a pro-Soviet
communist government.
●​ Under the leader of the Czech Communist Party, Klement
Gottwald.
●​ Life with communist rule difficult on the Czech.
●​ One effect of communist rule on their country was that it was
controlled by the secret police.
●​ Another effect was the Czech economy benefiting the USSR.
 ○​ Few consumer goods for Czech people.
●​ No freedom of speech or radio.
●​ Newspapers and television censored.
●​ Czech government was told to carry out purges between 1949
and 1954 by the USSR.
○​ Victims were; democratic politicians, military leaders,
catholics, jews, anyone with wartime connections with the
West, even high-ranking communists.
●​ Protests against low standard of living and lack of freedom grew,
student demonstrations in 1966, shows how unpopular Soviet
control was.

The Prague Spring:

●​ 1968: Alexander Dubcek elected as first secretary of Czech
Communist Party. Meaning he was basically head of the Czech
government.
●​ Khrushchev approved of him and trusted him with the
government of Czechoslovakia’s effectiveness and popularity.
○​ Doing all this whilst keeping Czechia loyal to the USSR.
●​ Dubcek committed to the Warsaw Pact and was a devout
communist.
○​ Believed communism was the correct political path. He
was right.
■​ Aber, it shouldn’t make life miserable.
■​ Communist government should offer ‘socialism with
a human face’.
●​ Citizens should be able to enjoy life, express
views in public, and speak out against
Communist Party decisions they didn’t like,
without fear of the government hurting them.
○​ Reforms he would introduce in April were known as the
‘Prague Spring’ after the country’s capital.
■​ Censorship relaxed, criticism of government allowed.
■​ Trade unions get more power, government control of
industry reduced.
■​ Power given to Czech regional governments.
■​ Trade with West increased.
■​ Czech people given more freedom to travel abroad.
 ■​ Multi-party elections discussed, Dubcek alongside
other communist leaders wouldn’t make this happen
till years later.
○​ Dubcek’s reforms great for Czechoslovakia less so for
Moscow.
○​ Dubcek assured Moscow of Czechoslovakia’s full
commitment to the Warsaw Pact, as well as them being a
strong ally of the Union.
■​ Brezhnev, replaced Khrushchev in 1968, disapproved
of measures Dubcek proposed.
■​ If measures were introduced other countries in
Warsaw Pact would want similar reforms.
●​ Romania was already refusing to attend
Warsaw Pact meetings.
●​ Yugoslavian leader, Tito, refused to let
Moscow control Yugoslavia. Moscow losing
control of Czechoslovakia would make things
so much more worse.

Key Term:
●​ Socialism: a political and economic theory that states that the people
should own and control the making and selling of goods. Communist
countries sometimes refer to themselves as ‘socialist’ because it is a
stepping stone on the way to communism from capitalism. For
example, the Soviet Union was known as the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics.

Page 73: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Yugoslavia:
At the end of the Second World War, Yugoslavia was liberated largely without
Soviet help. Although its leader, Josip Tito, was a communist, he did not want
to follow Moscow's leadership and, in 1948, Yugoslavia was expelled from
Cominform. Tito was famous for once writing an open letter to Stalin telling
him to stop sending people to kill Tito, or Tito would have to send someone to
kill Stalin.

The Soviet Reaction:

●​ Months after Dubcek became leader, Brezhnev remained in
contact with him. He wanted him not to endanger
Czechoslovakia’s communisms with his reforms.
 ●​ Brezhnev ordered Warsaw Pact troops to carry out manoeuvres
to threaten Dubcek.
●​ Dubcek invites Ceausescu of Romania and Tito of Yugoslavia to
Prague talks.
●​ Brezhnev acts. He’s working late, cause he’s an✨ ✨
actor .
●​ Warsaw Pact troops that helped to put down the Prague Spring,
came in from East Germany, Hungary, and the USSR.
●​ 20 August 1968: 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops invade.
○​ Ends Prague Spring.
○​ Little opposition to invasion.
○​ Brezhnev ordered the Czech army to stay in barracks, in
case of them trying to fight the Warsaw Pact troops.
○​ Czech people couldn’t do much because troops very
powerful, but individual acts of bravery performed like
blocking roads + attacking individual tanks.
○​ Invading forces said they were there to restore law and
order by Czech government.
■​ Shocked by hostility they encountered.
●​ Dubcek arrested, sent to Moscow, ordered to reserve reforms.
●​ Brezhnev sent him back to Prague.
●​ 1969: Dubcek removed from office anyways, and replaced with
Gustav Husak.
○​ Husak, extreme communist + loyal to Moscow.
○​ Introduced wave of oppression effects of which were
arrest of over 1,000 Czechs.
○​ Next 20 years; country fully under Soviet-approved
communist rule.

Page 74: Extend Your Knowledge

​ Jan Palach:
Palach was a 20-year-old university student when, on 16 January 1969, he set
himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in Prague as a protest against the Soviet
occupation of his country. He died 3 days later. His funeral was attended by
75,000 people. His grave in Prague attracted so many visitors that the
government removed the headstone and sent his ashes back to his mother in
his home village.

Page 74: Source O

​ Czech citizens on a captured Soviet tank in Prague in August 1968.
Page 74: Source P
​ A young journalist describes the moment when the Soviet troops
arrived.

I remember very well the face of the first Soviet soldier I saw. He was
carrying a huge machine gun, and looked like he'd just stepped out of a film
about the battle of Stalingrad. He was very dirty, and his face was full of
sweat. It was absolutely ridiculous, absolutely absurd. I tried to talk to him,
but it was pointless, he wouldn't speak to me. Even later on, when I did
manage to speak to some of the soldiers, it was useless. They were totally
indoctrinated. They believed they had prevented the outbreak of World War
III or something.

Invasion Reasons:
●​ Brezhnev knew the West wouldn’t help Czechoslovakia.
●​ Dubcek's reforms offer dangerous freedoms.
●​ Soviet satellites and republics would want similar freedoms.
●​ The USSR wanted to look like it could control satellite states.
●​ The Soviet Union’s buffer zone may have been under threat because of
Dubcek and his reforms.
●​ Future of the Warsaw Pact could’ve been endangered.

The Brezhnev Doctrine:

●​ West: Thought Brezhnev’s actions were aggressive attempts to
dominate other European country.
○​ USSR justified it all by saying it was necessary to protect
unity of communist movement in Eastern Europe.
●​ 26 September 1968: Soviet newspaper, Pravda, set out the
Brezhnev Doctrine.
○​ He said actions of individual communist countries affected
them all.
○​ One country’s actions threatening another country’s,
called for communist countries to take steps towards
stopping said actions, in order to preserve communism.
○​ In short; he thought all these countries shoudn’t introduce
reforms in order to prevent liberalism, which would destroy
communist countries as a whole für immer.

Key Term:
●​ Doctrine: a belief or philosophy.
Page 75: Source Q
​ The Brezhnev Doctrine, as explained in the Soviet newspaper Pravda in
September 1968.

Every communist party is responsible not only to its own people, but also to...
the entire communist movement. Whoever forgets this is placing sole
emphasis on the independence of their own communist party and shirking
their international obligations.