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:fire: History 2.5 :100: (Berlin Crisis (Berlin wall, 1961 (consequences…
:fire: History 2.5 :100:
Berlin Crisis
Thousands of people wanted to defect from East Germany in order to live in West Germany. This was an indication that many people were unhappy with communism. By 1961, 20,000 people had moved from East Berlin to West Berlin
Khrushchev gave an ultimatum. He wanted Berlin to be demilitarised and to have an independent government. The West saw this as an attempt to invade West Berlin
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Berlin wall, 1961
the Berlin wall was built to keep East Germans in, rather than keep West German out
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there was two walls, with a gap in between (known as the Death Strip)
made it obvious how divided Berlin was, families and friends were split apart
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consequences
the city of Berlin became divided, splitting apart families and friends
there was a temporary increase in tension because the US didn't like that they were being stopped from entering East Berlin. there was a standoff with tanks at Checkpoint Charlie
there was a long term decrease in tension as the USSR no longer felt threatened and the US knew that the USSR had accepted that West Berlin would stay capitalist
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Cuban Revolution
Batista becomes president of Cuba in 1952, and is backed by the USA. The dictatorship becomes unpopular (no freedom of speech, no free elections, secret police and the army keep control) so Fidel Castro starts a guerrilla war against Batista
During the guerrilla war, there was no major battles (Castro knew he would lose). Instead, he used lots of hit and run attacks on Batista's forces, and they lived off the land and relied on local support. They were winning by late 1958, and on January 1st 1959, Batista fled the country. Castro is now in power
America refuses to help Cuba, and Eisenhower even refused to meet Castro when he visited. Foreign property was nationalised in Cuba, including American businesses which made up most of Cuba's businesses. America threatens an embargo on Cuba, as Cuba relied heavily on American trade.
To avoid the embargo, Castro makes a deal with the USSR to replace the USA as Cuba's main trading partner. The USSR would buy Cuban goods, and Khrushchev agreed to help Cuba. The US stops talking to Cuba and attempts an invasion (Bay of Pigs invasion). This invasion is defeated in a couple days. This was extremely embarrassing for the US, and Castro became stronger and became closer to the USSR
Prague Spring
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Key individuals
Alexander Dubcek
communist, became leader of the Czechoslovakian communist party in 1968, wanted more freedom and to get rid of Novotny
Ludvik Svoboda
very popular war hero, wanted greater freedom, became president of Czechoslovakia in March 1968
Antonin Novotny
hardline communist, introduced lots of unsuccessful economic policies
Leonid Brezhnev
leader of the USSR after 1964-82, hardline communist, refused to support Novotny, assumed Dubcek would be a good leader
Soviet response
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Brezhnev warns Dubcek, but Dubcek assures him they will remain in the Warsaw Pact
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Brezhnev introduced the Brezhnev Doctrine which stated all communist bloc countries must help preserve the unity (basically, no deviating from Soviet ideals and no becoming more 'Western')
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international reaction
the US was outraged by the soviet response and condemned their actions but were unlikely to take any military action. it didn't change US-Soviet relations that much
there was anti-USSR protests in Czechoslovakia (Jan Palach) which led to a more hardline communist government
there was an even more distant relationship between the USSR and Western Europe. it showed a split in the communist movement
some Eastern bloc countries became more likely to conform, but some tried to separate themselves from the USSR
China was angry that the USSR attacked a fellow communist country as they were now worried they could be attacked
the US was called hypocritical for condemning the suppression of a popular cause and fighting the Vietnam war
there was a slight reduction in criticism of the US as the invasion of Czechoslovakia was seen as worse than the Vietnam war, so the USSR was criticised instead
Cuban Missile Crisis
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Kennedy had 4 options
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air strikes
shows strength and gets rid of most missiles, but could start a war and Cuba might just get given more missiles
do nothing
least likely to start a war, but makes America look weak
invade Cuba
this will permanently remove the threat, but could lead to war and has failed in the past (Bay of Pigs)
consequences
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this was viewed as a win for Kennedy and a loss for the USSR as the missiles were removed from Cuba as US missiles were removed from Turkey, but the removal of US missiles was never made public
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