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History Cold War: U2 Crisis - Coggle Diagram
History Cold War: U2 Crisis
Paris Peace Summit
Eisenhower and Khrushchev were due to meet at the long planned Paris Peace Summit in May 1960.
The U2 crisis completely overshadowed the event.
The Paris Peace Summit was supposed to represent a step towards improved relations, building on Khrushchev's call for "peaceful co-existence" between east and west.
Khrushchev was highly critical of Eisenhower, describing him as a "thief caught red-handed in his theft" and he walked out of the summit before any discussions could take place.
Fear of Spies in the USA
While tension were running high abroad, the USA itself was in a growing state of fear about communism at home.
Throughout the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy led a campaign to root out communism in the USA, while other Committees investigated anyone with even the slightest suspicion of communism. people began to believe that there were indeed, "reds under beds" :
U2 Spy Planes
These were the USA's most effective method of gathering intelligence.
They flew at a height of 23,000 meters and were able to photograph weapons development without being shot down.
Immediate Consequences
A day after claiming that it was a weather plane, the US government admitted it was a spy plane. President Eisenhower, however, refused to apologize.
Khrushchev also cancelled a historic trip; the USA president coming to the USSR June.
Eisenhower promised only to 'suspend' spy flights and Khrushchev refused to meet the president again.
Longer Consequences
Eisenhower hoped to end his presidency by improving relationships with the East, instead, tensions were higher than ever.
On the surface, the growth in tension seemed to be entirely the fault of the Americans. However, some have argued that Khrushchev wanted the summit to fail to show his political opponents in Moscow that he was a tough leader on the world stage.
What happened?
A U2 plane, flown by pilot Gary Powers, was shot down by the USSR's newer, more powerful, anti-aircraft guns on May 1,1960.
The Americans claimed it was simply a weather plane that had strayed into Soviet territory, but their was clear evidence that this was not the case.
Powers was eventually put on trial by the Soviets and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.