Cold War Revision Notes
•
Friday 8th June 2018 - 2pm (1hr45 mins)
•
Cold War and Early Elizabethan England are on
the same exam
•
3 Q types – consequences, narrative account,
importance (all 8 marks)
Tehran, 1943
Yalta, Feb 1945
Potsdam, Jul/Aug
1945
Stalin takes control
of Eastern Europe,
1945-1948
Novikov and Long
Telegrams, 1946
Truman Doctrine
and Marshall Plan,
1947
Cominform, 1947
Berlin Blockade
and Airlift, June
1948- July 1949
NATO, April1949
Comecon, 1949
Warsaw Pact, 1955
Arms Race, 19491965
Hungarian Uprising,
1956
Cuban Revolution,
1959
Paris Summit, 1960
Bay of Pigs, April
1961
Vienna
Conference, June
1961
Berlin Wall, Aug
1961
Cuban Missile Crisis,
1962
Hotline and Test
Ban Treaty, 1963
France leave
NATO, 1966
Outer Space
Treaty, 1967
Czechoslovakian
Uprising, 1968
Brezhnev Doctrine,
1968
Non-Proliferation
Treaty, 1968
SALT 1, 1972
Helsinki
Conference, 1975
Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan, 1979
Carter Doctrine,
1980
SALT 2 NOT ratified
,1980
Moscow Olympics,
1980 (LA Olympics,
1984)
Star Wars/SDI, 1983
Glasnost and
Perestroika, 1985
Geneva
Conference, 1985
Reykjavik
Conference, 1986
INF Treaty, 1987
End of the Warsaw
Pact, July 1991
Fall of the Berlin
Wall, Nov 1989
Key Events of the Cold War, 1943-91
1. Communism/Capitalism overview
Communism
Capitalism
Main country
•
USSR
•
USA
Allies
•
•
•
•
Eastern Europe
Warsaw Pact (from 1955)
China
Cuba (from 1959)
•
•
Western Europe
NATO (from 1949)
Beliefs
•
•
•
Equality
No private property
State controls business
•
•
•
Democracy
Private business
Free market economy
Key Features
•
•
•
Censorship
Secret Police
No free speech
•
•
•
Free speech
Freedom of movement
Fair trial
Telegrams
Novikov Telegram, 1946
•
USSR Ambassador reported that the USA
was building up its military strength to
prepare for war with the USSR
Long Telegram, 1946
•
USA Ambassador reported that the USSR
was building up its military strength to
prepare for war with the USSR
•
Ambassador Kennan also reported that
the USSR wanted to destroy Capitalism
2. Early Cold War Conferences, 1943-1945
Tehran
Date
Leaders
Yalta
• 1943
• Feb 1945
• Roosevelt
• Churchill
• Stalin
•
•
•
Roosevelt
Churchill
Stalin
• Poland would be communist
Agreements
Disagreements
• Open a second front in the
West by invading Nazi
occupied France in June 1944
• N/A
Tension
• Jul/Aug 1945
•
•
•
Truman (has an a-bomb)
Churchill/Atlee
Stalin
•
Germany AND
Berlin to be
divided into 4
zones of
occupation
Nazi Party banned and
prosecuted for Holocaust
Germany would lose its
army
• That the USSR would help the
war against Japan
• United Nations would be set
up to keep peace after WW2
• Should Germany should pay
reparations? Stalin wanted to
treat Germany harshly; Britain
and the USA wanted to allow
it to rebuild
• This decision was delayed
until the next conference
• No tension - Hitler still needed
to be defeated
Potsdam
•
Low tension – Hitler still
needed to be finally
defeated
•
•
•
Still could not decide how to
deal with Germany – Stalin
wanted massive compensation
to make up for the 20M Russians
killed in WW2; Truman wanted
Germany to be strong to
prevent Communism spreading
•
Truman wanted free elections in
Poland, Stalin wanted to create
a ‘buffer zone’ to protect Russia
•
Increased tension – Truman
has an atomic bomb and
Hitler is dead
3. Stalin’s Spread of Communism, 1945-1949
Country
Stalin’s Actions
•
•
Romania
•
•
•
•
Hungary
•
Poland
•
•
Coalition government set up in 1945
Communist members of the government
threatened the non-Communists
Soviet Army disarmed the Romanian Army
Communists won the next election with 80%
of the vote
Communists controlled the police in
Hungary from 1945
In 1947 the Communists took control of the
government and banned all other political
parties
Matyas Rakosi ‘the Bald Butcher’ became
leader of Hungary – he imprisoned 20,000
opponents and killed 2000 enemies of
Communism
In 1945 a coalition government was elected
In Jan 1947 elections were rigged to ensure
the election of totally Communist
government
4. Truman’s Policy of Containment, 1947
Truman Doctrine, 1947
•
President Truman was worried that Communism would spread across Europe
•
His doctrine stated the USA would use military and economic means to stop Communism
from spreading and to contain it within Eastern Europe
Marshall Plan/Aid, 1947
•
The Marshall Plan aimed to reduce poverty to stop the spread of Communism
•
The USA offered $17B to rebuild Europe -12 countries accepted. Britain received $3B
•
Communist countries in Eastern Europe were also offered this help in an attempt to
encourage them to become capitalist, but they were unable to accept it by the USSR
Consequences of Containment:
1.
Economic: By 1953 (Stalin’s death) the USA had provided $17B to help rebuild Europe –
US machinery helped European factories to recover. US advisers helped rebuild
infrastructure
2.
Political: Europe became more divided – Stalin prevented Eastern Europe from
accepting Marshall Aid as he did not want to show how weak the Soviet economy was
5. USSR’s Methods of Control
C o m i n f o r m , 1 9 4 7 - ‘Communist Information Bureau’
•
Allowed USSR leader to control Communist parties throughout
Europe
•
It was set up to ensure that countries like Poland and
Czechoslovakia followed Soviet rules
•
It also ensured leaders of Communist countries ruled as they
were told to
C o m e c o n , 1 9 4 9 - ‘Communist Economic Council’
•
Allowed USSR leader to control Communist economies
throughout Europe eg. tell Hungary to produce food
•
It encouraged trade between Communist countries eg. the
USSR got steel from Poland at a preferential (cheaper) rate
•
Set up a Communist bank
6. Berlin Blockade and Airlift, 1948-49
Causes
1.
Trizonia – USA, UK and
French zones of West Berlin
become 1. This would make
them stronger and more
powerful as they could
combine their resources
2.
New Currency – in Trizonia a
new currency was created
called the Deutschmark.
This made the economy of
WEST Berlin was stronger
and more stable
3.
Marshall Aid – as WEST Berlin
was CAPITALIST, it could
receive Marshall Aid. This
meant West Berlin was
recovering more quickly
than East Berlin
Events
•
•
Stalin blocked off roads and
railways entering WEST Berlin
FROM EAST Germany
Stalin shut off power stations
in EAST Berlin supplying
power to the WESTERN
sectors
Consequences
1.
Berlin Airlift – for 10 months
the USA and UK flew
supplies in to WEST Berlin
from WEST Germany. 1M
tonnes of coal, necessities
and even luxury items like
cars! 1 plane landed every
90 seconds
2.
Stalin called off the
Blockade in May 1949 – he
had to accept defeat. This
made him look weak
3.
NATO – formed in April 1949
(see next page)
4.
East and West Germany
become different countries
– the GDR (EAST) and FRG
(WEST)
7. NATO, 1949 and the Warsaw Pact, 1955
NATO – April 1949
•
Mutual Defence Pact
•
23 Capitalist countries promised to protect each other from an attack from the USSR by
providing weapons, troops and/or money
Consequences:
1.
USA was now committed to defending western Europe
2.
Stalin saw it as a threat to him, which increased tension
3.
Warsaw Pact was formed in 1955
WARSAW PACT – 1955
•
Mutual Defence Pact
•
Countries in Eastern Europe agree to defend each other against threat from Capitalist
countries
•
Formed in 1955 after WEST GERMANY joined NATO (this meant NATO troops could position
along the West/East German border)
Consequences:
1.
World now divided into 2 rival camps – NATO vs. Warsaw Pact
2.
Arms Race intensifies – competition for power increases
8. Topic 1 Practice Qs (all 8 marks)
Question
1
Explain 2
consequences of…
2
Write a narrative
account of…
3
Explain the
importance of the
following to
International
Relations between
the superpowers
Topics
•
•
•
The Potsdam Conference, 1948
The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949
The Warsaw Pact, 1955
•
•
•
The Soviet takeover of the ‘satellite states’, 19451948
The key events of the Berlin Crisis, 1948-1949
The agreements of the Grand Alliance in 1945
•
•
•
•
The Long and Novikov Telegrams, 1946
The Truman Doctrine, 1947
Cominform, 1947
Comecon, 1949
9. Khrushchev’s Secret Speech, 1955
•
Khrushchev became Soviet leader in 1955
•
After Stalin’s death in 1953 there was a struggle for power, which Khrushchev won
Content of Speech:
Khrushchev said…
 Stalin was a brutal despot

Khrushchev promised to ‘De-Stalinise’ the USSR – end
censorship and free political prisoners
Consequences/Importance of the Secret Speech:
1.
Suggested Khrushchev’s leadership would be less brutal and more free than Stalin’s
2.
Khrushchev ‘thaw’
3.
1000s of political prisoners were freed
4.
Censorship rules ‘relaxed’ = more freedom of expression
5.
Led to the uprising in Hungary, 1956 – people had been given hope that Communist rule
from Moscow would change
10. Hungarian Crisis, 1956
Causes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Rakosi (bald butcher) =
cruel and brutal (2000
opponents killed and
200,000 imprisoned)
Events:
•
200,000 fled to Austria
•
80,000 fled to USA
•
1000 Soviet tanks
•
2000 Hungarians killed •
•
20,000 wounded
USA sent $20M in aid
October 1956 – riots in
Budapest and Stalin’s
statue torn down
Nagy became PM –
made big reforms eg.
Free speech, free
elections, shut down the
AVO (secret police)
Khrushchev accepted
reforms initally, but when
Nagy asked to leave the
Warsaw Pact…
Consequences:
1. Nagy arrested, taken to Moscow and
executed “a lesson to the leaders of
all socialist countries”
2.
Replaced by strict leader, Janos
Kadar
3.
Condemned by UN and USA – but
nothing more
4.
1956 Olympics in Melbourne boycott
by Spain, Netherlands and Sweden in
protest
11. Berlin Crisis, 1958-1961
•
Refugee Crisis, 1945-61
Conferences, 1958-61
2.7M fled from EAST to WEST
Germany between 1945-1961
Geneva, 1959
• Khrushchev and President
Eisenhower agreed to discuss Berlin
Camp David, 1959
• Khrushchev withdrew his ultimatum
•
This was mainly because the East
German government was very
strict and unpopular, and there
was a feared secret police, the
Stasi
•
Another reason people left was
because living standards were
higher in West Germany as it had
benefitted from Marshall Aid, so
some went for greater freedom
and wealth
•
Khrushchev wanted to control
ALL of Berlin, so in 1958 he issued
an ULTIMATUM, telling the USA
they had to withdraw their troops
from Berlin in 6 months
Paris, 1960
• Before the summit a US spy plane
was shot down over the USSR
• Eisenhower refused to apologise for
the incident - Khrushchev walked
out and the talks ended
Vienna, 1961
• Khrushchev met JFK for the first
time – Khrushchev thought he
could bully JFK, who had only
been president for 4 months.
• Khrushchev told the USA they had
6 months to leave Berlin
• The USA refused to leave Berlin. In
case of war, Kennedy put $3.2
billion more into military funds, and
spent $270 million on nuclear fall
out shelters
The Berlin Wall, 1961
•
•
•
Khrushchev could not force US
troops to leave Berlin, but he
had to be seen to be powerful
and in control
12 August 1961, East Germany
sealed off West Berlin with
barbed wire
•
By September, it had become a
wall, 3M high with watch towers,
trenches and flood-lights
•
In October 1961 USSR and USA
tanks ‘faced off’ at Checkpoint
Charlie (the only place people
could cross from EAST to WEST).
After 12 hours of tension, the
USSR tanks slowly pulled back
12. Cuban Crises, 1959-1962
1. Revolution – JAN 195
2. Bay of Pigs – APRIL 1961
• JAN 1959 – CASTRO replaces BATISTA (corrupt leader of
Cuba, who is backed by the USA)
• USA COUP to overthrow Castro
• JAN 1960 – Castro NATIONALISES LAND in Cuba (takes land
from USA businesses and gives it to the Cuban people)
• FEB 1960 – Castro makes a deal with KHRUSHCHEV to buy
Russian oil, Khrushchev promises to buy 1M tonnes of Cuban
sugar per year
• JULY 1960 – USA BANS all trade with Cuba
• 2000 EXILES invade –CIA wanted it to look like a revolt
AGAINST Castro
• Castro’s government knew about the attack and the initial
planes missed most of their targets. JFK cancelled the
second air strike
• 2000 exiles faced 20,000 of Castro’s troops -500 killed and
1500 captured in 3 days
• JFK had to pay $53M in aid to get exiles released
• AUGUST 1961 Khrushchev places missiles in Cuba
3. Cuban Missile Crisis – OCT 1962
• 16 Oct – EX COMM formed – HAWKS and DOVES
• 22 Oct – USA BLOCKADE of Cuba
• 24 Oct – USSR ships approach blockade, stop and turn around
• 26 Oct – Khrushchev sends JFK a letter saying he will withdraw missiles from Cuba
• 27 Oct – USA spy plane shot down over Cuba - pilot killed. USA make a new deal with Khrushchev – USSR will withdraw
weapons from Cuba in exchange, the USA will not invade Cuba and will withdraw its missiles from Turkey in secret
• UN overseas WITHDRAWAL of USSR missiles from Cuba
• USA withdraws missiles from Turkey in secret
13. Czechoslovakian Crisis, 1968
Causes:
•
Alexander Dubcek
became leader of
Czechoslovakia in 1968
•
He made the PRAGUE
SPRING REFORMS in April
1968 which allowed
freedom of speech,
freedom of travel and also
ended censorship
•
Dubcek made it clear that
he wanted Czechoslovakia
to remain Communist, but
that he wanted to create
'socialism with a human
face‘
•
To try and reassure
Brezhnev, Dubcek said he
wouldn't pull
Czechoslovakia out of the
Warsaw Pact (as
Czechoslovakia was on the
edge of the Iron Curtain)
•
Events:
• Brezhnev warned Dubcek
about his actions, saying that
his reforms were going too
far, but Dubcek did nothing
•
•
Czechoslovakia was invaded
by 50,000 Warsaw Pact
•
troops in August 1968
Dubcek told the Czech
people not to fight the
invading troops – they threw
flowers at the tanks instead!
Less than 100 people were
killed
Dubcek was arrested and
taken to Moscow
Consequences:
1. Political: Dubcek was forced to sign the Moscow Protocol
which meant his reforms would be reversed in
Czechoslovakia. Gustav Husak (very strict) replaced Dubcek
as leader
2.
Political/International: Brezhnev Doctrine – “If any Warsaw
Pact country threatens the security of the Eastern Bloc, they
will be invaded by the Warsaw Pact’s army”
3.
International: USA did not get involved – they ‘condemned’
Brezhnev’s actions but they were too busy in Vietnam to
commit money or troops to solving the problem
14. Topic 2 Practice Qs (all 8 marks)
Question
Topics
Explain 2
consequences of…
•
•
•
Hungarian Uprising, 1956
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Election of Alexander Dubcek as leader of
Czechoslovakia
2
Write a narrative
account of…
•
•
•
Key events of the Berlin Crisis, 1968-1961
The Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961
Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968
3
Explain the
importance of the
following to
International
Relations between
the superpowers
•
•
•
•
•
Khrushchev’s Berlin Ultimatum, 1958
Cuban Revolution, 1959
JFK’s speech in Berlin, 1963
Prague Spring, 1968
Brezhnev Doctrine, 1968
1
14. Détente 1 – 1960s
Détente = relaxing tensions
1963
TEST BAN TREATY
• Banned testing of nuclear weapons in
the atmosphere and in space (but
not underground)
HOTLINE
• Telephone line set up between the
White House (USA) and Kremlin (USSR)
1967
OUTER SPACE TREATY
• Created to stop arms race
spreading to outer space
•
Stopped the USA and USSR from
being able to store or use any
nuclear weapons in space
1968
NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
• Neither USA or USSR would supply
nuclear weapons to other states,
nor help them develop
• Stopped superpower conflict
engulfing other areas of the world
14. Détente 2 – 1970s
Détente = relaxing tensions
1972
SALT 1
• Limited the number of nuclear weapons
each superpower could have
• USA = 1500, USSR = 1550 ICBMs
• USA = 41, USSR = 42 Nuclear Subs
• Can scrap old weapons and make new
ones
1975
HELSINKI ACCORDS/AGREEMENTS
• International co-operation
• USA and USSR trade deal – oil and grain
• Share medical knowledge
• Discuss protection of human rights
• NOT ABOUT WEAPONS
1975
APOLLO-SOYUEZ MISSION
• A joint space mission, the US
Apollo and USSR Soyuz
spacecraft was docked in
space
• Marked the beginning of USA
and USSR co-operation and
teamwork in space
• Slowed down the space race
15. Afghanistan, 1979-1989
Causes:
• In April 1978 Muhammed
Taraki, leader of the
PDPA – Communist part
of Afghanistan –
overthrew the
government
Events:
•
25th Dec 1979 - Brezhnev ordered 50,000 USSR troops to invade
Afghanistan to support the Communists
•
27th Dec 1979 – Amin was assassinated
•
23rd Jan 1980 – Jimmy Carter promised to provide aid to countries in the
Persian Gulf. He also issued the ‘Carter Doctrine’ which stated that the
•
•
•
•
Taraki imprisoned and
tortured leading Muslims
In 1979, Hafizullah Amin
became leader of
Afghanistan and
continued the antiIslamic policies
A civil war broke out in
Afghanistan between
the Communists and the
Mujahedeen (Muslims)
Afghanistan is in the
Persian Gulf and
produces 65% of the
world’s oil – a crisis in this
region would be
disastrous
USA would defend its interests (oil) in the Middle East with force
•
The USA provided $32B of weapons and CIA training to the Mujahedeen
•
The invasion was a disaster for the USSR – their tanks were not suitable for
the terrain, they struggled to fight in the unmapped mountains
•
The only good weapon they had was their airplanes –so the USA gave the
Mujahedeen anti-aircraft missiles
Consequences:
1. Political: SALT 2 was not ratified by the US government
2. International: 1980 Moscow Olympics were boycotted by the USA and
other members of NATO. In 1984 the USSR and members of the Warsaw
Pact boycotted the LA Olympics – they held the ‘Friendship Games’
instead
3. Money: Jimmy Carter increased military spending by 5%
4. Political: The USSR were hugely embarrased by their defeat. By the time
they withdrew in 1989, 15,000 soldiers had died
16. Reagan’s Attitude to the USSR
•
In 1981, Ronald Reagan became president of the USA
•
As a strong anti-communist, in 1982 he called the Soviet Union
the "evil empire" and increased spending on arms (weapons)
to $1Trillion
•
The US military developed a stealth bomber which was
invisible to radar and the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI/Star
Wars) using space satellites in 1983
•
Reagan also developed NUTS – where USA weapons would
target USSR warheads, not cities, so their weapons would be
destroyed, not their people
1983 – SDI/STAR WARS:
•
Incoming USSR nuclear missiles would be broken up
by lasers before entering the US atmosphere
•
Cost $60B of tax payers money
•
USSR did not have money or technology to create
their own version
•
USA were in the lead in the arms race once again
17. Gorbachev’s ‘New Thinking’, 1985
1985
Glasnost - Openness
•
•
•
•
Freedom of speech
End to censorship
Freedom of travel
Soviet troops pulled out of Eastern
Europe
1985
Perestroika – Restructuring
•
•
•
•
To improve the USSR economy
Private business allowed
Foreign investment in the USSR and
Eastern Europe
Gorbachev’s reforms did not mean to
weaken Communist control but once
changes started to happen in Eastern Europe,
he found it difficult to contain it
18. Gorbachev and Reagan
Geneva , 1985
•
Gorbachev and Reagan meet for the first
Reykjavik, 1986
•
time
•
R & G agree to remove all weapons from
Europe and cut ICBMs by 50%
Around a log fire, they realised they both
•
Reagan refused to scrap SDI (Star Wars)
wanted to bring the arms race to an end
•
Nothing decided, they would meet again
Washington, 1987
INF Treaty signed
•
Moscow, 1988
•
Gorbachev wanted to remove soldiers
All mid-range nuclear weapons would be
from Eastern Europe, but Reagan
scrapped
disagreed
•
USA would scrap 900 ICBMs
•
USSR would scrap 1800 ICBMs
•
Passed by the USA Seate 93-5
19. Collapse of the USSR, 1989-1991
•
•
Glasnost and Perestroika encouraged
revolutions in Eastern Europe
The USSR did not have the means or
the will to continue to impose military
control
X
September 1989:
• Poland: Communist government
defeated in free elections
October 1989:
• Hungary: Free elections held for the
first time since 1947. Opened its
border with Austria – East Germans
could travel to West Germany
November 1989:
• Germany: Berlin Wall can no longer
prevent East Germans travelling to
West – people start to tear the wall
down – Soviet troops do not stop
them
January 1991
• Warsaw Pact dissolved – no members
left
Gorbachev’s Resignation:
• Although Western leaders saw Gorbachev as a
hero (he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990), in
Russia he was seen as a villain
•
August 1991 – Gang of 8 coup tried to remove
Gorbachev from power. The coup failed
•
25th December 1991 – Gorbachev had become
increasingly weak since the August coup. On
Christmas Day, Gorbachev announced the
dissolution of the USSR and resigned as leader
20. Topic 3 Practice Qs (all 8 marks)
Question
1
Explain 2
consequences of…
2
Write a narrative
account of…
3
Explain the
importance of the
following to
International
Relations between
the superpowers
Topics
•
•
•
•
Test Ban Treaty, 1963
Helsinki Accords, 1975
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, 1979
Gorbachev’s decision to abandon the Brezhnev
Doctrine
•
•
•
Improving superpower relations, 1963-1979
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1979-1989
Key events leading to the break up of the Warsaw
Pact, 1985-1991
•
•
•
•
•
•
SALT 1, 1972
Olympic boycotts in the 1980s
Carter Doctrine, 1980
Reagan’s foreign policy, from 1981
Gorbachev’s ‘New Thinking’, from 1985
INF Treaty, 1987