The post-Stalin thaw

The post-Stalin thaw

1. The Eastern Bloc after Stalin

   • Stalin's Death
     • 5th March 1953
     • Raised the possibility of a change within the communist bloc
     • Raised the possibility of a new relationship between the two superpowers
   • Government was dominated by three men
     • Georgi Malenkov (Melanie) (1902-1988)
       • Able, intelligent and well recognized. Knew the limitations of a hard line approach towards the West.
       • 'New Course' -> War between Capitalism and Communism was no longer inevitable - wanted resources directed away from arms and towards raising living standards
       • Believed war was a risky strategy
       • 'New Course was rejected by Khrushchev
       • Removed from the post of Prime Minister in 1955
     • Lavrenti Beria (Sinister Sexual Predator) (1899-1953)
       • Long serving head of the KGB
       • Offered the West a neutral, reunified Germany (1953)
         • 'All we want is a peaceful Germany and it makes no difference to us whether or not it is socialist'
       • East German Uprising 1953
         • Soviet Troops sent to restore order
         • 25,000 arrested, 400 executed
         • Delivered a blow to his foreign policies
         • Association with the KGB and the less pleasant aspects of Stalins policies were too much for members of the Politburo
         • Arrested months later
           • Accused of being a British Spy and later executed
     • Nikita Khrushchev (Moon faced Idiot) (1894-1971)
       • Established leader in 1957
       • 20th Party Congress -> was highly critical of certain features in Stalin's policies
       • Began an approach of De-Stalinization
   • Unrest in East Germany Summer 1953
     • Serious protests against Communism
       • Series of strikes and major protests across Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia
     • Walter Ulbricht embarked on an austere socialist programme
       • Led to low living standards and high levels of inflation
       • Decision to increase compulsory work quotas by 10% led to large scale strikes and protests
     • Ulbricht summoned to Moscow and was advised to modify his policies but he refused
       • Further protests in June 1953 -> forced Soviet leaders to back Ulbricht's regime
         • Soviet forces sent to crush the anti-communist uprisings -> propaganda disaster for the USSR
   • The foundation of the Warsaw Pact - May 1955
     • Military alliance between the USSR and seven Eastern European satellite states
     • Alliance formed in response to the decision of West Germany to join NATO in October 1954
   • Soviet Foreign Policy under Malenkov
     • 'New Course' led to change in Soviet Policy
       • 1953 - New Soviet leadership contributed to the peace process in Korea, ending the Korean War
       • 1954 - New leadership gave up Soviet Military bases in Finland
       • Soviet leaders improved relations with Marshal Tito
       • 1955 - AUSTRIAN TREATY - Austria reunited and the Russian Army withdrew from Austria, and Austria was recognized as a neutral Country
       • Soviet Army cut by around 20%

2. Eisenhower's 'New Look'

   • Eisenhower as President
     • Replaced Truman as president of the US in January 1953
     • Former Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Western Europe from 1943 and later the first commander of NATO
     • Came into office promising to stand up to Communism
   • Eisenhower's foreign policy
     • Determined to introduce a 'New Look foreign policy
       • Initiated OPERATION SOLARIUM - full review of US policy options
     • Appointed an experience foreign policy team led by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles
     • OPERATION SOLARIUM established the following basic principles to guide US foreign policy
       • National Security
         • Was to include the defence of democratic and capitalist values as well as geographical territory
       • Defence Budget
         • Great concern about the size of the budget inherited from Truman
         • Felt it was vital to achieve the appropriate balance between defence needs and other spending priorities
         • Decided to cut conventional forces and concentrate on the nuclear arsenal
   • Eisenhower and Nuclear Weapons
     • Had no illusions about the consequences of nuclear conflict and believed the leaders of the Kremlin would not seek Nuclear Confrontation
     • Had no time for the concept of limited strikes
     • Believed in the threat of massive retaliation - would deter a Soviet offensive
     • 'We must only plan for total war because it is the only way to preclude any war'
   • Fighting Communism in the Third World
     • Believed that nuclear weapons would deter war between the First World and the Second World
     • Had a different approach to stopping Communism in the Third World
       • Covert Action
         • Planned and carried out by the CIA
         • CIA expanded from seven stations across the globe to 47 during Eisenhower's presidency
         • 1953 - 1958 -> CIA intervened against perceived Socialist threats in Iran and Guatamala
         • Failed attempt to remove the Sukarno Regime in Indonesia
       • New network of alliances would be developed to safeguard the US's allies
         • CENTO
         • SEATO
   • Problems Facing Eisenhower
     • Result of his determination to cut spending, he expected allies to develop their own ground forces while the US supplied the Nuclear weapons - DID NOT HAPPEN
       • Western Europe - countries were also trying to cut their defence spending
     • Often Confused Third World Nationalism with Communism
       • Missed opportunities - Asia and the Middle East
     • 1957 - Sputnik
       • Important Soviet Propaganda victory with the successful test of an ICBM and the launch of Sputnik
         • Fears grew that there was missile gap and that the US was vulnerable
           • Political opponents of Eisenhower stoked up fears and created an impression that the Eisenhower had been negligent on his watch
             • U2 spy planes showed this was not the case