Crisis in the Cold War

Crisis in the Cold War

1. Czechoslovakia

   • Czechoslovakia rebelled against communism in 1968
   • PRAGUE SPRING
     • Dubcek became Czechoslovakian leader in 1968 and made changes to the country
     • Workers were given greater say in the running of their factories
     • Travel to the west was made available for all
     • Living standards were raised
     • Free elections were to be held
     • Opposition parties would be permitted
   • Dubcek was still a communist...
     • He was careful to reassure the USSR that Czechoslovakia would not leave the Warsaw Pact
   • The USSR were worried - they didn't want the Eastern Bloc to be weakened

2. Cuban Missile Crisis

   • Cuba was only 100 miles from the USA
   • Castro wanted to get rid of American influence
     • Cuban rebels in America plotted an invasion
   • Soviet Nuclear missiles were shipped to Cuba

3. The Hungarian Revolution

   • ... Is an example of one of the many  uprisings which followed the death of Stalin.
   • Soviet policy seemed to be changing under the new leader - Khrushchev.
   • The USSR put Rákosi, a brutal Stalinist, in charge of Hungary
     • His authoritarian regime became increasingly unpopular
       • Authoritarianism is a form of government. It is characterized by the absolute or blind obedience to authority, as against against individual freedom and related to the expectation of unquestioning obedience.
     • The people of Budapest protested against the government of Rákosi
       • The secret police were hunted down.
         • They had executed or imprisoned thousands of Hungarians.
       • Khrushchev allowed the liberal Nagy to become the Hungarian Prime Minister
         • Khrushchev was a Soviet leader who made a secret speech denouncing Stalin's brutality. Khrushchev stressed the need for a peaceful co-exsistence with the West.
         • Nagy hoped that Hungary could also be a neutral state.
           • Austria (which borders Hungary) declared itself a neutral state in 1955.
           • In NOVEMBER 1956 Nagy announced that Hungary would withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and hold free elections - ending communism there.
   • Soviet tanks invaded Hungary in OCTOBER 1956
     • This was ordered by Khrushchev.
     • Nagy was arrested and hanged
       • The Hungarian government asked the UN for help, but the USSR vetoed the draft resolution calling on them to remove their tanks.
       • Kádár became Prime Minister and ensured loyalty to the USSR.
   • Over 20 00 Hungarians were killed
   • Western countries condemned the USSR's actions
     • USA couldn't come to Hungary's aid without risking a nuclear war
       • INSTEAD they used the invasion and anti USSR propaganda

4. U2 Crisis

5. The Berlin Wall

   • Between 1949 and 1961, more than 2.5 million people left East Germany for the West through East Berlin.
     • The communist government of East Germany were worried by this trend.
     • AUGUST 1961 - a 30 mile barrier was built across the city of Berlin overnight.
       • It separated East Berlin from West Berlin
       • It was fortified with:
         • Barbed wire
         • Machine gun posts
       • Anyone who tried to escape East Berlin was shot
       • West Berliners were separated from their relatives in the East - for the next 30 years.

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