The post-Stalin thaw

The Eastern Bloc after Stalin
1. Stalin's Death
  1. 5th March 1953
  2. Raised the possibility of a change within the communist bloc
  3. Raised the possibility of a new relationship between the two superpowers
2. Government was dominated by three men
  1. Georgi Malenkov (Melanie) (1902-1988)
    1. Able, intelligent and well recognized. Knew the limitations of a hard line approach towards the West.
    2. 'New Course' -> War between Capitalism and Communism was no longer inevitable - wanted resources directed away from arms and towards raising living standards
    3. Believed war was a risky strategy
    4. 'New Course was rejected by Khrushchev
    5. Removed from the post of Prime Minister in 1955
  2. Lavrenti Beria (Sinister Sexual Predator) (1899-1953)
    1. Long serving head of the KGB
    2. Offered the West a neutral, reunified Germany (1953)
      1. 'All we want is a peaceful Germany and it makes no difference to us whether or not it is socialist'
    3. East German Uprising 1953
      1. Soviet Troops sent to restore order
      2. 25,000 arrested, 400 executed
      3. Delivered a blow to his foreign policies
      4. Association with the KGB and the less pleasant aspects of Stalins policies were too much for members of the Politburo
      5. Arrested months later
        Accused of being a British Spy and later executed
  3. Nikita Khrushchev (Moon faced Idiot) (1894-1971)
    1. Established leader in 1957
    2. 20th Party Congress -> was highly critical of certain features in Stalin's policies
    3. Began an approach of De-Stalinization
3. Unrest in East Germany Summer 1953
  1. Serious protests against Communism
    1. Series of strikes and major protests across Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia
  2. Walter Ulbricht embarked on an austere socialist programme
    1. Led to low living standards and high levels of inflation
    2. Decision to increase compulsory work quotas by 10% led to large scale strikes and protests
  3. Ulbricht summoned to Moscow and was advised to modify his policies but he refused
    1. Further protests in June 1953 -> forced Soviet leaders to back Ulbricht's regime
      1. Soviet forces sent to crush the anti-communist uprisings -> propaganda disaster for the USSR
4. The foundation of the Warsaw Pact - May 1955
  1. Military alliance between the USSR and seven Eastern European satellite states
  2. Alliance formed in response to the decision of West Germany to join NATO in October 1954
5. Soviet Foreign Policy under Malenkov
  1. 'New Course' led to change in Soviet Policy
    1. 1953 - New Soviet leadership contributed to the peace process in Korea, ending the Korean War
    2. 1954 - New leadership gave up Soviet Military bases in Finland
    3. Soviet leaders improved relations with Marshal Tito
    4. 1955 - AUSTRIAN TREATY - Austria reunited and the Russian Army withdrew from Austria, and Austria was recognized as a neutral Country
    5. Soviet Army cut by around 20%
Eisenhower's 'New Look'
1. Eisenhower as President
  1. Replaced Truman as president of the US in January 1953
  2. Former Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Western Europe from 1943 and later the first commander of NATO
  3. Came into office promising to stand up to Communism
2. Eisenhower's foreign policy
  1. Determined to introduce a 'New Look foreign policy
    1. Initiated OPERATION SOLARIUM - full review of US policy options
  2. Appointed an experience foreign policy team led by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles
  3. OPERATION SOLARIUM established the following basic principles to guide US foreign policy
    1. National Security
      1. Was to include the defence of democratic and capitalist values as well as geographical territory
    2. Defence Budget
      1. Great concern about the size of the budget inherited from Truman
      2. Felt it was vital to achieve the appropriate balance between defence needs and other spending priorities
      3. Decided to cut conventional forces and concentrate on the nuclear arsenal
3. Eisenhower and Nuclear Weapons
  1. Had no illusions about the consequences of nuclear conflict and believed the leaders of the Kremlin would not seek Nuclear Confrontation
  2. Had no time for the concept of limited strikes
  3. Believed in the threat of massive retaliation - would deter a Soviet offensive
  4. 'We must only plan for total war because it is the only way to preclude any war'
4. Fighting Communism in the Third World
  1. Believed that nuclear weapons would deter war between the First World and the Second World
  2. Had a different approach to stopping Communism in the Third World
    1. Covert Action
      1. Planned and carried out by the CIA
      2. CIA expanded from seven stations across the globe to 47 during Eisenhower's presidency
      3. 1953 - 1958 -> CIA intervened against perceived Socialist threats in Iran and Guatamala
      4. Failed attempt to remove the Sukarno Regime in Indonesia
    2. New network of alliances would be developed to safeguard the US's allies
      1. CENTO
      2. SEATO
5. Problems Facing Eisenhower
  1. 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
    1. Western Europe - countries were also trying to cut their defence spending
  2. Often Confused Third World Nationalism with Communism
    1. Missed opportunities - Asia and the Middle East
  3. 1957 - Sputnik
    1. Important Soviet Propaganda victory with the successful test of an ICBM and the launch of Sputnik
      1. 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

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