Crisis in the Cold War

Nota:

• Czechoslovakia rebelled against communism in 1968

1. PRAGUE SPRING

   Nota:

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

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

Nota:

• ... 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.

1. The USSR put Rákosi, a brutal Stalinist, in charge of Hungary
   1. His authoritarian regime became increasingly unpopular

      Nota:

      • 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.
   2. The people of Budapest protested against the government of Rákosi
      1. The secret police were hunted down.

         Nota:

         • They had executed or imprisoned thousands of Hungarians.
      2. Khrushchev allowed the liberal Nagy to become the Hungarian Prime Minister

         Nota:

         • 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.
         1. Nagy hoped that Hungary could also be a neutral state.

            Nota:

            • Austria (which borders Hungary) declared itself a neutral state in 1955.
            1. In NOVEMBER 1956 Nagy announced that Hungary would withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and hold free elections - ending communism there.
2. Soviet tanks invaded Hungary in OCTOBER 1956

   Nota:

   • This was ordered by Khrushchev.
   1. Nagy was arrested and hanged
      1. The Hungarian government asked the UN for help, but the USSR vetoed the draft resolution calling on them to remove their tanks.
      2. Kádár became Prime Minister and ensured loyalty to the USSR.
3. Over 20 00 Hungarians were killed
4. Western countries condemned the USSR's actions
   1. USA couldn't come to Hungary's aid without risking a nuclear war
      1. INSTEAD they used the invasion and anti USSR propaganda

1. Between 1949 and 1961, more than 2.5 million people left East Germany for the West through East Berlin.
   1. The communist government of East Germany were worried by this trend.
   2. AUGUST 1961 - a 30 mile barrier was built across the city of Berlin overnight.

      Nota:

      • It separated East Berlin from West Berlin
      1. It was fortified with:
         1. Barbed wire
         2. Machine gun posts
      2. Anyone who tried to escape East Berlin was shot
      3. West Berliners were separated from their relatives in the East - for the next 30 years.