The Cold War

Definition
 A period of prolonged confrontation, tension and rivalry between the USA and
The Soviet Union and their respective allies from the end of World War II to
the end of the 1980s. The period is characterised by mutual mistrust and
suspicion of each other’s intentions.
 The confrontation was generated and sustained by a clash of ideological
interests and was underpinned by a nuclear arms race and a permanent
threatening shadow over the politics of the world.
 There was no actual fighting or “hot” war. However, there were occasional
areas of conventional warfare in which the super powers supported opposing
sides – wars by proxy such as in Korea, Vietnam and China.

Cold War Leaders:

USA USSR
1945- 1953 Harry Truman 1927 - Josef Stalin
1953
1954 - Dwight Eisenhower 1953 - George Malenkof
1961 1955
1961 - John F. Kennedy 1955 - Nikita Khrushchev
1963 1964
1963 - Lyndon B. Johnson 1964 - Leonard Brezhnev
1968 1982
1969 - Richard Nixon 1982 - Yuri Andropov
1974 1984
1981 - Ronald Reagan 1984 - Konstantin Chernenko
1989 1985
1989 - George Bush 1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev
1993 1991

Our focus will be on the Cold War in Germany as it became the “playground” for both
sides.

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 The Roots of the Cold War
Although we refer to the Cold War beginning in 1945, it has its roots much earlier in
history.

Tension between the USA and the USSR before

World War II (Long term Causes)
1. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 – communism is born in Russia under
Lenin. Lenin withdrew Russia from World War I. The west feels abandoned by
Russia and suspicious of communism.

2. Civil War 1918 – The USA and her allies – the “Whites”- fought against the
“Reds” – this caused the communists to feel threatened and betrayed by the
West.

3. Competing ideologies – Communism and Capitalism are directly opposed to

each other.

AMERICAN CAPITALISM

 People should be free to make as much money as they can.

 Factories and other property should be owned by individuals and companies.
 The government should interfere as little as possible in the lives of ordinary
people.
 At elections people should be allowed to choose anyone they want for the
government.
 The Press should be allowed to criticise the government.
 The government should not interfere with religion.

SOVIET COMMUNISM

 Rich people are wicked and selfish. They should be forced to share their
wealth.
 Factories and other property should be owned by the state on behalf of all the
people.
 A communist government should get involved in every aspect of life.
 At elections people should only be allowed to choose communists for
government.
 The Press should never criticise a communist government.
 Religious belief is nonsense and should be wiped out by the government.

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 4. Stalin’s policies during his reign (1927 onwards)– The USA disliked his
dictatorial and violent approach to power. The Purges resulted in 40 million
Russians being murdered by Stalin.

5. Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler in 1939 – this caused the
West to mistrust the USSR who were seen to appease Hitler and tolerate
German Nazi aggression against the West

Tension between the USA and the USSR during

World War II (Medium Term Causes)
Between 1941 and 1945 the USA and USSR were uneasy allies only because they
had a common enemy un Germany. They united with a common goal to defeat Nazi
Germany. Hitler defied his non-aggression pact with Stalin and invaded the USSR in
1941.

1. The West delayed opening a 2nd front in 1941 to assist Russia when she
was attacked by Germany. When Stalin asked the Allies for assistance, they
delayed responding and sent troops to North Africa instead. Russia
experienced massive losses initially and blamed the West. Suspicion and
mistrust increased.

2. The USA remained silent and secretive about testing the atomic bomb
and did not inform the USSR of their decision to drop the bomb on Japan in
August 1945. (FDR started this program and Truman continued it after FDRs
death). In reality, Stalin knew of the program but was still mistrustful of the
West.

After World War II and the defeat of Nazi Germany there seemed to be no need for
this uneasy alliance.

Shortly before his death, Hitler predicted the start of the cold war.

‘After the collapse of the German Reich, and until there is a

rise in nationalism in Asia, African or Latin America, there will
only be two powers in the world: The United States and
Soviet Russia. Through the laws of history and geographical
position these giants are destined to struggle with each other
either through war, or through rivalry in economics and
political idea.’ Hitler’s Political Testament, April 1945

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Tension after World War II centred around the
decisions taken over the partition and
administration of Germany. (Immediate Causes)
Yalta Conference
February 1945 (Before Germany had surrendered) –
Leaders present to discuss the issue of Germany: “The Big 3” - Churchill, Stalin and
Roosevelt

Agreements reached at Yalta:

 Once war was over - 3 zones of occupation in Germany (British, USA and
Russian) Later a French Zone was added
 Berlin would be divided similarly into 3 zones
 Eastern boarder of Germany to be Oder Neisse Line. German territory east of
this line to go to Poland – (This is in compensation for Polish land lost to
USSR in 1939)
 War criminals to go on trial
 Stalin agreed to declare war on Japan 2/3 months after defeat of Nazi
Germany
 Special commission put in place to determine Germany’s reparations to Allies
 Strict control of German industries in the future
 Free and fair elections in countries liberated from Nazi control
 Agreements reached on voting rights for the UNO. Leaders agreed to meet in
April to settle final details

April 1945: FDR died – replaced by Truman

UNO formed at meeting in San Francisco

May 1945: Germany surrendered – war in Europe ended but continued

in the Pacific

June 1945: USA tested Atomic Bomb

Potsdam Conference

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 July/August 1945
Leaders present to continue discussions about Germany: Stalin, Clement Atlee
(who replaced Churchill who had lost elections in UK), Truman (FDR had died in
April)

Various changes had occurred since the conference at Yalta:

 Red Army was firmly in control in Eastern Europe – Satellite States had been
formed under USSR control
 War had ended in Europe
 Communist government in Poland
 Roosevelt replaced by Truman in USA – he was openly hostile towards Stalin
and communism unlike FDR
 Winston Churchill replaced by Clement Atlee – he was inexperienced
 US secrecy over atomic bomb caused suspicion between Stalin and USA
 Of the Big 3, only Stalin remained

There were fundamental differences in opinion about the treatment of Germany in

comparison to what was decided at Yalta.

Decisions taken at Potsdam:

 4 zones of occupation (France to have a share) to be ruled by military
governors, under Allied Control Council (ACC)
 Berlin divided into 4 zones – each to have an army of occupation
 Economic issues of each zone to be co-ordinated by ACC
 Compromised agreement about reparations
 Germany to be disarmed and Nazism stamped out
 Germany to remain united as one country

BUT attempts to run Germany through ACC failed.

WHY?
Clash over reparations – Stalin did not keep his side of the agreement.

Political and economic differences between western zones and USSR

August 1945: USA dropped A-bomb on Hiroshima (6 Aug) and Nagasaki (9

Aug)
Japan surrendered (15 Aug)

Soviet expansion into eastern Europe

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After 1945 the Soviet Union took control of much of Eastern Europe. Historians are
still debating the motives behind this take-over. Was this a defensive move or was
this a step towards a take-over of the whole of Europe?

The Soviet take-over was completed by 1948 but it began before the end of WW2.
As countries were liberated from the Germans, the Red Army made sure
governments friendly towards the Soviets replaced the Nazi imposed governments.
In most countries the Soviet government set up anti-fascist coalition governments
but gave local communists a leading position.

These communist-dominated governments introduced nationalisation and took land

away from the landlords. Opposition parties were undermined. Elections were
rigged. Eventually all opposition was destroyed and Soviet control was complete!

By 1946, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria all had coalition governments

consisting of communist and non-communist governments. But all were essentially
loyal to the Soviet Union. These states became known as Satellite States.
Yugoslavia and Albania also became communist countries but the communists in
these countries were strong and had support of the people after the War.

Churchill’s Iron Curtain

Speech
In 1946, Winston Churchill travelled to
America and made a very famous
speech in which he made observations
regarding an “iron curtain” having
descended over Europe. This was an
invisible, ideological line that
separated the capitalist west from the
communist east.

Why did Stalin want to establish control over eastern

Europe?

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Stalin justified his expansion as follows: He was concerned about the future security
of the Soviet Union and wanted to safeguard the Soviet Union from any future attack.
The satellite states would therefore ensure loyal governments along the borders of
the Soviet Union. These states would act as a “buffer” between him and the west. In
particular, Stalin wanted to ensure that Germany could never again invade the
borders of the Soviet Union. The satellite states would also act as trading partners
with the Soviet Union and their raw materials could be used to help bolster the
industrialisation of the Soviet Union and help her to recover after the devastation of
World War II where Russia experienced massive losses – the most of all allies in the
war.

However, the west viewed this expansion and control of Eastern Europe as
aggressive and deliberate. The spread of communism threatened the freedoms of
countries and should be contained at all costs.

The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan

Traditionally American foreign policy was based on isolationism: having as little to
do as possible with international politics. The Soviet take-over forced American
politicians to think again and to reject traditional thinking.

How did the USA react to the Soviet take-over of eastern Europe?
After 1945 the USA moved away from isolationism and built up its own ‘sphere of
interest’: a group of pro-American states that included all of the world’s richest
industrialised countries.

The Truman doctrine (The Political Response)

This is also known as the Policy of Containment)
In February 1947 the British government stated that they could no longer afford to
pay for troops in Greece and Turkey who were fighting communist take-overs in civil
wars. Unless America replaced British support in these countries, they could come
under Soviet control. So Truman decided to offer American financial help to Greece
and Turkey.

He went further and declared that American support was available for any people
who wanted to fight communism. This became known as the Truman Doctrine. It
was based on the idea of containment – the USA would use its wealth and
power to stop or contain the spread of communism. It was not an action but
rather a political statement.

Through the Truman Doctrine the USA had rejected isolationism and announced it
would play a leading role in world politics.

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The Marshall Plan (The Economic Response)
(The Truman Doctrine was translated into action via the Marshall Plan)

The USA committed millions of dollars to assist Europe to rebuild after World War II
as there was a belief that communism could only be stopped if Western Europe
became wealthy. By the spring of 1947 it was clear that without American help there
was little chance of economic recovery.
In June 1947, General George Marshall (minister of foreign affairs) announced the
scheme whereby the USA would offer economic aid to Western Europe. This money
was available to all countries; including the Soviet Union in theory. But Stalin refused
to have anything to do with it, and also ordered Poland and Czechoslovakia to not
take part as well. He saw the plan as an attempt to impose capitalist ideas on
European countries. Stalin was right. The Plan was based on a belief that
communism would be much less attractive to ordinary people if they had good jobs
and were well paid.

The Plan was a great success. Over four years, $13,000 million of help was
provided. By 1952 when the Marshall Plan officially ended, the countries were much
more economically prosperous. The Plan was also useful to the USA as by
rebuilding Western Europe, America was creating wealthy trade partners who would
want to buy large amounts of American goods.

Communists in Western countries were told to wreck the Marshall Plan through
strikes. Stalin viewed the Marshall Plan as a deliberate attempt on behalf of the USA
to spread capitalism and spread her influence in Europe to her own benefit. Stalin
viewed The Marshall Plan as ‘dollar diplomacy” and capitalist propaganda. Despite
the strikes, American money flowed into Western Europe and eventually the
demonstrations and strikes came to an end. Stalin forbid the Satellite States to
accept Marshall Aid.

Thus the Marshall Plan aggravated Cold War Tensions and some
historians call it the “first shot fired in the Cold War”.

The Soviet response to American Actions

In 1947, Cominform (Communist Information Bureau) was set up to

strengthen the links between communist parties in different countries. All Communist
countries in eastern Europe would from now on speak with one voice – that of
Moscow.

Comecon (Council of Mutual Economic Assistance)

Having failed to destroy the Marshall Plan, the USSR created its own economic bloc
of countries in Eastern Europe. In January 1949 Comecon was set up. It was a
trading organisation of communist countries but was nowhere near as successful as
the Marshall Plan. It did not involve any injection of money into East European

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countries and eventually the Soviet Union used it to encourage each country to
specialise in different products.

The Berlin Crises 1947 - 1961

The first Berlin Crisis: The Berlin Blockade and the
Western Airlift 1948 -1949
Background
One of the points reached at Potsdam was that each Allied nation could extract
reparations from its zones. Russia, which had suffered the greatest losses, was also
allowed to extract reparations from the western zones (machinery, minerals etc...)
But in return, Russia had to supply the western zones with food. Stalin failed to live
up to this promise.

To take revenge for the war and to keep Germany weak, Russia plundered her zone
and the western zones into depression. Stalin also ensured that the Communist
Party rose to great strength in the eastern zone of Germany (hoping to spread
communism to the western zones of the country eventually)

The Western Allis began to view the economic recovery of the

western zones of Germany as a priority:
 They would help to prevent the spread of communism to the western zones –
encourage capitalism and democracy to return to Germany (remember that
Nazism was not a democracy – Fascism was also a totalitarian regime under
Hitler)
 Rebuild western zones of Germany into major trading partner with Europe.
Rebuilding would be achieved largely through Marshall Aid Plan.
 Results of Marshall Aid in western zones was obvious – Trizonia economy
began to recover rapidly while Soviet zone’s economy stagnated.
 This was a problem for Stalin – Germans in soviet zone would start to become
restless and move to the west.

Currency reform in the Western Zones (Trizonia)

The issue to finally end all co-operations between Russia and the western allies was
that of introducing a new currency into the western zones. The old Reich mark had
become worthless due to hyperinflation after the war. The western zones introduced

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the new currency – the Deutsch Mark (DM). At an ACC meeting, negotiations
around this issue broke down and Stalin walked out of the meeting. The western
allies introduced the DM into their zones of Germany and Berlin and Russia
introduced her own currency reform into the soviet zone of Germany and Berlin.

This action prompted Stalin

to blockade Berlin (June
1948) by blocking all land
routes into West Berlin (roads,
railways and canals) and
cutting electricity supplies from
Eastern zones to western
zones. Stalin hoped that this
action would force the West to
surrender their zones of Berlin.

The West faced a challenge –

do they abandon their 2.5
million West Berliners or try to
feed them using only access
routes into the city by air? To
surrender West Berlin would be
a major victory for communism
– and so the Allies decided to
stage a major airlift into West
Berlin to supply those people with food, coal and other supplies. Through winter of
1948/9 for 10 months, aircraft and pilots kept the city alive.

Stalin could not prevent the airlift unless he chose to shoot down the transport
aircraft – this was too risky because the USA possessed the atomic bomb (USSR
had not yet perfected their bomb). America had based their Super fortress aircraft
capable of carrying the atomic bomb, in the US zone of Germany.

May 1949 – Stalin lifted the blockade.

Results and Significance of the Berlin Blockade and Berlin

Airlift:
 The airlift was a victory for the West within the context of the Cold War

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  The airlift demonstrated to the West Berliners that the Western Allies were
prepared to fight for them and their freedom
 This episode ended ALL further negotiations and co-operation between
East and West – Stalin and communism was seen as the enemy of Western
Europe
 Truman doctrine (of containment) was seen to be a reality that worked
 NATO was formed by Western Allies
 Germany becomes divided into TWO countries – separate from each
other:
 The West combine their three zones to create German Federal Republic
(GFR) in May 1949 (became fully independent in 1955 with Bonn as the
capital)
 Russia sets up the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the Eastern
Zone (Fully independent in 1955 – East Berlin as the capital)

Germany had become the major ‘Battlefield of the Cold War in Europe and
would remain the focal point in the next two decades.

The formation of NATO

The Western allies formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in April 1949.
This was essentially a collaborative security organisation against the power of the
Soviet Union. (NATO members: USA, Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Iceland, Luxembourg, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Portugal. In 1952
Greece and Turkey joined and in 1955 West Germany joined.

The organisation was dominated by America, reflected in the fact that every supreme
commander of NATO has been American. The formation of NATO was a milestone
in American foreign policy. Never before had the USA been a member of a
peacetime military alliance. The fact that Truman broke with all traditions of
American foreign policy shows how determined he was to stop the spread of
communism.

All NATO members agreed to go to war if any one of them was attacked. The
alliance was supported with large numbers of troops on the ground. There was a
permanent presence of American forces in Europe. In particular there were large
numbers of NATO forces in West Germany. The Soviet Union felt threatened
by this, which increased when West Germany joined NATO in 1955.

WARSAW PACT – the USSRs response to NATO

The Soviet Union responded to NATO by setting up its own military alliance in 1955
– prompted by West Germany joining NATO. This was established under a treaty

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called the Warsaw Pact. For the next three decades NATO and Warsaw Pact forces
faced each other and prepared for war.

The Warsaw Pact was based in Moscow and was essentially a collective security
organisation against the threat of NATO. The Soviet Union controlled all decisions of
the pact inside all satellite states and through this, the Soviet Union essentially
maintained control over satellite states by keeping troops stationed inside each state.
These troops would keep the satellite states compliant and squash any uprisings
against communism. Satellite states became markets for soviet military hardware
and they had to trade with the Soviet Union and no one else.

The second Berlin Crisis – the Workers Revolt 1953

It was becoming obviously clear that the standard of living in west Berlin and West
Germany was much higher than that in east Berlin and East Germany. This was
causing problems for the government of East Germany (GDR). The East German
government decided to increase the working hours of German workers in order to
increase output by a suggested 10% and improve the economy of East Germany.

This was an attempt to improve the lives of east Berliners and East Germans in an
attempt to stop them from leaving and flooding into west Berlin and then to West
Germany. Berlin was a “hole in the Iron Curtain”.

The workers reacted violently by rioting and protesting to the governments new
proposed working hours.

The Russian troops in east Berlin and East Germany had to crush the uprising
violently. Soviet tanks arrived en masse in East Berlin. This action resulted in many
more people flooding to the west in response to the oppression of the Russian troops
inside East Germany. As life deteriorated, the hole in the iron curtain was becoming
an increasing concern for the Russians. The most wealthy and productive people
were the ones leaving through the “hole” – the Brain Drain affected the economy of
East Germany and threatened the collapse of East Germany itself.

Khrushchev and co-existence

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 Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union from the late 1920s to
1953. His regime was cruel and repressive, using secret police and
force. When Stalin died in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became the new
leader (1955) who immediately started to relax the Soviet state’s
grip on its citizens.

In 1956, Khrushchev made a secret speech to the Communist

Party, denouncing Stalin as a cruel tyrant.

Statues of Stalin came down, cities were renamed, the secret police became less
active, and more consumer goods were produced. This whole process was called
‘destalinisation’. It was very popular in the Soviet Union, as the Soviet people
seemed to be gaining more freedom – this made it more popular in the West too.
Khrushchev had a different attitude to the West as well. He replaced the old policy of
confrontation with peaceful co-existence. The USSR would recognise the Western
powers’ right to exist – this led to a ‘thaw’ in the Cold War.

However ‘destalinisation’ encouraged people in the satellite states of Eastern Europe

and they expected similar changes. They tried to weaken Soviet influence in their
countries.

These satellite states and the West had misunderstood Khrushchev’s motives. He
wasn’t going to grant widespread concessions in the satellite states, as this could
lead to the end of communism in Eastern Europe and the destruction of the Soviet
buffer against the West.

Revolts in East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia were ruthlessly put down,
ending the ‘thaw’ in the Cold War.

The Third Berlin Crisis: The Berlin Wall 1961

Despite Khrushchev’s policy of peaceful co-existence, he challenged the Western
presence in Berlin. A summit meeting was held in Vienna in June 1961 between
Kennedy and Khrushchev. Khrushchev demanded that the west abandon West
Berlin and recognise that Germany was a permanently divided country. Khrushchev
also demanded that the west recognise the government of the GDR.

Kennedy refused the demands and maintained that Germany must reunite and be a
free, democratic country. Kennedy sent more troops to Berlin as he was not
prepared to be intimidated. Refugees from East Germany continued to pour into
West Germany via the “hole” in the iron curtain.

Berlin: an embarrassment to the USSR

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 1. American aid had made West Berlin into a showpiece of capitalism.
2. West Berliners enjoyed luxury goods whilst East Berliners were suffering with
long hours and food shortages.
3. East Berlin tried to rebel in 1953, but this was suppressed by the Soviet army.
4. East Berliners were fleeing to West Berlin: more than 2 million had fled by
1961. Around 2000 skilled workers were leaving for the West every day.This
was easy to do as there weren’t strong fortifications between the two sides of
Berlin.
5. Western governments used Berlin as headquarters for spying

The Russians were faced

with the embarrassment of
trying to explain why so
many people were
desperate to escape to the
capitalist west. Khrushchev
decided to make it
impossible for East
Berliners to travel to West
Berlin by building the
“Berlin Wall”.

In August 1961 East

German police began to
seal off east Berlin by
building a wall around West
Berlin. Later barbed wire, guard dogs, trip wires and other refinements were added
and Berlin became a divided city with a solid border around West Berlin in the Soviet
controlled East Germany (German Democratic Republic GDR)

There was no free access from east to west Berlin except via controlled access
points such as “Checkpoint Charlie” in the American zone of Berlin. Over the years
there were many escape attempts by people who were desperate to escape to the
west.

If anyone tried to cross the wall, they were shot. In the first year after the wall was
built, 41 East Berliners were shot trying to cross the wall. Families and friends were
separated. East Berliners saw the wall as a sign of inferiority in comparison to the
West Berliners and the wall was seen in the west as a “wall of shame” and a visible
symbol of communism.

Relations between the superpowers strained considerably.

The Americans used the Berlin Wall for propaganda: if the communist system was
so perfect, why was it necessary to turn it into a prison?

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In 1963 Kennedy visited West Berlin. They applauded him warmly when he declared,
‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ (I am a Berliner). He promised the USA’s commitment and that
they would never desert West Berlin.

The Soviets saw this visit and speech as a deliberate attempt to cause trouble.

Who gained and who lost from the building of the Berlin wall?
1. Flow of refugees stopped which allowed the communists to consolidate their
control over East Germany.
2. Enemies of communism could argue that communism was so awful that
people had to be walled in to make sure that they did not run away from
communism.
3. People in East Germany who did not support communism were trapped
4. The building of the wall was the beginning of a period of calm in Europe. On
both sides people accepted that there was no immediate prospect of change
but tensions increased in the Cold War and both sides resumed nuclear
testing.

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 The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
An example of containment and brinkmanship in the Cold War

Tensions between the

superpowers stretched
beyond Europe and into
Asia, the Middle East
and Latin America.
Events in Latin America
brought tensions to a
height never seen in any
other area and the two
Superpowers faced
each other on the brink
of war. This event was
the Cuban Missile
Crisis. It developed after a communist revolution in Cuba which provided an ally for
the USSR close to the American mainland. The creation of Cuba as an ally of the
USSR directly challenged the USA’s policy of containing the spread of communism.

The tactic of ‘Brinkmanship’ was a feature of the Cold War. Both the USSR and
the USA tried to push each other to see just how much they could get away with
before the opposing side would react. These pushing each other to the ‘brink’ of an
open declaration of war was a dangerous tactic once both sides possessed nuclear
weapons as the threat of MAD (mutually assured destruction) was very real.

BACKGROUND
The nuclear arms race

When the USA dropped nuclear bombs on Japan in 1945, the USSR viewed this as
a threat to her security. By 1949, the USSR had in her possession her own nuclear
bomb. This unleashed a nuclear arms race between the superpowers. By 1961,
both the USSR and the USA had large stores of short and medium-range nuclear
missiles and were working on long-range missiles. The USA was at an advantage
as she could store her missiles in Europe, within range to attack the USSR at any
moment. The USSR did not have the same ability to reach mainland USA since
long-range missiles had not yet been developed and the Soviet Union did not have
military bases near enough to the USA to be able to use medium-range missiles.

The Cuban Revolution 1959

Cuba is an island about 145km off the coast of the United States. Traditionally,
Cuba had been dominated by her powerful neighbour, the USA. The USA had a
large naval base on the island at Guantanamo Bay. American companies controlled
much of the economic wealth of Cuba. This included oil refineries, mines, cattle

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ranches, hotels and railways. Cuba was a popular destination for American tourists.
The USA also purchased the bulk of Cuba’s main exported product – sugar.

However American investment did not translate to the wealth of ordinary Cuban
citizens. Many Cubans were poor peasants and illiterate. There was a dire shortage
of teachers, doctors and hospitals. Only a very small percentage (3%) of the Cuban
population were very wealthy and owned about 50% of the land. In 1952 a Cuban
anti-communist dictator seized power in Cuba. He was Fulgencio Batista.

He had the support of the wealthy industrialists, bankers,

land owners and the army. The USA also supported
Batista’s take over as he was anti-communist and they
were interested in maintaining their business interests in
Cuba. However, Batista was a corrupt, ruthless dictator.
Batista lasted until 1959 when a group of Revolutionaries
staged a coup and took control of Cuba. These
Revolutionaries were led by Fidel Castro.

Batista fled into exile in the USA along with many of

the wealthy industrialists, bankers and landowners that
had supported him to their own benefit. When Castro
and his supporters marched into the capital, Havana in
January 1959, they were met with much support and
welcomed by huge demonstrations in the city. People
had grown tired of the corruption suffered at the hands
of Batista and did not trust Castro either.

The American response to the Cuban Revolution

The US Government was immediately suspicious of Castro’s Government. At first,
Castro was not sympathetic to Communism and was a Nationalist who wanted to
free Cuba of the influence of the USA and assist the poor Cuban peasants who had
been exploited for so long. In order to do this, he introduced socialist reforms but
was undecided about adopting communist political order.
Castro set about introducing
1) land reforms to benefit the peasants,
2) collectivised agriculture to try and stimulate production and
3) nationalised transport and some industries.

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These moves antagonised US economic interests and many US businesses faced
major losses in a market that had previously been so lucrative.
The USA responded to Castro’s actions by
1) banning Cuban sugar imports to the USA (a trade embargo) and
2) broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba (this involves breaking ties between
ambassadors and embassies) - the US Government hoped that this would force
Castro’s Government to change its policies.

Castro, now needed an economic trading partner owing to the worsening relationship
with the USA. He sought a partner in Khrushchev and the USSR who were looking
to build a military base close to the USA. This partnership infuriated President
Kennedy who was determined to contain communism which now seemed to be at
the doorstep of the USA. This would pose a great threat to American security.
Kennedy was convinced that Castro would turn Cuba into a communist country.

Thousands of Soviet technicians and advisors began to flood into Cuba in

order to support Castro in his efforts to Nationalise and industrialise. Kennedy
became increasingly concerned that Castro was indeed becoming a communist.
The USA were concerned that the Soviets would use Cuba as a stepping stone to
spreading communism throughout Central and South America.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion

The US Government, aided by the CIA, armed the exiled Cuban middle-class people
that had fled Cuba to the USA once Castro had taken over in 1959. These armed
people were transported the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba to begin to
attack Castro’s forces. They landed in the Bay of Pigs in August 1961 but their
attempt to defeat Castro was a disaster. Castro’s forces easily defeated the invaders
and all of the exiled forces were killed in their attempt or taken prisoner.

Results of the Bay

of Pigs disaster
The loss was an
embarrassment to the
USA as it became public
knowledge that the USA
had been involved in the attack – this was an illegal attempt to overthrow an
independent country. The whole affair had been badly planned and carried out.

Castro announced that he was a communist and would support communist

ideology in Cuba. He began to turn to the USSR for increased military and economic
support. The USSR immediately sent thousands of soviet arms and weapons to
protect Cuba from future aggression from the USA. Many Historians say that it
was the fact that the USA had supported the Bay of Pigs invasion that forced
Castro into a firm alliance with the Soviet Union.

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The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
In an attempt to protect Cuba from another invasion from the USA, as well as to
appease his new ally, Fidel Castro agreed to allow the Soviet Union to build nuclear
missile bases in Cuba. The USSR felt threatened by NATO missile bases in Turkey.

In October 1962, American spy planes flew over Cuba on a routine mission to check
on military activity on the island. One of the pilots took detailed photographs of a
nuclear weapons site.

Aerial photograph of
Soviet Missile base as
photographed by spy
planes

Once the CIA had

analysed the
photographs, it was
painfully clear that the
USSR had supplied the
bases with nuclear
weapons and were
constructing missile
bases. In addition, it
was discovered that Soviet ships carrying more weapons were en route to Cuba.
The USA viewed this as a direct threat to the security of its people. The medium-
range missiles were within easy range of most of America’s largest cities.

Detailed events of the Cuban Missile Crisis

 Initially, the US Govt kept the information regarding nuclear weapons in Cuba
secret, telling only 14 key officials of the Executive Committee of the National
Security Council (Excom)

22 October – Kennedy announced (television address to the public) the discovery of

the installations

 Kennedy warned that any missile attack from Cuba will be regarded as an
attack on the USA from the Soviet Union
 A US U2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba
 Excom met secretly in White House to discuss options regarding the
crisis in Cuba

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Excom came up with several strategies:

 Do nothing – USA could ignore missiles in Cuba as the US had missiles in

Turkey (same threat to the USSR)
 Negotiate – offer a deal to the Soviets and Cuba – if missiles are withdrawn
from Cuba, the USA would withdraw hers from Turkey
 Invade – send US troops to Cuba to overthrow Castro
 Blockade – use navy to stop military equipment and more missiles from
USSR to enter Cuba

Excom decided on an illegal blockade of Cuba (Kennedy used the term

Quarantine)

Kennedy wanted to avoid direct confrontation and so ordered a naval blockade of

Cuba. His aim was to prevent Soviet ships from delivering more weapons to Cuba.

The Soviet ships

continued to sail
towards Cuba and war
between the USA and
the Soviet Union
seemed a real
possibility. The
worldheld its breath as
Kennedy and
Khrushchev played
their game of
brinkmanship. Each
side was pushing
each other to the brink of disaster and open warfare while waiting to see how the
other might react.

23 and 24 October – Khrushchev sent letters to Kennedy claiming peaceful

intentions of USSR

26 October – USSR offer to withdraw missiles from Cuba in return for guarantee
that US would not invade Cuba

27 October – Khrushchev called for withdrawal of US Missiles in Turkey

 Kennedy publically accepted 1st deal (US would not invade Cuba if USSR
withdrew weapons from Cuba)
 but privately sends brother Robert F Kennedy to accept 2nd deal (US
withdrawal of weapons from Turkey) – requested that Khrushchev keep
this part of the deal secret
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28 October – Kennedy announced he had ordered Soviet withdrawal of weapons
from Cuba

30 November – End of blockade – US lift the blockade and the crisis ended just 14
days after the crisis began, Khrushchev agreed to back down. The USA agreed to
remove her weapons from Turkey, although this part of the agreement was kept
secret and was not made public knowledge.

Results of the Cuban Missile Crisis

 The Cuban missile Crisis was ‘brinkmanship’ in action.
 When it became clear just how close to war both sides had come, they agreed
to set up a ‘hotline’, initially by telegraph and alter by telephone that linked
the Kremlin and the White House. It was hoped that this would encourage
communication between the superpowers in the event of another crisis.
 The USA and Britain signed a nuclear test ban treaty with the USSR which
banned nuclear testing underwater, in space or in the atmosphere.


Consequences for the leaders

Khrushchev  Claimed victory – he had averted

a nuclear war
 Seen by some as a responsible
peacemaker
 Criticised by China for backing
down
 Lost face at home – Soviets lost
faith in him, embarrassed that he
had given into USA threat
 Was forced to step down in 1964

Kennedy  Claimed victory – he had averted

a nuclear war
 And had forced Khrushchev to
back down
 Reputation at home increased
Castro  Remained useful ally to USSR
 Achieved the guarantee that USA
would never invade Cuba

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