Thaw and Peaceful Coexitence

Post-Stalin

Stalin died 1953
- Outpouring of greif, strikes, relief of censorship and relaxation of tension
Berlin Uprising 1953
- Low living standards, high inflation, 10% increase in work quotas caused strikes
- GDR admitted series of errors but work norms stayed same, people targeting SED building and attempted to free political prisoners
- Tanks sent to crush them, 51 killed, 13,000 arrested, 100s deported
- Ulbricht's reputation damaged, security increased
NATO created 1949 due to China becoming communist, USSR's atomic bomb
Warsaw Pact created 1955 in response to West Germany joining NATo

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Malenkov leader of USSR from 1953
- New Course- recognised need of USSR to increase living standards, and saw war between communism and capitalism as no longer inevitable
- Cut defense budget and army by 20%, policy of Peaceful Coexistance with USA
- Gave up Porkkala military base, returned to Finland 1956, Austrian State Treaty 1955 removed arms and made it neutral
Kruschev leader of USSR from 1956
- Peaceful Coexistence developed, aimed to cut defence budget and improve economy
- Often angry and made wild claims about nuclear arsenal, 'bury the west'
- Expansion into the Third World e.g. Aswan Dam project
- Secret Speech 1956 introdcued de-Stalinisation, detailed purges and terror, West spread message via Radio Free Europe
Eisenhower and Dulles in USA
- Dulles saw communism as 'morally repugnant', policy of 'roll back'
- New Look- cut defense and creating more nuclear weapons, 12% increase of GNP
- Brinkmanship- going to brink of war without backing down
- Massive Retaliation- use of nuclear weapons (but did understand danger of them)

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Berlin Foreign Ministers Conference 1954- Molotov called for creation of unified German government, rejected by West
Geneva Summit 1955 - France, USA, USSR, UK
- US refued neutral Germany, West recently joined NATO seen as defense
- Krushchev suggested disbanding NATO/ Warsaw Pact- refused
- Eisenhower- suggested arms limits and open skies policy (spy planes), rejected
15 days before Paris Summit in 1960 US U2 spy plane shot down over Siberia, Eisenhower said it was a weather plane, but Krushchev exposed it
Paris Summit 1960
- Khrushchev demanded apology but Eisenhower wouldn't
Vienna Summit 1961 between Krushchev and Kennedy
- Kennedy wanted disarment of Germany and Krushchev wanted to stop exodus from East to West

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Polish Uprising 1956
- Uprisings over food shortages, increased work targets and lack of consumer goods
- Communist party turned to Gomulka, USSR station red army troops in Poland hoping to stop his election
- BUT Gomulka still wanted communism and committed to Warsaw Pact so USSR didn't intervene
Hungarian Uprising 1956
- Krushchev wanting to introduced Gero as leader, but Nagy emerged as leader, pushing for more radical reform of multi-party elections and freedom of press
- Nagy announced wanted to leave Warsaw Pact and appealled to UN, USSR crushed with tanks, 35,000 killed and Nagy executed
- West didn't intervene as Hungary in Soviet sphere, of no trade benefit and attentions diverted by Suez Crisis

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Economic miracle in West Germany led to fears of militarised Germany
1952 border between East/ West closed but people escaping through Berlin (40,000 1961)
Created brain drain and bad propoganda for East
November 1958 Khrushchev delievered ultimatum- West to demilitarised West Berlin or he would hand access rights to East, Eisenhower rejected
Krushchev gave into Ulbricht's demands for brrier, wall erected 1961
'Wall of Shame' in West, 'Anti-facist barrier' in East
1963 Kennedy's Ich Bein Ein Berliner speech 'democracy is not perfect but we don't have to build a wall to keep people in'

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Prague Spring- period of political liberalisation, introducing more democracy, Dubcek lifting censorship, formation of K-231 group out of former politcal prisoners, 2000 Words Manifesto condemning communism
Dubcek attempted to show loyalty to Warsaw Pact but USSR planned miliary intervention
August Warsaw Pact forces sent to Czechoslovakia, 500,000 troops, 77 killed, 1000 wounded
Priestland: 'writing on the wall for the Soviet bloc'
All reforms repealed and Husak repressed Dubcek, 20 years of normalisation
1969 Jan Palach set himself on fire in protest

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