Continuation of the Cold War during the 1950’s By Johnson and Josiiaaaah

Key Topics Development after Truman and Stalin Khrushchev and Soviet motivation, bid for improved relations, cuts in the red army and withdrawal from Austria Concept of peaceful coexistence Eisenhower, Dulles and Kennedy’s responses Roles of personalities Paris Summit, U2 incident and Vienna summits Impact of the failed Hungarian uprising Tensions over Berlin

Timeline of events 1956 February – Khrushchev Critical of Stalin in secret speech November – Soviet Troops in Hungary 1958 August – Taiwan Straight crisis Developments November – Start of second Berlin crisis 1950 February – Sino-Soviet Alliance June – Korean War 1953 5th March – Stalin’s Death 27th July – Ceasefire in Korea 1955 May – Warsaw Pact Established July – Geneva Summit

Death of Stalin Stalin was found on the floor covered in urine after suffering a stroke on the 1st March, he died four days later. Sigh of relief in west as he was seen as the dominant factor in development of the Cold War. Liberal historians have emphasised the role of personalities and the impact of Stalin’s death on the thaw.

Development after Truman and Stalin New Look policy adopted by Eisenhower after Truman left office. Use of military means to contain communism and the policy of massive retaliation. However, the New Look policy seemed unlikely to produce compromise. The policy of brinkmanship was devised by Dulles to get on the verge of war without actually getting into it. This was a risky strategy which was hard to master without inevitably getting into war.

Khrushchev and Peaceful Coexistence Khrushchev believed in Marxist idea that capitalism would ultimately fail, so the idea of peaceful coexistence was the best of way of conducting relations. Khrushchev said ‘there are only two ways – peaceful coexistence or the most destructive war in history. There is no third way.’

Impact of Peaceful Coexistence There was a ceasefire in the Korean War in 1953. The Austrian State Treaty was signed in 1955. Both the US and USSR would withdraw its armed forces from Austria. Soviets withdrew from Finland in 1956. This reduced tension between the two superpowers.

De-Stalinisation De-Stalinisation within the USSR was the brain child of Khrushchev. He wanted to move away from Stalin’s policies and liberalise, but there were limits. The uprising in Hungary showed that the liberalisation would not be able to threaten the security of the Soviet Bloc.

Hungarian Uprising, 1956 Soviets invaded Hungary to restore government to their own liking after Nagy caved in to popular protest for reform. He was replaced by Kadar. These actions showed a willingness of the soviets to maintain a hold over it’s eastern sphere of influence.

U2 incident and Paris Peace Summit During the Paris Summit a U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia after the US promised to respect the fly-zone ban. This increased distrust between the two superpowers and Khrushchev walked out the summit.

Exam Style Question To what extent was the development of the post Stalinist thaw in superpower relations between 1953-1962 the result of Khrushchev’s policy of peaceful coexistence?