Download The Cold War: Castro to the Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cold War
Mr. Thomas Sothars
De Smet Jesuit HS
Communist Takeover in
Czechoslovakia
 Feb. 1948
 Key members of Czech gov’t die
mysteriously
 Pro-western President forced to
resign, new constitution ratified
– Complete takeover by Czech
communists
Berlin Airlift
 Blockade of Berlin
began on June 24, ’48
 From June 1948 to
May 1949, U.S. and
British planes airlift
1.5 million tons of
supplies to the
residents of West
Berlin.
 After 200,000
flights, the Soviet
Union lifts the
blockade.
Operation Vittles
 All of the necessities for the city's 2.5 million
residents -- an estimated 4,500 tons of food, coal
and other materials each day -- had to enter the
city by air.
 On its biggest day, the "Easter parade" of April
16, 1949, the airlift sent 1,398 flights into Berlin
-- one every minute.
 Before it was all over, more than 278,000 flights
would carry 2.3 million tons of relief supplies.
Berlin Airlift
 The airlift marked a rise in tensions between the West and the
Soviets, but it also helped heal divisions left by World War II.
 Almost immediately, The United States, Great Britain, and France
shifted from Germany's conquerors to its protectors.
 "The airlift was the starting point for Germany's inclusion in the West
and for the reconciliation with the Western powers," Berlin Mayor
Eberhard Diepgen says.
 Allied cooperation paved way for formation of new military alliance,
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO
 Soviets formed their own alliance called Warsaw Pact in 1955
1949 – Fall of China
 In June, Jiang Jieshi
defeated by Mao
– Flee to island of Taiwan
 Oct 1, Mao proclaims
People’s Republic of
China (PRC)
 Two months later, Mao
travels to Moscow,
– negotiates the Sino-
Soviet Treaty of
Friendship, Alliance and
Mutual Assistance.
Korean War, 1950-1953
 On June 25, North Korean
communist forces cross
the 38th parallel and
invade South Korea.
 On June 27, Truman
orders U.S. forces to
assist the South Koreans
 The U.N. Security Council
condemns the invasion and
est’d a 15-nation fighting
force.
 Chinese troops enter the
conflict by year's end.
 Cease fire eventually
brings war to close by
1953
Dien Bien Phu
 After a long siege,
Vietnamese communists
under Ho Chi Minh defeat
French colonial forces at
Dien Bien Phu on May 7.
 In July, the Geneva
Accords divide the
country at the 17th
parallel, creating a North
and South Vietnam.
 The United States
assumes the chief
responsibility of providing
anti-communist aid to
South Vietnam.
General Vo Nguyen
Giap.
Massive Retaliation
 On January 12, 1955
U.S. Secretary of
State John Foster
Dulles first announces
the doctrine of
Massive Retaliation.
 It threatens fullscale nuclear attack
on the Soviet Union in
response to
communist aggression
anywhere in the world.
John Foster Dulles and MacArthur in Korea, 1950
1956 - Khrushchev's
'secret speech'
 In a speech, February 14,
Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev denounces the
policies of Stalin.
 He rejects the Leninist idea
of the inevitability of war
and calls for a doctrine of
"peaceful coexistence"
between capitalist and
communist systems.
1959 Kitchen debate
1959 - Castro takes power
 January 1, 1959
leftist forces under
Fidel Castro
overthrow Fulgencio
Batista
 Castro nationalizes
the sugar industry
and signs trade
agreements with the
Soviet Union.
 The next year,
Castro seizes U.S.
assets on the island.
1960 - The U-2
Affair
 On May 1, an American highaltitude U-2 spy plane is
shot down on a mission over
the Soviet Union.
 After the Soviets announce
the capture of pilot Francis
Gary Powers, the United
States recants earlier
assertions that the plane
was on a weather research
mission.
The U-2 Affair
•Suffering major
embarrassment, Eisenhower
was forced to admit the truth
behind the mission and the U-2
program, although he refused
to publicly apologize to
Khrushchev.
•This refusal caused the Paris
Summit to collapse when
Khrushchev stormed out of
negotiations.
 Powers was sentenced to ten years in prison, including
seven years of hard labor, following an infamous showtrial.
 He served less than two years, however, and was released
in 1962 in exchange for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
Kennedy’s Election
 John F. Kennedy – from a wealthy, politically powerful family
 Good looking, young, and comfortable in front of the television cameras
 People felt Kennedy represented the future
 Election of 1960
– Adopted the term “new frontier”
– Played on the nation’s Cold War fears
– Claimed the nation’s prosperity was not reaching the poor
– Rallied the African American vote when Kennedy called Coretta King after
Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested; Robert Kennedy persuaded the judge to
release King
– One of the closest elections in history
Kennedy
Takes
Office
Inaugural Address
• Focused on change
• Strong anti-Communist tone
• Did not specify his domestic policy goals because so much
division existed over domestic issues
Kennedy’s Advisors
• Gathered a group some called “the best and the brightest” as
his advisors
• Most of Kennedy’s advisors were young.
• Closest advisor was his brother, Robert (“Bobby”) Kennedy
• Cabinet members had less influence than White House
advisors.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Background
• Fidel Castro
was in power in
Cuba.
• Came to power
after a guerrilla
war, promised to
restore people’s
rights and
freedoms
• Once in power,
he seized
private
businesses and
made overtures
to Soviet Union.
Kennedy
• Kennedy learned
that the CIA was
training troops to
invade Cuba and
topple Castro.
• His advisors were
mixed.
• Kennedy was
worried about
Communism
spreading to
Latin America.
• Kennedy gave
the go-ahead.
The Invasion
• Bay of Pigs
invasion failed.
• Information was
leaked early.
• Air strikes failed.
• Castro prepared
for a land attack.
• Invaders were
captured and
ransomed back
to United States.
• Strengthened
Castro’s ties to
the Soviet Union
1961 - Bay of Pigs
Captured Cubans
 U.S.-organized invasion
force of 1,400 Cuban
exiles is defeated by
Castro's government
forces on Cuba's south
coast at the Bay of Pigs.
 Launched from Guatemala
in ships and planes
provided by the United
States, the invaders
surrender on April 20
after three days of
fighting.
 Kennedy takes full
responsibility for the
disaster.
The Berlin Crisis
Berlin’s Significance
 Khrushchev demanded that the
United States recognize East
Germany as an independent
Communist nation.
The Berlin Wall
 On August 13, 1961, Khrushchev
closed the crossing points
between East and West Berlin.
 West Berlin was an island of
freedom.
 A high concrete wall was built to
prevent further escapes to
freedom.
 Many East Germans fled to West
Germany through Berlin.
 Kennedy sent more troops, and
Vice President Lyndon B.
Johnson visited West Berlin.
 Kennedy refused to be bullied,
sent troops into West Germany,
built nuclear shelters, and waited
for Khrushchev’s next move.
 Kennedy said “A wall is a … lot
better than a war.”
 Over time, the wall was extended
and fortified.
1961 - Berlin Wall
 On August 15,
communist
authorities begin
construction on
the Berlin Wall to
prevent East
Germans from
fleeing to West
Berlin.
JFK in Berlin
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5359589
1962 - Cuban Missile
Crisis
 After Bay of Pigs invasion,
the Soviet Union installed
nuclear missiles in Cuba.
 After U-2 flights Kennedy
ordered a naval blockade
of Cuba on October 22
until the Soviet Union
removed its missiles.
 On October 28, the
Soviets agreed to remove
the missiles, defusing one
of the most dangerous
confrontations of the Cold
War.
The Cuban Missile Crises
 U.S. actions in the Bay of Pigs and Berlin crises encouraged
hard-line leaders in the Soviet Union.
Buildup
 The Soviets were worried about another invasion of Cuba and
U.S. nuclear missiles placed in Turkey.
 Kennedy was worried about accusations of being “soft on
communism.”
Crisis
Begins
 A U.S. U-2 spy plane detected Soviet surface-to-air missiles
(SAMs) in Cuba.
 The Soviets argued that the SAMs were defensive missiles and
swore that they didn’t have offensive missiles in Cuba.
 Later U-2 flights showed that the Soviets had lied.
The Cuban Missile Crisis

Managing
the
Crisis
Effects
of the
Crisis
Kennedy assembled a group of advisors, known as the ExComm, to help
him plan a response.
– ExComm military members favored an air strike, perhaps followed
by a land invasion of Cuba.
– Others argued for a naval blockade. Kennedy agreed with this plan.

The world watched as Soviet ships carrying missile parts approached the
naval blockade. They turned back.

Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missiles if the United States pledged
to never invade Cuba.

Both Kennedy and Khrushchev took steps to ease tensions between their
countries.

They set up a hotline to allow direct communication during times of crisis.

The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed, ending atmospheric and
underwater testing of nuclear weapons.
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