Lessons from the Cold War, 1949-1989 Professor Andrea Chandler Learning in Retirement/April-May 2018 Lecture 3: Cold War Crises LIR/Chandler/Cold War 1
What is a Cold War crisis? An event which heightened tensions between Soviet Union and the West These tensions had potential to escalate into war The event had long-lasting consequences LIR/Chandler/Cold War 2
There were many Cold War crises today we will examine four of them 1) The Berlin crisis, 1948 2) The Hungarian Revolution, 1956 3) The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 4) The invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968 LIR/Chandler/Cold War 3
Canada in the early Cold War Strong role for the Allies in World War II In 1944, initiated plans to encourage economic development in Europe through trade (Holmes, 1979, 90-91) Active involvement in care for European refugees and in setting up UN refugee efforts Aspired to a leadership role in postwar order LIR/Chandler/Cold War 4
But Canada s role remained limited. Canada was left out of dominant roles in Europe, for example in Germany Other middle powers, such as Australia, also wanted to achieve influence Canada s foreign policy was still very focussed on Britain and the United States, and was still building its diplomatic capacity and expertise in Europe LIR/Chandler/Cold War 5
The Berlin crisis, 1948 Berlin zones of occupation following defeat of Nazi Germany Soviet authorities disagreed with U.S., French, British over the administration of Germany Soviet blockade of the other Allied zones in 1948 led them to organize an airlift of supplies The crisis effectively put an end to the idea of a consensus solution for Germany. Instead, there would be two Germanies: FRG (West) and GDR (East) LIR/Chandler/Cold War 6
The Hungarian Revolution, 1956 Hungary: one of the countries of the Warsaw Pact, led by a very Soviet-style regime. 3 factors affected Hungary in 1955-56: 1) The Austria peace treaty of 1955 2) Nikita Khrushchev s Secret Speech in Soviet Union 3) The fall from power of Rakosi and the ascendance of Imre Nagy LIR/Chandler/Cold War 7
What happened in the Hungarian Revolution? The Nagy government called for reforms, including open elections and possible withdrawal of Soviet troops Hungary opened its border with Austria Popular demonstrations became violent when demonstrators clashed with Soviet troops and Hungarian police Nagy appealed to the United Nations for help as Soviet armed forces invaded; Nagy was replaced by Janos Kadar and eventually executed LIR/Chandler/Cold War 8
The crisis over the Hungarian Revolution Canada s Lester Pearson was prominent in the United Nations, which passed a resolution condemning the Soviet invasion However, the concurrent Suez crisis in Egypt made it difficult to resolve the Hungarian crisis diplomatically Ultimately, UN was unable to intervene in Hungary or to ensure that Nagy was fairly treated The Soviet Union lost supporters and sympathizers in Europe (to the extent that it still had them) LIR/Chandler/Cold War 9
Impact of the Hungarian Revolution Canada widely praised for accepting 35,000 Hungarian refugees and bringing them to Canada within under a year The Revolution was seen as proof that Soviet long-term domination of Eastern Europe was solidified Gradually, Western governments came to debate whether diplomacy, rather than confrontation, might promote change in Soviet bloc What we now know, and didn t know then: some of the East European leaders were increasingly disgruntled with the Soviet Union (Yugoslavia s Tito, Romania s Ceaucescu) LIR/Chandler/Cold War 10
The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 1959: Cuban Revolution brought Fidel Castro to power, who established close ties with Soviet Union Meanwhile: the nuclear arms race had begun, with both the United States and USSR possessing H-bombs and ICBMs 1962: Confrontation between U.S. President Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev over the possibility of nuclear weapons being placed in Cuba After a sharp standoff, the two sides reached a resolution on Cuba (but without curbing the arms race) LIR/Chandler/Cold War 11
The Cuban Missile Crisis: what we know now, that we didn t know at the time In 1964, Khrushchev was ousted from power by rivals within the Soviet Communist party (led by Leonid Brezhnev) Recent historians have argued that Khrushchev was ousted in large part because of his foreign policy, and because of his behaviour on the world stage which his fellow Politburo members thought embarrassed the country (Fursenko and Naftali, 2006) LIR/Chandler/Cold War 12
The invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968 Like Hungary, Czechoslovakia was a member of the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact The Prague Spring, 1968: liberalization in the country under leader Alexander Dubcek More open discussions of reform, within the Communist party and in society as a whole Discussions included calls for free elections, and debate over Czechoslovakia s future participation in the Warsaw Pact LIR/Chandler/Cold War 13
In August 1968, Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia In contrast to Hungary, no violence had preceded the invasion Dubcek remained in power, but under intense pressure, he eventually was removed and replaced by a hard-line Communist leadership The USSR was widely condemned: 1968 was a year of left-wing activity throughout Europe, but the USSR s actions meant it lost sympathy rather than gained it As in 1956, Canada accepted many highly-educated Czech and Slovak refugees. LIR/Chandler/Cold War 14
The invasion of Czechoslovakia: what we now know The members of the Warsaw Pact were quite ambivalent over invading Czechoslovakia some were for, others reluctant The regimes of Eastern Europe and USSR were more insecure than their communist façade would indicate they became increasingly persistent in wanting to pursue agreements with the West that would put them on a stronger legal footing Next week: Détente: the pursuit of these agreements in the 1970s. LIR/Chandler/Cold War 15
For further reading Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali, Khrushchev s Cold War. New York: Norton, 2006. John W. Holmes, The Shaping of Peace: Canada and the Search for World Order 1943-1957. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1979. LIR/Chandler/Cold War 16