Cold War rivalries 1955-63

Question 1

When was sputnik launched?

Answer 1

October 1957

Question 2

When was the Gaither report commissioned?

Answer 2

November 1957

Question 3

When was the U2 spy plane incident?

Answer 3

May 1960

Question 4

When was vostok?

Answer 4

April 1961

Question 5

When did the construction of the Berlin wall begin?

Answer 5

August 1961

Question 6

When was the Strategic Air Command created?

Answer 6

1948

Question 7

When did the USA successfully test a lithium based Hydrogen bomb?

Answer 7

1954 1500 times more powerful than the bomb used at Hiroshima

Question 8

What was SAC

Answer 8

organisation set up as a primary defence system for the USA

Question 9

What were the results of the Gaither report?

Answer 9

Suggested a missile gap and predicted a 100 to 30 lead in ICBMS in favour of the USSR

Question 10

Whereas what did U-2 spy plane data suggest?

Answer 10

A slower rate of production of nuclear warheads

Question 11

How did Eisenhower strengthen American Nuclear capability?

Answer 11

-Atlas and Titan (IRBM)
-negotiated an agreement with Britain that enabled the USA to station IRBM in Britain
- Polaris, Thor and minuteman

Question 12

How did Khrushchev strengthen Soviet nuclear capability?

Answer 12

-replaced SS-6 with SS-7

Question 13

Why was the USA so threatened by Sputnik?

Answer 13

-convinced them that it meant the USSR had the technology to launch nuclear missiles against them.
- undermined the effectiveness of the massive retaliation strategy

Question 14

How did the Americans contribute to the space race?

Answer 14

1958 invested $1 billion
First attempt was the Vanguard rockets ‘flopnik’

Question 15

When did the American’s manage to catch up with the space race?

Answer 15

1962
-USA has successfully launched 63 space missions compared to the USSR’s 15
- US Discoverer satellite program

Question 16

What were the 5 factors that influenced Khrushchev’s decisions regarding Berlin?

Answer 16

1) The soviet space programme appeared to be dominating
2) West Germany was now a part of NATO which could result in it’s rearmament
3) The USSR’s hold over the Eastern states was fragile
4) he movement of people East to West Germany undermining Eastern economy
5) The west had not yet recognised the existence of the GDR

Question 17

When did the USSR issue a six-month ultimatum to the West?

Answer 17

November 1958

Question 18

What was the Hallstein Doctrine?

Answer 18

The FDR would regard the recognition of the GDR by any state other than the USSR as an unfriendly act and would end diplomatic relations

Question 19

How many people fled from East Germany and when?

Answer 19

1953- more than 300,000
1956- 150,000 more

Question 20

When was kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech

Answer 20

June 1963

Question 21

Impacts of the Berlin wall?

Answer 21

1) Ich Bin ein Berliner speech
2) GDR’s immediate economic crisis was resolved
3) the inaction from the West suggested that the West had reached a degree of recognition of the GDR
4) Avoided any future conflict ‘a wall is better than a war’

Question 22

Was the impact of Soviet success in the space race?

Answer 22

• Primary causal factor in the US nuclear response?
• An unrelated issue
• The crisis over Berlin as a dangerous gamble in a nuclear age
• A guarantee of nuclear free stalemate?