Gary Powers was captured by the Soviets and they planned to demand an apology from the Americans. This apology was demanded during the Paris summit, organised to discuss the state of Berlin, discussed in source A4.
Source A4 is a secondary source providing a caption from the book ‘The Cold War’ by S.K. Gibbons in 1986. The caption is a description of the events of the Paris summit. This source firstly explains that both the USA and the USSR had built ‘immense stocks of missiles’ which threatened each others existence. This shows increased tension as both sides feel the need to use such large amounts of protection.
The source was written many years after the events of the Paris Summit so some of the facts or opinions may be inaccurate. Although we can say it is useful in giving a rough overview of events. During the summit Khrushchev asks repeatedly for an apology from Eisenhower, who refuses him, showing increased tension and aggression between sides. At this point Khrushchev walks out of the conference and the Berlin issue is therefore not discussed. The fact that Khrushchev refuses to talk to Eisenhower shows increased tension and how much he dislikes Eisenhower. As the source says itself, ‘East-West tensions were increased rather than reduced.’
The Paris conference was a total failure and only heightened tension between the two superpowers. Upon Khrushchev’s return to the Soviet Union he made a speech in Moscow, An extract of this is shown in source A5. In this primary source Khrushchev addresses the nation and explains that America has been caught 'Red Handed’ flying over Soviet airspace.
A very interesting point is the fact that he does not mention that they were spying. Khrushchev is intelligent enough to realise that the fact that they flew over without permission cannot be disputed, whereas spying can be. The source does show an increase in tension as Khrushchev is blaming the US for heightening the tension of the situation and telling his nation that the US are breaking international law.
The issue of Gary Powers and the invasion of Soviet airspace was simply one of the factors which increased tension. The cold war was also focused in South-East Asia. Eisenhower wanted to show his nation that they needed to fight communism as it was spreading so rapidly.
Eisenhower’s explanation of communist spread was dubbed the Domino theory in one of his famous speeches. This was a speech to the press on the 7th of April 1954. An extract, which concerns the Domino Theory, is shown in source B1.
Source B1 is a primary source and discusses the spread of communism in South-East Asia. Considering the speech is addressed to the press, Eisenhower may withhold important information which he believes the state will not like. This may lead to a biased or inaccurate speech where important details are not disclosed.
The source is useful in showing both Eisenhower’s view on the Soviets themselves and how its communism is spreading. Eisenhower describes the Soviets as a ‘communist dictatorship’. He also describes the countries surrounding communism as dominos, all about to fall one by one to communism, hence the Domino theory. It is likely Eisenhower concocted this theory in order to convince the public that communism prevention is necessary.
The source does show increased tension, it shows that Eisenhower is planning to take down communism using his allies, as the speech says ‘stopping the communist advances.’ The fact that Eisenhower is saying this, aimed at the Soviets, will increase tension between the two sides.
Eisenhower’s Domino Theory may have been produced in order to ‘win-over’ the public but there is definitely evidence that he is correct. An example of this is source B2 which shows a map of all communist controlled states and the non-communist ones that surround them.
Source B2 is not dated so we are unsure if it is a primary source, although it can be assumed its details are accurate. Nor does it declare an author; if it was American made we may assume the Domino theory would be exaggerated. The source is useful in showing the communist controlled countries and how they seem to be engulfing the non-communist surrounding ones.
The source shows a great increase in tension, it backs up the Domino theory showing communisms fierce spread. This would make the public of the US believe that the spread of communism needs to be stopped and make the likelihood of US action that bit greater.
It wasn’t just Eisenhower who wanted to stop communism, the vice-president Johnson also backed this. During a report to president Kennedy (followed by a visit to Vietnam) in may 1961, he outlines the way in which he believes the fight against communism should be conducted, by supporting the non-communist countries who are under pressure from communism.
Source B3 shows an extract of this report focusing on the area wherein he discusses South Vietnams need for support. Johnson uses very persuasive words in order to justify Americas need for involvement. He uses the phrase ‘throw in the towel’ to convince Kennedy this is appropriate action. He continuously describes the action as defensive, South Vietnam are our allies, lets support them. Johnson finishes by making a recommendation to Kennedy, to ‘move forward promptly with a major effort to help these countries defend themselves.’
This source is useful in describing America’s attitude toward communism, they are so strongly against communism, they are willing to provide military support to South Vietnam (And risk war with the communists) in order to try to prevent them. The source shows an increase in tension as it is telling us America is about to move in and aid South Vietnam, which will in-tern rile the Soviets.
Source B4 discusses America’s actions in preparation for the Vietnam War. It comes from an extract of a book written by Stephen E Ambrose entitled ‘Rise to Globalism: America’s foreign policy since 1938’ written in 1985. The book is a general book through this region in time and therefore this extract is going to be generalized and quite brief, skipping many important details. It is also a secondary source and the reliability of this source is under question.
The source discusses Kennedy’s setting up of the Green Berets and the use of civil agencies to shape South Vietnam ready for war. It also talks about Kennedy administering training for the elite corps, preparing them for jungle warfare type conflict, as the text says Kennedy, ‘wanted to be able to respond to communist aggression at any level.’
The source is useful for many reasons, it shows Kennedy is actively researching and modifying the troops, he is taking sensible action and thinking things through which shows he takes the conflict very seriously. Kennedy obviously viewed the threat of communism to be great, he wanted to be actively involved.
The source very simply displays increased tension by showing the amount of action America was taking in order to aid the South Vietnamese in the war, they were investing time and money into the conflict which can do nothing but infuriate the Soviets.
Kennedy invested so much into the Vietnamese war, he did not just provide training and governmental advice, he also aided technologically. Kennedy provided the Vietnamese troops with American helicopters during the war, a picture of which is shown in source B4 (ii). This is a primary source of a helicopter in Vietnam. We do not have information of the Publisher but it is an incredibly important photograph. It shows just how involved America was, how serious they felt the communist threat was. They were willing to invest millions of dollars of their own technology into this cause, a fact which would display to the Soviets Americas aggressive intentions towards their communism, therefore increasing tension.
But what was the outcome of such great involvement? A glorious victory? No. As source B5 Describes the Viet Cong had ‘won control of much of South Vietnam.’ Source B5 is an extract from the book ‘The Hutchinson History of the World’ by JM Roberts in 1976. The extract is really a statement of what Kennedy did. Again it should be noted that the book is a history of ‘the world’ and may be brief and in descript. Possibly not extremely reliable.
The source explains that America gave 4,000 advisors to the South-Vietnamese Government and at the loss of 50,000 Americans went greatly against what Truman wanted from America’s involvement in communism. In the Truman doctrine, Truman suggests America should passively support non-communist pressured countries financially and not play an active role, this extract shows hoe Kennedy went against this.
The source is useful in providing facts about the war such as the 50,000 dead Americans and the number of advisors administered, it is also useful in showing an increase in tension. Tension between the American government and its public will have risen greatly. Most were then against the war and Kennedy would have a less stable lead of the country, his attack on North Vietnam will have only lead to the anger of the Soviets and their want to fight back.
South Vietnam was a major test for America, and it hardly went well. Khrushchev felt the new president was venerable and he planned to exploit this. Then came the next big test for America, the state of Berlin. America had to come out well; Berlin was really the focal point of the cold war. Berlin was divided in half, the east controlled by the Soviets and the west controlled by the western capitalists, America, France and the UK. This is where the problem lay, West Berlin, thrived and those in the east tried desperately to move to the west but they were refused. The soviets were loosing educated people and they couldn’t afford to do this, they planned to pressurize Kennedy into uniting Berlin, at the Soviets advantage. But how bad was the situation in East Berlin? Source D1 attempts to tackle this question providing raw figures of the number fleeing East Berlin.
Source D1 is a table consisting of years with the number of refugees who fled from East Berlin in each year. One important date to focus on is 1961. In this year the Berlin wall was built dividing the East and West. This had a great impact on the number who fled. The source is useful for showing this, in the following year only a tenth of the number of people fled East Berlin. The wall had a huge impact. The source does show an increase in tension. It shows how desperate people of East Berlin were to leave, a fact that would put the Soviets under pressure to solve the problem.
A solution was attempted at the Vienna Summit conference of June 1961. Khrushchev met with Kennedy to discuss the state of Berlin; a photograph of their meeting is shown in source D2. Source D2 is a primary source and is useful to show that the two met together in Vienna. Despite this, its utility is limited; we cannot analyze the possibility of increased tension as we do not know what was discussed. A much more accurate account of the Vienna summit which allows us to analyze the possibility of increased tension is shown in source D2 (ii).
Source D2 (ii) is an extract from a book by Walter Laqueur entitled ‘Europe since Hitler’ published in 1982. The source basically explains in detail the events of the Vienna summit. It begins by explaining that Khrushchev provided Kennedy with a new ‘ultimatum’ over Berlin. Khrushchev was telling Kennedy what he wanted. Khrushchev figured that he pressurize Kennedy into making a decision to unite Berlin. As the text says ‘Khrushchev was out to frighten Kennedy.’
The source is useful in showing Khrushchev’s view of Kennedy. Khrushchev misjudged Kennedy, he thought he would ‘Give-in’. This was a fatal mistake and only lead to increased tension. The threats from the Soviets only infuriated Kennedy and as the text says made him ‘less inclined to meet the Russians half-way.’ Tension sawed to new highs as Kennedy was clever enough to notice that Soviets did not want a nuclear war.
After such a bad outcome of the Vienna conference, Kennedy felt the need to address the public. He did this in a speech on the 26th of July 1961, an extract of which is shown in source B3. This extract is a primary source basically showing Kennedy’s view of communism and his feelings over Berlin.
Kennedy attacks the very nature of communism. Kennedy labels Berlin as an ‘island of freedom in a communist sea’ and a ‘beacon of hope.’ The speech is also useful in outlining Kennedy’s intentions over Berlin, the escalated tension suggest that Kennedy will stand up against communism. This source shows increased tensions as Kennedy is trying to convince the public to take action against the Soviet Union, claiming any ‘dangerous spot is tenable.’
The aim of the Berlin wall was to halt the flee of East Berliners, set up by the Soviets. Kennedy wouldn’t give in to them they were forced to take this action. The Berlin wall was being built on the 17th of august 1961 and a photograph of this construction was taken. This is shown in source D4 (i).
Source D4 (i) shows a man constructing the Berlin wall, the photograph was taken from the western side as the man is facing toward the camera on the other side of the wall. This source has limited utility as all it shows is that the wall was being constructed on the 17th of august of 1061. The source does display a simple increase in tension; the Soviets are taking drastic action to prevent east Berliners from fleeing, which the Americans were unlikely to appreciate.
The Berlin wall was such a great issue to Kennedy that he felt the need to travel to Berlin himself in 1963. In 1962 Kennedy was ‘seen’ to have won the Cuban missile crisis and know wanted to continue this front by taking action over Berlin. A photograph of his visit to the Berlin wall is shown in source D4 (ii).
This photograph is useful in showing that Kennedy visited the Berlin wall and felt Berlin was a vitally important issue he was willing to take action over. It does show an increase in tension as Kennedy was taking the time to visit Berlin, this will have made a bold statement to Khrushchev, Kennedy wasn’t on the bench for this one.
When visiting the Berlin wall Kennedy made a famous speech, an extract is shown in source D5. This speech displays Kennedy’s view over Berlin and the message that the situation sends to the free world. This source is a primary one and helps us view Kennedy’s views on communism. Kennedy is saying that Berlin is a vital issue because of where it is situated. Kennedy repeats the phrase ‘Let them come to Berlin’ which is used as an example of freedom and the capitalist way of life. It is useful for showing that people saw what was good about the west and bad about communism. The speech increases tension as Kennedy is going against communism, ‘Communism is an evil system.’ And the fact that Kennedy is prepared to be associated with Berlin shows increased tension, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’
So many features of the period 1961 – 1963 catapulted superpower tensions into new heights. The Gary Powers incident, American involvement in the Vietnam war and the issue of Berlin. It is difficult to pinpoint which was the tuning point in relations but it is a definite fact that this great increase in tension teased the prospect of nuclear war and pushed both sides into difficult decisions, it is likely they would later regret.
