Korean War and New Leaders in USSR Notes

THE KOREAN WAR

The dividing line between North and South Korea (between communism and capitalism) was the 38TH Parallel

North Korea was called the Democratic Republic of Korea South Korea was called the Republic of Korea
The leaders

In the South, supported by USA was Syngman Rhee who was a dictator In the North, supported by USSR was Kim Il Sung who was a communist dictator
Both governments thought that they controlled the entire country Two theories on why North Korea attacked

America says they wont defend it, so communism sees it as an easy target Stalin may have ordered Kim to attack and create a diversion for the Americans (Optional) Koreans just wanted to unite their country

The USA sends in troops with 14+ other countries and are led by General Douglas McArthur The Chinese entered the war because they wanted to keep a buffer zone and McArthur actually wanted to invade China MacArthur wanted to use nuclear weapons on China New American President Eisenhower signed the armistice in 1953

This separated the countries with a demilitarized zone

The war never officially ended
Victoria Kleppin

Korean War and New Leaders in USSR Notes

STALINS DEATH

The four men with the most influence after Stalins death were

Lavrenti Beria who held jobs like head of the Soviet secret police Georgi Malenkov Vyachaslav Molotov Nikita Khrushchev

After Stalins death, Beria took control of by

Sealing off Moscow with tanks and flamethrowers Removed high-ranking political officials from power Placed people in power that they knew they could control

Malenkov and Beria were very similar because they both

Gained favor with Stalin Learned how to trick and manipulate people Recognized Stalin as the center of Russian power Taken power for themselves while Stalin still ruled

The difference between these men was that Beria ruled with an iron-fist while Malenkov knew how to compromise Malenkov realized that he could not just kick his enemies out of the government and leave them becausethey would keep coming back and eventually try to come after him People originally thought that Stalin was murdered

Victoria Kleppin

Korean War and New Leaders in USSR Notes

When it was found out that he wasnt, Beria lashed out against Stalins actions In the end, Beria was executed AFTER STALINS DEATH In 1953 Nikita Khrushchev became the First Secretary of the Communist Party He gained power by placing people in power that supported him After Stalin died and Malenkov was in power people in the USSR felt hopeful Malenkov tried to gain power by giving the people freedom In the end, Khrushchev gained the peoples trust by creating a program that

Employing 250,000 volunteers to farm the land Build huts and farm buildings Build towns and villages Use tractors and machines to plant and harvest food

Khrushchev also got the USSR out into the lead in the space race by launching things like

Sputnik first man-made satellite in space Laika, a dog, the first living thing in space
Meanwhile, in the United States, President Eisenhower started his New Look policy This policy pushed for.

Strategic military and nuclear weapons to combat communism

Victoria Kleppin

Korean War and New Leaders in USSR Notes

Portable nuclear weapons that could be launched from anywhere

1953 EAST GERMAN UPRISING The citizens of East Berlin rebelled after in 1953 after Stalin died They could tell that people in West Berlin had more money than them The communist East Germany was going to

Increased production quota Longer hours and no increase in pay Layoffs people losing their jobs

To protest the new rules, East Berliners rioted They ransacked the city by

Attacked the Soviet embassy Sat-in at government offices Burned communist flags Burned border posts between East and West Germany

Destroyed boundary markers between East and West Germany The communists settled everything down by bringing in the Soviet army from the USSR They

Closed the border between East and West Berlin Shut down the highway linking East and West Germany
Victoria Kleppin

Korean War and New Leaders in USSR Notes

Tanks lined up facing the free West Germany Forced protestors back into their homes Dragged people out of their homes that were suspected of supporting the riots Imposed a curfew and put East Berlin under martial law

The communists blamed people from America, Britain, and France for the riots. ISSUE OVER REUNIFICATION OF GERMANY The USSRs biggest problem was Germany The USSR was afraid of Germany because

Germany had betrayed the USSR before and murdered millions of its people
But the USSR was not so much afraid of Germany by itself as they were of Germany getting together with the USA and then Germany getting nuclear weapons Khrushchev wanted to give up military building and begin strengthening the Russian economy Khrushchev wanted to prove that socialism/communism was better than capitalism Khrushchev thought that communism would beat capitalism only if it could produce more

potatoes housing schools/hospitals goods to buy

KRUSHCHEV & PEACFUL COEXISTANCE
Victoria Kleppin

Korean War and New Leaders in USSR Notes

Summit: a meeting between the leaders of powerful countries Destalinisation: getting rid of the things that Stalin created Co-existence: living together Economic aid: money to make things better Stalin died in the year 1953 People in the city of East Berlin rioted when Stalin died After Stalins death there was a short struggle for power

Then a man named Khrushchev took power

Other countries believed that Stalins death could lead to a thaw in the Cold War, because:

He often met American leaders at summit meetings People didnt think he would force other countries to be communist He wanted to destalinize Russia He claimed he wanted Peaceful Coexistence

Instead, Khrushchev actually meant Peaceful Competition which led to

Destalinization did not mean changing to capitalism Khrushchev used the Soviet Red Army to enforce communism Gave economic aid to countries that supported communism Began a space race and arms race with America
Victoria Kleppin

Korean War and New Leaders in USSR Notes

Warsaw Pact military alliance between communist countries Created propaganda against America and Great Britain

America reacted by

Starting a witch-hunt for people who were communists Ran a propaganda war against communism America participated in the space and arms races Spied on the USSR with new U2 spy planes
HUNGARIAN UPRISING

Hungarians hated Russian communism The Hungarian situation: Hungary was poor but all of their food and things they made went to the USSR Hungarians also hated Russian control

Including censorship, the secret police, and deciding what was taught in schools
The communists had banned religion in Hungary Hungarians thought that help would come from the USA or Great Britain The Communists tried to destalinize Hungary In October 1956, the Hungarian government declared that Hungary would be free Khrushchev reacts by:

Victoria Kleppin

Korean War and New Leaders in USSR Notes

Sending in 1000 Soviet tanks Destroying the Hungarian radio stations Destroying the Hungarian military

Khrushchev acted strictly because

The USSR needed to keep its buffer countries China asked Russia to stop communism from being damaged Hungary was turning capitalist Strong communists in Russia force Khrushchev to act Khrushchev didnt think America would help Hungary

America and the United Nations did not help Hungary because

They were busy with a crisis in Egypt Eisenhower did not thing Hungary was worth a world war
Definitions Brinkmanship: pushing your military to the edge of war to get the other country to back down (a game of chicken with nuclear weapons. Mutually Assured Destruction: the policy of threatening that you were willing to let your country be destroyed in order to destroy your enemy

Victoria Kleppin