The Study of Berlin Blockade and Cuban missile Crisis
The USSR never wanted a well-built Germany. They had been invaded
twice by Germany, and the thought of building up her strength alarmed
the Soviets.
When the Deutschmark was introduced as legal tender throughout Western
Germany and Western Berlin, the Soviets drew the line. The USSR cut
off all road and rail routes that led to allied controlled sectors of
Berlin. The allies were unsure as to how to respond to this. If they
left West Berlin, the Soviets would invade without doubt. They had to
decide carefully, having just come out of a world war, they had no
intention of dragging themselves into a serious situation. There was a
tiny air corridor that led from the Western sectors of Germany, into
the heart of Western Berlin. The allies decided to use this air
corridor to transport rations by plane. This was risky for both sides;
the allies could not determine the USSR’s response. However, the only
way for the Soviets to stop this transportation of food was to shoot
the plane down. As the air corridor was not restricted air space, this
would be an act of war. Whether the Soviets wanted war or not, was
uncertain.
The airlift operation was called “Operation Vittles.” Massive ten ton
capacity C-54s began to supply the 2,500,000 civilians in western
Berlin with food. Soon enough, planes were flying into Berlin every 3
minutes delivering 5,000 tons of food, a day! In May 1949, Stalin had
little choice but to lift the blockade.
However shocking this may seem, I think personally, it doesn’t even
come into the same league as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
On October 22nd, 1962, a U2 spy plane photographed evidence that
showed the Soviet Union building secret missile bases on Cuba, just 90
miles away from the coast of Florida. Kennedy was produced with a
number of solutions, each one with its practicalities, and severe
risks. It was down to Kennedy to weigh out his options, and decide
between an armed invasion, an air strike on all missile bases or a
... Cuban attack with all-out nuclear retaliation. In response to the increased Soviet ships coming with weapons, JFK ordered a blockade, which he called quarantine because a blockade is an act of war, around Cuba. For 13 days, the world held its breath as the threat of a nuclear war hung over the world, but the Soviets eventually turned back and Khrushchev agreed to remove weapons from Cuba in exchange for no US invasion of Cuba. Meanwhile in Berlin, the city was in turmoil between the East (Soviet) and the West (US controlled). In order to stop the mass exodus of East Berliners, the construction of the 90-mile Berlin Wall began. Both Kennedy and Khrushchev sought ways to ease the tension between the two groups, establishing a hotline between the White House and the Kremlin, and later this led to the Limited Ban Treaty, which banned nuclear testing in the atmosphere.
The U.S. had just elected President Kennedy two years prior to this very threatening occasion, and every nation thought he was a weak leader who just craved attention. During this time, the Soviets and the U.S. were right in the middle of the Cold War (1947-1991): the period of time when both nations were trying to spread their type of government and become superior, making us enemies. Just a year before the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. had made a failed attempt at invading Cuba at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow their communist dictator, Fidel Castro. Once Russia caught wind of this failed invasion, they quickly jumped at their chance at becoming allies with Castro, and started building nuclear bombs in Cuba. Kennedy had recently placed bombs in Turkey, Russia’s neighbor probably leading the soviets to place some of theirs in Cuba, because of how close it was to America; one nuclear bomb could reach Washington D.C. in 30 minutes.
The Soviet Union and the United States were very distant during three decades of a nuclear arms race. Even though the two nations never directly had a battle, the Cuban Missile Crisis, amongst other things, was a result of the tension. The missile crisis began in October of 1962, when an American spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union in Cuba. JFK did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles, so he made his decisions very secretly. Eventually, Kennedy decided to place a ring of ships around Cuba and place missiles in Turkey. Eventually, both leaders superpowers realized the possibility of a nuclear war and agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would remove the missiles from Cuba if the US didn't invade Cuba. Even though the Soviets removed took their missiles out of Cuba and the US eventually taking their missiles out of Turkey, they (the Soviets) continued to build a more advanced military; the missile crisis was over, but the arms race was not.
The event of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. Fifteen years into the cold war, the two superpowers continued the fierce competition to increase their military strength. In 1962, the Soviet Union was desperately behind the United States in the nuclear arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe, whereas the US missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba which would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union. The fate of millions literally hinged upon the ability of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, to reach a compromise. The sources I have researched strongly agree that it was President Kennedy who was very determined to prevent the world from another war. They also show that the crisis was not just a conflict about missiles; it was a conflict of contradictory philosophies, ideologies and power.
Canadian-American relations were severely hurt during the Cuban Missile Crisis due to the actions taken by John Diefenbaker. The crisis between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and America on the other was one of most heated moments during the Cold War. America had hoped that Canada would provide basic necessities during the crisis. However, when Canadian Prime Minster; John Diefenbaker failed to give full support, the relationship between the two countries stood on edge. It was through Diefenbaker’s lack of cooperation and doubt during the situation that had affected the relationship between the two countries. Not to mention Diefenbaker’s dislike towards the US. President; John F. Kennedy had also been a reason to why the two countries relations were falling apart. Canada and America’s relations had broken down during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a result of Diefenbaker’s lack of cooperation, doubt and dislike towards the United States President.
( waves to the audience)Hello everyone I'm John f kennedy and I'm here to tell you about the Cuban missile crisis.Although it did not lead to war,the Cuban missile crisis was resolved by the Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev by destroying the missiles that the prime minister of Cuba was going to use to destroy America in hours.
The world was at the edge of a third world war. This was the result of a variety of things: the Cuban Revolution, the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, US anti-communism, insecurity of the Soviet Union, and Cuba's fear of invasion all made causes for war. However, war was not the result due to great cooperation from both President Kennedy and President Khrushchev and each of the decisions made by the leaders was crucial in the outcome of The Crisis. Kennedy's choice to take action by means of quarantine instead of air-strike and Khrushchev's decision to abide by the quarantines were perhaps the two most significant decisions made by the leaders in order to prevent war. The Cuban Missile Crisis showed the world that compromising and discussion can in-fact prevent war. As Khrushchev said in 1962, "They talk about who won and who lost. Human reason won. Mankind won." 1 The world had almost seen another world war, the effects of which would have been devastating because of the weapons involved. Humanity, indeed, was the prevention of the war.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.
The Cuban Missile Crisis around 52 years ago started one of the most terrifying events in history for the people of the world. Something that could be like World War III and the closest we ever come to a nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis, which was a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union dealing with nuclear weapons. This definitely had the whole country frightened Everyone saw what they did with the Nuclear Bombs and the effects it caused. No one wanted that to happen to us, and I wouldn’t blame them; I chose an individual level of analysis, primarily to focus on the thought process behind it, human decision-making in crisis, the emotional waves, and the powerful leaders.
The Bay of Pigs, a top secret raid to overthrow Cuba by the United State. The Bay of Pigs was planned by the Eisenhower administration, the attack spanned throughout 2 days. Even though the attack failed and lasted 2 days, the Bay of Pigs had an advantageous effect on how the United States’ government would and will handle foreign affairs in the future. The Bay of Pigs took place during the cold war between the United States and Russia, the United States grew more and more suspicious of Cuba’s affairs due to the sudden rise of a new leader, Fidel Castro and his communist affiliation with Russia. After the election President Kennedy had the option to discontinue the Bay of Pigs attack or let it through. When the attack commenced nothing went
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world has ever been to a nuclear war which would have doomed the human race. For thirteen days the world was scared to death of what could happen. In a nutshell, the Soviet Union under leadership of Nikita Khrushchev tried to counter the lead of the United States in developing and deploying strategic missiles. The Soviet Union or USSR knew of the missiles the United States had set up in Turkey. (Garthoff) To gain first strike capabilities they reached an agreement with Cuba under the leadership of Fidel Castro set up missiles in Cuba. Cuba is just 90 miles from Florida. President Kennedy got word of this via photographs and stated that any attack from Cuba would be regarded as an attack from the Soviet Union. (www.lafayette.com) Also he setup a naval blockade on the country of Cuba preventing further Soviet shipments of military weapons from arriving there. (www.lafayette.com) On October 24, 1962 Soviet ships turned around and headed back to the USSR. Then four days later on the twenty-eighth Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles and dismantle the missile sites. (www.lafayette.com) With this, the Cuban Missile Crisis had ended as suddenly as it had begun.
Cuban Missile Crisis Analysis Works Cited Missing The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most important events in United States history; it’s even easy to say world history because of what some possible outcomes could have been from it. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was a major Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the Bay of Pigs Invasion the USSR increased its support of Fidel Castro's Cuban regime, and in the summer of 1962, Nikita Khrushchev secretly decided to install ballistic missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy and the other leaders of our country were faced with a horrible dilemma where a decision had to be made. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara outlined three possible courses of action for the president.
Fear is defined as an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger(“Fear” Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary). Imagine waking up everyday in fear. Not knowing whether today would be the last day walking the earth. This is the fear that Americans lived in for thirteen straight days. The Cuban missile crisis consisted of thirteen days of an intense military standoff between the United states and the Soviet Union. In the 20th century, the Cuban missile crisis erupted along side the Cold War Era. Throughout World War II, the Soviet Union and the U.S. fought as allies, battling the axis powers. Although they were allies, America was worried about Stalin and USSR communism. (“The Cold War.”) This contributed
In 1962 nuclear war seemed inevitable to the world, it was the first time nuclear war was hanging on a thread. The Cuban Missile Crisis presented a threat to the world, in which the USSR planted nuclear missiles on Cuba. America’s response was to threaten launching nuclear missiles at the Russians. This incident launched the world into a new time, which presented nuclear weapons as a source of power.
Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be separated from the outside world? The people who lived in East Berlin in the time of the Cold War know. The Cold War was in 1945 through 1990 when the USSR and America were in a place of political hostility. During the Cold War the USSR and America were continually engaged in an ARMS race; both countries wanted to have the best and most weapons. There were many difficulties of the Cold War, but the Berlin blockade and airlift is certainly the first. The three main points of the Blockade and Airlift that I will talk about are why the blockade went up, how the airlift was used, and how it affected people.