The Cold War Turning Point (1961-62)


Figure 1.--The Berlin Wall is the one enduring image of the Cold War. Here two friends were separated by the wall before it was fully constructed in concrete. The Wall was seen as a Soviet victory at the time. In fact it was along with the Cuban Missle Crisis, an important step toard coverting the American-Soviet conflict from a military to an economic competition that the Soviets could not win.

The Cold War is called cold because there was no direct military conflict between The United States and the Soviet Union, the two major nuclear powers. There were military conflicts, but none directly between America and the Soviets. We now know this never occurred, but at the time there was no guaranteed that the Cold War might turn into a very hot World War III. Two events occurred during the Khrushchev-Kennedy era that significantly reduced the change of a nuclear holocaust and turned the Cold War into primarily an economic struggle between the two nuclear superpowers. Both of these actions were initiated by Khrushchev who believed that the new young American president would not dare confront the Soviet challenge. The first event was contruction of the Berlin Wall (1961). Here Khrushchev was acting at the pleading of East Germans who saw their people escaping to the West. This was at the time seen a a victory for the Soviets. In effect in ended direct cinglict between America and the Soviets in Europe. President Kennedy saw this and decided to acquiese. It shifted the central locus of the Cold War from Europe where America and Europe to the Third World where there was no direct confrontation. Next Khrushchev took a far more dangerous step, deploying nuclear armed balistic missles in Cuba (1962). Here Kennedy did not acquiese and the result was nearly a nuclear holocaust. In the end it was Khrushchev who backed down and removed the missles. Krushchev's lost of prestuge and reckless behavior resulted in his removal (1964). It also reated an elemnt of caution in Soviet behavior. They were content to the Cold War becoming an economic contest. They firmly believed that Communism was a superior economic system and Capitalism could not compete. Here they were fundamentally wrong. Communist regimes could generate military power. Socialist plannd economies could not, however, generate wealth. And by turning the Cold War into an economic comepition, the Soviets were condemning themselves as the Communists put it to the 'dustbin of history'. There were other Cold War struggles, but this settled the central conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Berlin Wall (1961)

The most visible aspect of the Cold War was the Berlin Wall - the Wall the Communists built between East and West Germany. Until 1961, East Berliners and other East Germans could take a subway car to flee to West Berlin and on to West Germany. The number of East Germans fleeing to the West was an embarrassment to the Communists who after all claimed to be creating workers' paradises. The glaring differences between the vibrant economic life of Berlin and the gray, drudgery of a Communist People's Republic was particularly apparent. The number of trained professionals in particular threatened the economy of East Germany. The Wall changed this. It did stop the flow of people West, although heart rending sights of small numbers of people braving the increasingly lethal dangers of the Wall moved West Germans. President Kennedy visited Berlin in 1962 to demonstrate American resolve in this vulnerable outpost of freedom. He told Berliners. "There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin. Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us." The Wall effectively separated Germans for nearly 30 years. Once completed only small numbers succeeded in crossing it. Many died in the process.

Cuban Missle Crisis

The most dangerous point of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviert Union secretly began installing balistic missles in Cuba capable of hitting Atlantic coast American cities. American surveillance photographs detected the missle sites and President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to prevent further deliveries. The President considered an invasion if the Soviets did not remove the missles. This was the closest the two sides came to nuclear war. American stategists were astounded that Khrushchev would take such a risk. Khrrushvhev later claimed in his memoirs that it was to protect Cuba. Many scholars dismiss this as a cover story. Khruschchev was a high-stake gambler, but not demented. His peasant shrewdness in the end led him to back down. [Tauubman] We know now that the world came much closer to a nuclear exchange than was no at the time. Russian forces in Cuba had tacticl nuclear weapons and probably would have used them if the Unitd states had invaded. Also U.S. destroyers assigned to the blockade were forcing Soviet submarnes around Cuba to the surface. Two of the submarines involved came very close to using nuclear-tipped torpedos. Either action could have very possibly resulted in full-scale nuclear exchange.

Economic Competition

The Soviets were content for the Cold War becoming an economic contest. They firmly believed that Communism was a superior economic system and Capitalism could not compete. Here they were fundamentally wrong. At the time neither the Soviets or the Americans realized that the products rolling out of Soviet factories were actually worth less than the raw material inputs that went into the factories. The Soviets were ot aware of this because the inputs were not imported. All the Third World leaders that turned to the Soviets, including Castro, Nassar, Nehru, Sukarno, Tito, and many others were also unaware. This fundamental economic equation, however, meant that the Communists could not compete economically with the Capilatist West. Communist regimes could generate military power. Socialist planned economies could not, however, generate wealth. And by turning the Cold War into an economic comepetition, the Soviets were condemning themselves as the Communists put it to the 'dustbin of history'. There were other Cold War struggles, but the economic failure of Marxism settled the central conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Sources










CIH






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Created: 10:09 PM 12/20/2015
Last updated: 1:46 AM 10/21/2017