German Neutrality

The Rapacki Plan (Polish foreign minister)

Proposal of the establishment of a denuclearized zone in Central Europe Poland, Czechoslovakia, and both parts of Germany Thoughtful and attractive alternative to the remilitarization of Germany Possible first step toward resolving the German Question Response to a NATO decision to rearm West Germany W. German chancellor Konrad Adenauer asked the West to provide bombers, artillery, and missiles The West obliged immediately (except the missiles)

German Neutrality
1958- US rejects the Rapacki Plan
Premise that Western troops in Germany would be at the mercy of the vast Soviet conventional forces in Central and Eastern Europe Plan also went against what the West wanted anyway (a rearmed Germany)

US had little to lose as they werent giving W. Germany any nuclear weapons anyway USSR gained a propaganda advantage from the proposal (but diverted by the news of Sputnik)

German Neutrality
US publicly decried the tragedy of a divided Germany, but secretly wanted nothing to do with a unified, neutral Germany W. German chancellor Adenauer rejected Soviet offers of reunification as well
Believed that a reunified Germany must be firmly tied to the West Despised East German Saupreussen (sow Prussians)
Eastern European militarists with marginal ties to the West

Feared that his Catholic and capitalist Christian Democratic Union would be voted out of power if reunified

German Neutrality
US (Eisenhower) wanted a possibly reunited Germany to have ties to NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC) France wanted to ally itself with the economic powerhouse of Central Europe (W. Germany) But feared a reunified, rearmed Germany 1958- Charles de Gaulle came to power in France French opposition to a reunified Germany became more pronounced The French were losing faith in NATO Suggesting that the US would not risk an attack for defending Paris Sought closer ties with W. Germany through the EEC 1963- Franco-German Friendship Treaty Britain would side with the US on any policy toward Germany as they knew who saved Europe from German domination in 1917 and 1941

Khrushchevs Berlin Ultimatum, 1958-59

March 1958- Bulganin was ousted as premier as Khrushchev took the position himself No more pretense of a collective Soviet leadership November 10, 1958- Khrushchev declared his intent upon signing a treaty with E. Germany Would force the West to negotiate access rights to West Berlin directly with the E. German government West immediately declared their rights in Berlin were guaranteed by the 1945 Yalta agreements Soviets were looking for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Berlin Ike would agree, but only if both halves of the city would be abandoned and all access routes were patrolled by the UN Khrushchev had abandoned Soviet push for reunification and neutrality and was now talking about turning over East Berlin to E. Germany

Khrushchevs Berlin Ultimatum, 1958-59

Khrushchev delivered an ultimatum to the West- six months and out, or else! Soviets hoped that W. Germany would withdraw from NATO and E. Germany would withdraw from the Warsaw Pact Effectively neutralizing Germany, even if it wasnt reunified Ike felt like Khrushchev was bluffing as he had before (Suez and Lebanon crises) Had espionage info from U-2 sorties that showed the Soviets did not have nearly the capability to respond with nukes

Khrushchevs Berlin Ultimatum, 1958-59

May 1959- US war scare as deadline of Khrushchevs ultimatum was nearing Ike demonstrated his willingness to negotiate and his refusal to panic Ike also had contingency plan if E. Germany were to cut off access to West Berlin A new airlift and severed relations with USSR Britain and France pushed for a summit meeting with Khrushchev Ike and Dulles wanted to avoid a meeting unless there were guaranteed results Offered a conference of foreign ministers in Geneva May 11, 1959- Geneva summit convened Khrushchev hinted that his deadline would not expire if talks were amicable, and then he invited Ike to Moscow Tensions began to lift

Khrushchevs Berlin Ultimatum, 1958-59

July 1959- Ike decided in July he would invite Khrushchev to America for a few days in September Special representative, Robert Murphy, conveyed the suggestion to Soviet first deputy premier Frol Kozlov Murphy did not know that the invite was linked to how well the Geneva summit was going and delivered an unconditional invitation Khrushchev accepted on July 22 stating that he would tour the US for ten days Ike was exasperated and knew that this wouldnt have happened if Dulles would have been alive (died of cancer just as this was all going down) Khrushchev was exhilarated as this would show the equality of the US and the USSR

Berlin Ultimatum, 1958-59

Vice President Richard Nixon arrived in Moscow the day after Khrushchevs acceptance
Purpose of Nixons trip was to accompany a US art and technology exhibition

The Kitchen Debate

Nixon and Khrushchev toured a typical American kitchen all the while trading barbs and insults about each others nations All captured on film, which boosted Nixons public image

Khrushchevs Trip to America

September 15, 1959- Premier and Mrs. Khrushchev arrived in Washington for what would turn out to be a 12-day visit First ten days was spent meeting US politicians and film stars in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh Last two days were spent in private talks with Ike at Camp David Presidential retreat in Marylands Catoctin Mountains Khrushchev pushed Ike on US-Chinese relations Sino-Soviet split was widening and the Soviets wanted to reduce Chinas possible nuclear capabilities Ike pushed for an end to Soviet ultimatum in Germany and endorsed a summit meeting of the four great powers Khrushchev accepted and invited the entire Eisenhower family to the USSR in June 1960 and flew back home to a heros welcome

Khrushchevs Trip to America

Trip produced modest results, but tangibly its effects were significant Khrushchev had demonstrated his equality with Ike and had defended Soviet interests with vigor and skill Ike now believed that Khrushchev was a man with whom he might work for a truly lasting peace The hope (in both the US and USSR) that a peaceful reconciliation of both nations would occur soon Helped to stabilize US-Soviet relations and furnished a benchmark against which later such trips would be judged Even if the German Question had not been settled

The Nuclear Test Ban Issue

Key issue to be discussed at the upcoming 1960 summit
Growing concern over the deadly fallout from testing nuclear weapons by both superpowers 1954- US H-bomb testing produced radiation sickness in Japanese fishermen near the test site Einstein and Schweitzer (nuclear scientists) were calling for a ban on tests US refusal to ban nuclear testing was giving Moscow the edge in world opinion As the world watched and waited for the fallout to worsen Soviets constantly offered to suspend their testing for two / three year periods as long as the US would do so as well

The Nuclear Test Ban Issue

US tried to counter with a proposal full of provisions that were unacceptable to Moscow March 31, 1958- USSR voluntarily suspended their own testing program and invited the US to join them US refused and offended the court of world opinion Ike offered a conference of nuclear techs to devise an inspection and detection system Khrushchev agreed Summer 1958- US, Britain, and the USSR met in Geneva and designed a workable approach Ike sensed a chance to restore USs reputation invited the Soviets to meet and negotiate a comprehensive test ban treaty

The Nuclear Test Ban Issue

October 31, 1958- Ike promised that the US would not test its nuclear weapons for one year from this date Brits followed suit USSR agreed to talks beginning on that date A test ban looked to be within reach and the world rejoiced (yay!) But difficulties remained (ahhh!) No atomic tests by either side were detected for the next three years Early 1959- US and Britain agreed to decouple the test ban from other arms issues

The Nuclear Test Ban Issue

Talks in Geneva stalled US announced that the detection system was deficient because it could not identify small nuclear tests conducted underground Delayed a resolution for over a year Negotiators could not find a way around this problem Early 1960- US and Britain suggest that the ban only apply to above-ground testing and underground blasts large enough to be detected with existing seismic equipment March 1960- Soviets agreed Provision added that declared a moratorium on underground tests while the detection research was proceeding

The U-2 Affair

Paris Summit, 1960 Charles de Gaulle held up the original date for the meeting as his government was testing its first nuclear weapon France had now joined in the four-nation nuclear club May 16, 1960- Paris Summit convened Khrushchev had earlier announced a reduction in the Red Army by 1.2 million men (a bargaining chip that he no longer possessed at the later Paris summit) Ike believed, through Soviet reduction in conventional military, that the USSR was ready to make serious moves in the direction of arms control Inspections remained the most difficult obstacle to overcome US Senate wouldnt ratify any treaty if it looked like the Russians could cheat

The U-2 Affair

Since 1956- US had the capability to know the nature and extent of the USSRs ballistic missile deployment through the use of U-2 reconnaissance airplanes Provided high-quality, top-secret photographic intelligence Highly secretive CIA program U-2s could fly at 70,000 feet- some 25,000 feet higher than Soviet missiles and had a range of 4,750 miles Equipped with cameras that allowed for continuous pictures of a strip of land 750 miles wide As late as 1960, photographs convinced Ike that the USSR had not one operative ICBM But couldnt tell anyone why he believed this Khrushchev couldnt either for fear of exposing his bluffs about his countrys inability to stop the US from flying through Soviet airspace Ike suspended all U-2 espionage flights over the USSR during Khrushchevs visit to the US

The U-2 Affair

CIA director Allen Dulles asked for resumption of U-2 flights in the spring of 1960 Ike approved wanting to know what Russia was up to, but only reluctantly as the Paris Summit was approaching April 9, 1960- first U-2 espionage run over the USSR went without incident May 1, 1960- U-2 flight crashed in Soviet territory US spun the story of it being a weather flight that had strayed off course Incident presented Khrushchev with a dilemma Hardliners pressed him to cancel the summit Khrushchev decided to expose the spy plane US denials were refuted when Khrushchev announced that they had captured the pilot Khrushchev was hoping for an apology from Ike stating that the intelligence services had extended their intended goals without his knowledge This way, Khrushchev could still attend the summit in a position of triumph

The U-2 Affair

Ike now had his own dilemma How could subordinates create such a crisis without his knowledge (didnt look good for the US president) Ike couldnt lie because who knows what the pilot said under interrogation Ike couldnt tell the truth about espionage during peacetime Would break the trust he had developed just recently with Khrushchev and mess up the Eisenhower visit in June Ike decided to state that the U-2 flights had been carried out under his general orders and might continue until the USSR agreed to reciprocal inspection of bases and installations This put an end to the thaw in the Cold War and destroyed personal relations between Khrushchev and Ike

The Collapse of the Paris Summit

Khrushchev responded to Ikes admittance about the U-2 Affair with an emotional tirade Would have been worse had he known that Ike wanted Air Force One to be equipped with cameras as he flew to the USSR in June Paris summit was in danger Khrushchev arrived in Paris early hoping for a public apology from Ike In hopes of continuing with the summit and Ikes visit to the USSR May 14-15, 1960- de Gaulle and Macmillan (of Britain) were trying to convince Khrushchev that no head of state would apologize for using espionage during peacetime May 16, 1960- de Gaulle opened the conference and immediately Khrushchev demanded the floor and read a lengthy statement denouncing the US Withdrew his invitation to Ike and suggested that the summit be postponed for 6-8 months until a new American president was inaugurated

The Collapse of the Paris Summit

In response Ike promised that U-2 flights would not resume while he was still in office De Gaulle defended the US by talking about a Soviet satellite that flew over France 18 times a day Khrushchev insisted on an apology for the sake of his countrys honor and his own internal political situation Macmillan emotionally pled with the summit leaders to not throw away the last two years of intense efforts for negotiations

The Collapse of the Paris Summit

The meeting broke up in turmoil anyway Khrushchev refused to meet again until the US admitted regret over the incident Would not negotiate with the US about the arms race or the German Question until a new man was in the presidency Khrushchev claimed that from this point forward he did not have full control over his government Hardliners pushed for a huge military buildup to compete with the US Sino-Soviet relations would crumble He was forced to strengthen the Soviet global posture Laid the foundation for the Berlin and Cuban crises of 1961 and 1962

The Collapse of the Paris Summit

Ike was enraged and frustrated believing that Khrushchev was throwing away world peace over an impossible demand More than likely upset at himself for letting the U-2s go just prior to the summit Heartened by de Gaulles support at the summit De Gaulle was incensed at Khrushchev's conduct Macmillan was devastated Britain was liquidating its African and Middle Eastern colonies Badly wanted a US-Soviet agreement Reduced to a supporting role in the Cold War

US Presidential Campaign of 1960

Republican Richard Nixon Democratic candidates included
John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Humphrey, and Symington Much younger than Ike and ready to rip the Republican Party for their handling of the Paris summit and the perpetuation of the Cold War
Kennedy accused Ike of irresponsibility in refusing to apologize to the USSR

Kennedy won the nomination for the Democrats

US Presidential Campaign of 1960

July 1, 1960- an RB-47 bomber was shot down along the north coast of the USSR
Two survivors were in Soviet custody

UN Security Council debated the matter

Meanwhile, a C-47 flew over the Kurile Islands north of Japan and the Soviets attempted to shoot it down also

Escalating tension played into the hands of Nixon

The US would be looking to a more experienced politician to handle the Cold War

Khrushchev wanted Kennedy to win- he hated Nixons politics

He kept the downed airmen until after the election

US Presidential Campaign of 1960

September, 1960- Khrushchev visits the US
To address the UN on its 15th anniversary Threats on his life kept him restricted to Manhattan
Met with Fidel Castro

Macmillan got up and discussed Khrushchevs behavior at the Paris summit

Khrushchev heckled him and took off his shoe and pounded it on the desk Assembly president broke his gavel trying to regain order Khrushchev and Gromyko began pounding their fists in unison on their desks

US saw that Soviet leadership had changed dramatically

Reasonable Khrushchev of 1959 had been replaced by the uncouth buffoon of 1960

US Presidential Campaign of 1960

John Kennedy won the election
Alleged existence of a missile gap helped get him into office and that Ike and Nixon designed a defense budget that starved the American missile program and that the Soviets were turning out ICBMs in large numbers Kennedy did not know the truth as Ike did thanks to U-2 photos
Couldnt tell Kennedy the truth due to the secrecy of US policy towards the USSR

Kennedy took office in spring 1961 and found out that there was no missile gap

US Presidential Campaign of 1960

Khrushchev was ready to make peace with Kennedy Offered to release downed RB-47 pilots in exchange for not using them as propaganda purposes and not to authorize anymore recon flights over the USSR Kennedy agreed U-2 pilot would later be released in exchange for Soviet agent Rudolph Abel in 1962 Kennedy hoped that espionage flights were the worst of his problems, but A new communist regime in Cuba was established The German Question had not been resolved