starter activity
Imagine you are the new US president Eisenhower in 1953. Does the
news of Stalin’s death come as a relief or does it send you into panic?
What impact did Stalin’s
death have on the
international community?
LOs
To assess the impact of Stalin‟s death on
international relations
To be able to explain how „Peaceful
Coexistence‟ developed
Your task
Read p.73-4 of Phillips and list the effects of
Stalin‟s death on international relations
Impact of Stalin’s death
Liberal historians (intentionalist) emphasising
role of individuals in history see his death as
beginning of „Thaw‟
Revisionist historians (structuralist) see cause of
Thaw in changing positions of Politiburo and
Army leaders
Stalin‟s daughter, Sveltlana thought Stalin had
become isolated by end of his life
Sveltlana with Stalin, 1935
Eisenhower was
looking for a way of
reducing government
spending by
implementing „New
Look‟ policy towards
East
Both sides had
established their
boundaries and were
looking for new
approaches to foreign
policy
Eisenhower, US President, 1953-61
Extension task
Read Isaacs, p.140-3 and note down the
reactions of different countries to Stalin‟s death
Stalin‟s death
mask in Gori
Extension
Visit the BBC news website at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/279
3501.stm and investigate the conspiracy theories
behind Stalin‟s death
Answer the questions 1-9 on „Peaceful Co-existence‟
Your task
Read p.75. Where did the phrase „Peaceful co-existence‟
originate? What were some of the factors which caused
it?
Read p.75-8 and list the reasons why „peaceful co-
existence‟ emerged between the two superpowers. Take
notes under these headings:
Consolidation of positions
Military & economic context
Death of Stalin
Beria
Malenkov
Peaceful Co-existence
Origins of term – 1st coined by Malenkov, head
of Communist Party & Soviet PM , 1952;
developed into fully formed policy under
Khrushchev
Purpose – means of co-operating between East
& West until Marxist aims of communist society
could be fulfilled
Causes – changes in leadership, need to avoid
all-out nuclear war, wider issues …
Consolidation
By 1949 division of
Europe entrenched
Formation of NATO
(1949) & Warsaw Pact
(1953) made divisions
more evident
Positions were secure –
now more willing to
negotiate
Military & economic context
By 1955 USA & USSR possessed hydrogen bombs
Arms race picking up speed, e.g 1950 US had 298
atomic bombs, in 1955 it had 2,422
1/3 of USSR spending went on military projects
US Hydrogen bomb – one very similar was jettisoned in 1958 of coast of Georgia and
remains there to this day!
Death of Stalin
Power struggle between Beria (head of secret
police), Malenkov (Politburo member) & Nikita
Khrushchev (Politburo member)
Beria (with Svetlana) Malenkov Khrushchev
Read about Beria‟s depraved
sexual antics
Beria’s initiatives
Beria: “All we want is a
peaceful Germany, and it
makes no difference to us
whether it is socialist or not”
Proposed reunified, united
East Germany
BUT Berlin Uprising (1953)
dashed hopes of unified
Germany – 25,000 arrests,
400 executions
Malenkov’s ‘New Course’
„New Course‟ – war between capitalism and
communism no longer inevitable
Resources should be directed towards improving
living conditions in USSR
Khrushchev built on Malenkov‟s policy,
developing „New Course‟ into „Peaceful Co-
existence‟ & De-Stalinisation
Plenary
Why did the world react positively and
negatively to Stalin‟s death
Who coined the phrase „Peaceful Co-existence?
Reasons for development of PC?
Extension. Who do you think should really be
credited with PC? Should it even be a Russian?
Homework
1. Create factoids on these key players in the rise of
„peaceful coexistence‟ using the information on p.78-9
and your own research:
Lavrenti Beria
Georgi Malenkov
Nikita Khrushchev
Chart their earl careers, their attitudes towards the US
and their failings/weaknesses
2. Take notes on Austria & Finland (p.80) using the
„Skills builder‟ question to guide you.