The 'Geneva spirit'
The ‘Geneva spirit’
TextEast-West dialogue
The development of Soviet policy (1953)
TextConfidential Note dated 3 September 1953 from the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs analysing the development of the USSR’s international policy since the death of Stalin.
‘The man and his legacy’ from Le Monde (7 March 1953)
TextOn 7 March 1953, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the death of Marshal Joseph Stalin and attempts to gauge the influence of Stalinism on the Soviet Union.
Excerpt from the diary of Dwight D. Eisenhower (10 December 1953)
TextOn 10 December 1953, the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, refers in his diary to all the reasons which led him to give an address, two days earlier, before the United Nations concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
ImageDwight David Eisenhower, Republican President of the United States from 1953 to 1961.
Cartoon from Wiener Kurier on the USSR's international policy (13 February 1955)
Image"European Security, Molotov-style' is the caption for this Austrian cartoon showing the Soviet Union taking hold of Europe with its sickle.
Letter from Maurice Couve de Murville to Antoine Pinay (Washington, 27 May 1955)
TextOn 27 May 1955, Maurice Couve de Murville, French Ambassador to the United States, informs the French Foreign Minister, Antoine Pinay, of the US reactions to the changes taking place in Soviet foreign policy.
Letter from Jean Chauvel to Antoine Pinay (London, 14 June 1955)
TextOn 14 June 1955, Jean Chauvel, French Ambassador in London, writes a letter to Antoine Pinay, French Foreign Minister, in which he sets out his opinion on the reasons for the developments in Soviet policy and the abandonment of Stalinist opposition to change.
Visit by Konrad Adenauer to the Soviet Union (Moscow, 8 September 1955)
ImageIn September 1955, Konrad Adenauer, German Federal Chancellor, makes an official visit to Moscow. The discussions with Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet representative (front left), and Nikita S. Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (front right), lead to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Germany.
'The methods of Stalinism condemned at the Soviet Communist Party Congress' from Il nuovo Corriere della Sera (18 February 1956)
TextOn 18 February 1956, the Italian newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera speculates on the genuine desire for de-Stalinisation shown by Nikita Khrushchev, the new Soviet leader, on the occasion of his submission of the report on Stalin’s crimes to the 20th Soviet Communist Party Congress in Moscow.
The Geneva Conference (18-23 July 1955)
Inaugural address given by President Eisenhower at the first meeting of Heads of Government at the Geneva Conference (18 to 23 July 1955)
TextOn 18 July 1955, at the opening of the Geneva Conference of the Heads of Government of France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, gives an address in which he stresses the importance of rapprochement between East and West.
Draft Treaty on European Security submitted by the Soviet Union (Geneva, 20 July 1955)
TextDuring the Geneva Conference held from 18 to 23 July 1955 and attended by delegates from the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the USSR, the Soviet delegation proposes a Treaty on rapprochement between East and West with a view to maintaining peace on the European continent.
Closing address given by Marshal Bulganin at the Geneva Conference (18 to 23 July 1955)
TextOn 23 July 1955, the Soviet representative, Nikolai Bulganin, gives the closing address at the Geneva Conference and welcomes the spirit of cooperation which has prevailed between the Soviet and Western delegations.
'Is the Cold War over?', from Die Welt (23 July 1955)
TextOn 23 July 1955, at the end of the Four-Power Conference held in Geneva, the German daily newspaper Die Welt comments on the new dialogue established between East and West and reports on the progress of the negotiations.
Cartoon by Behrendt on the German question (23 July 1955)
Image‘There are some problems that are difficult to put into the fridge’. Following the Geneva Conference, the cartoonist Behrendt illustrates the efforts of the Heads of Government of the four great powers (United States, United Kingdom, France and the USSR) to find a solution to the German question.
Radio and television broadcast by Dwight D. Eisenhower (25 July 1955)
TextOn 25 July 1955, two days after the end of the Geneva Conference, President Dwight D. Eisenhower addresses the American people and gives an initial account of the East-West dialogue.
Letter from François Seydoux to Antoine Pinay (Vienna, 25 July 1955)
TextOn 25 July 1955, the French High Commissioner in Austria, François Seydoux, informs the French Foreign Minister, Antoine Pinay, of the Austrian Government’s satisfaction at the positive outcome of the Geneva Diplomatic Conference on East-West relations.
'The Four-Power Agreement', from Le Figaro (25 July 1955)
TextOn 25 July 1955, commenting on the Geneva Conference, held from 18 to 21 July, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro analyses the signs of détente that have become apparent between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Letter from Maurice Couve de Murville to Antoine Pinay (Washington, 28 July 1955)
TextOn 28 July 1955, Maurice Couve de Murville, French Ambassador to the United States, informs Antoine Pinay, French Foreign Minister, of the US leaders’ reservations regarding the Soviet attitude and the outcome of the Geneva Conference on East-West relations.
'The "Spirit of Geneva" as the basis of Russian propaganda' from Corriere della Sera (28 October 1955)
TextOn 28 October 1955, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera ponders on the reality of the new political orientation of Moscow’s leaders which became apparent during the Geneva Conference, held in July 1955, which was attended by representatives from the United States and the USSR.
Letter from Jean Le Roy to Antoine Pinay (Moscow, 4 August 1955)
TextOn 4 August 1955, Jean Le Roy, French chargé d’affaires in Moscow, informs Antoine Pinay, French Foreign Minister, of the optimism with which the Soviet Premier, Nikolai Bulganin, reported on the outcome of the Geneva Conference to the Supreme Soviet.
Cartoon by Efimov on peaceful coexistence (20 September 1955)
Image‘... Air raid warning.' On 20 September 1955, the Soviet satirical publication Krokodil deplores the sabotage, by Cold War supporters, of ‘the Spirit of Geneva' and of the new climate of dialogue symbolised by the Geneva Conference which, from 18 to 21 July 1955, was attended by the Four Powers (the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the USSR).
Cartoon by Behrendt on the Geneva Conference (November 1955)
Image‘The spirit that is about to give up the ghost.' In cartoonist Fritz Behrendt's view, ‘the spirit of dialogue' reigning between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, is in a bad way four months after the Geneva Conference in July 1955.
Nikita S. Khrouchtchev, Souvenirs
TextDans ses Mémoires, Nikita Khrouchtchev, ancien Premier secrétaire du Parti communiste d'URSS, commente le sommet de Genève de juillet 1955 qui marque le début du dialogue Est-Ouest.
The Geneva Conference (18-23 July 1955)
Address given by Paul-Henri Spaak (12 July 1957)
VideoOn 12 July 1957, Paul-Henri Spaak, the Secretary-General of NATO, speaks to eminent figures at the Municipal Theatre of Luxembourg and presents the Atlantic Alliance as a consequence of the Soviet Union’s foreign policy since the end of the Second World War.
‘Geneva two’ from Het Parool (26 October 1955)
TextOn 26 October 1955, as the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France is held in Geneva, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool analyses the state of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States.
"German paste" in Der Spiegel (16 November 1955)
TextOn 16 November 1955, the German weekly Der Spiegel questions whether the direction in which the negotiations on German unification between the Western powers and the Soviet Union are going is in the interests of the German people.
Peaceful coexistence
‘Peaceful coexistence’ from the Luxemburger Wort (14 March 1953)
TextOn 14 March 1953, the Catholic daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort speculates on the prospect of establishing peaceful coexistence between East and West.
Cartoon by Efimov on peaceful coexistence (20 August 1955)
Image‘Roadworks.’ On 20 August 1955, the Soviet publication Krokodil illustrates the progress of the steamroller of international cooperation, in favour of peaceful coexistence, as it crushes the symbols of the Cold War in its path.
Nikita Khrushchev at the 20th Congress of the CPSU (1956)
ImageOn 14 February 1956, addressing the 20th Congress of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) in Moscow, Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, assesses the purges ordered by Stalin and deplores the Soviet leader’s overall policy.
Visit by Nikita Khrushchev to the United States (15 September 1959)
ImageOn 15 September 1959, Nikita Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party, responds to the welcome address given in his honour by the US President Dwight D. Eisenhower (first on the right) to mark his three-day visit to the United States.
Address given by Senator John F. Kennedy on Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to the United States (15 September 1959)
TextOn 15 September 1959, following the visit to the United States by the First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev, the US Senator, John F. Kennedy, gives an address in which he stresses the importance of normalising relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
'On peaceful coexistence', from Foreign Affairs (October 1959)
TextIn October 1959, Nikita S. Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, publishes a reverberant article about the state of East-West relations in the US geopolitical magazine Foreign Affairs.
'Peaceful coexistence', from Foreign Affairs (January 1960)
TextIn January 1960, responding to an article published by Nikita Khrushchev in September 1959, the US diplomat, George F. Kennan, writes an article in the US geopolitical magazine Foreign Affairs in which he harshly criticises the Soviet Union’s policy and accuses its leaders of lacking sincerity.
US position during the Vienna meeting between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev (25 May 1961)
TextThis document, taken from US archives, sets out the position and the attitude to be adopted by the US President, John F. Kennedy, during his meeting with Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in Vienna on 3 and 4 June 1961.
John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna (1961)
ImageOn 3 and 4 June 1961, in Vienna, the US President, John F. Kennedy, meets Nikita Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although this meeting does not end the tension between the two blocs.
‘The two Ks in Vienna’ by Yves Courrière (RTL, 3 June 1961)
Audio extractOn 3 and 4 June 1961, US President John F. Kennedy and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) Nikita Khrushchev meet in Vienna in an attempt to ease the tension between the two superpowers.
Interview with the President John F. Kennedy to Izvestia (November 25, 1961)
TextOn 25 November 1961, US President, John F. Kennedy, gives an interview to the editor-in-chief of the Soviet newspaper Izvestia. In this interview, the President gives his views on relations between the Soviet Union and the USA, and the crises of the Cold War.
Cartoon by Behrendt on East-West relations (1962)
Image'Khrushchev: the door to negotiations remains open'. In 1962, the cartoonist Fritz Behrendt takes an ironical look at the real will of the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, to establish dialogue between East and West.
Cartoon by Abu on Arms Race (11 March 1962)
Image‘The arms race'. In March 1962, in the British Sunday newspaper The Observer, the cartoonist Abu condemns the suicidal arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Letter from the Luxembourg Ambassador to Moscow to Pierre Grégoire (Moscow, 23 October 1968)
TextOn 23 October 1968, the Luxembourg Ambassador to Moscow sends a letter to the Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Pierre Grégoire, in which he refers to the risks of a return to the Cold War.
Conditions for use of the 'red telephone'
TextThe US memorandum of action for national security n°255 describes the conditions for use of the famous 'red telephone', the direct and secure line between the White House in Washington and the Kremlin in Moscow, which would have been used, in the context of the Cold War, to warn of any nuclear attack between the two superpowers.
'He made a success of his life but failed in his objectives', from Le Monde (14 September 1971)
TextOn 14 September 1971, commenting on Nikita Khrushchev’s death three days earlier, the French daily newspaper Le Monde looks back at the Soviet leader’s political career.