What was the Vienna summit |
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With the Cold War in full swing, and the world at the brink of complete and total nuclear fallout, the leaders of the two superpowers decided that they did not want war and wanted to ease the tensions by a two day conversation with no set agenda to simply exchange views on hot topics in hopes of avoiding war and destruction. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev had called for a meeting which was called the Vienna Summit. This summit had pure intentions with the right outcome of eased tensions in mind, on June third and fourth 1961, Vienna, Austria would host one of the biggest embarrassments for the entire Kennedy Administration, and a large victory for Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union. This would go down as one of the most unfair debates in history.
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"He just beat the hell out of me"
- John F. Kennedy |
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Kennedy preparations
At home preparationsAs the day of reckoning drew closer for both world leaders, President Kennedy was not listening to the advice of his advisors, who were also the advisors of the former president, Eisenhower. They knew that Khrushchev was ruthless and would vanquish Kennedy if they didn’t do their absolute best to train Kennedy to the brutality of the leader of the Soviet Union. Without a doubt, President Kennedy’s advisors knew that it would be one of the most challenges of his presidency. While they did their best to prepare Kennedy, the President convinced himself that he could use his charm to make peace between the two superpowers.
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Before the summit
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Possible improvementsThere were a few things that Kennedy could have done differently to try and prepare for the Vienna Summit. The fist thing that Kennedy could have done is have the self knowledge to know that he is a green president and he should listen to his advisors who went through a similar situation already with former president Eisenhower. The second thing that Kennedy could have possibly done is delayed the Summit by a couple of days or weeks to give himself more time to prepare .
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Khrushchev Preparations
At home preparationsOn the other side of the pond, there is a man who is known as one of the most ruthless men to debate. He is known for having a short temper and very brash and vocal about his opinions. This man was one who could manipulate the conversation so that you would contradict your own point and you wouldn’t be able to address any of the talking points that you prepared. This man was the successor of the famous World War II leader, Joseph Stalin. Nikita Khrushchev was relentless in his pursuit of belittling the United States president and embarrassing him on a world stage. The current advancement of television allowed Nikita Khrushchev to make this Summit one for the history books.
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Before the summit
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possible improvementsThere was very few things that Khrushchev could have done to prepare better for the Vienna Summit.
He came He saw He Destroyed |
At the summit
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Walking into the Vienna Summit, President Kennedy thought that there would be civil conversations and that all would be resolved between the two superpowers, allowing the Cold War to come to an end. However Soviet Union Leader, Khrushchev walked in with different intentions, he walked in with the intentions to crush, destroy and humiliate Kennedy. Unfortunately only one of them walked out and accomplished their goal.
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Khrushchev and Kennedy had four meeting sessions two for each day, and after the morning session on June third Kennedy came out smiling and looked like everything went according to plan, however president Kennedy’s advisor comments, “I’m surprised that President Kennedy stayed so calm.” This was because Khrushchev was just very vocal and insulting about Kennedy’s presidency and also American policies. Even though Kennedy was a World War II veteran he says with sincerity, “That was the worst thing I’ve ever had to go through.”
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conclusion
While it doesn’t seem like the Vienna Summit was only an embarrassment for President Kennedy, his administration, the American Government and the entire free world. In 1961 the world was moments away from total nuclear annihilation, this prompted the Americans to change their entire lifestyle in a matter of months. The cold war tensions caused a major shift the entire American mindset. It was the Vienna Summit, during the height of cold war tensions that some historians credit the deescalation of the Cold War. The few things that came out of the Vienna Summit was the beginning of a relationship between Khrushchev and Kennedy, a strong blow to Kennedy’s ego, the Berlin wall, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. While the intentions of the Vienna Summit were pure, the immediate outcome would say otherwise, however in the long run, the outcome could have been much worse and we wouldn’t be here right now. “We should never negotiate out of fear, but never let us fear to negotiate.” - President John F. Kennedy
