The spofford compromise and the pleven planedc 1951

The Spofford Compromise and the Pleven Plan/EDC (1951)
 The Pleven Plan was announced on the 24 th October and its purpose was to set up a
European army under supranational control. The first version of this plan was
however unworkable as it purely aimed at controlling German rearmament and so
nobody was interest. The Spofford Compromise was thus introduced which
practically led to rearmament and the strengthening of defences in West Germany.
The East German Revolt, June 1953
 Cause: Walter Ulbricht’s programme of forced collectivisation of farms and
socialisation was causing a mass exodus from East Germany to West. Concessions
given too late.
 Uprising: Series of strikes broke out on 16
th
June with workers demanding increased
pay, more political freedom and re-establishment of the SPD, by 18 th June military
intervention and withdrawal of production targets meant order was restored.
 Consequences: upset the Soviet peace offensive and made a 4 power conference
less likely, forced Communists to accept that a united, neutral Germany was
unrealistic.

The Western European Settlement 1953-5
 FRG Joins NATO: Immediate priority in the consolidation of the Western bloc (after
collapse of EDC) was FRG’s entry into NATO. This was achieved on the 5 th May
1955 and effectively completed the post-war settlement of Western Europe.
 Warsaw Pact Treaty: In reaction to FRG joining NATO, the Warsaw Pact Treaty was
signed on the 14 th May 1955, with GDR joining in January 1956.
 Geneva Conference (July 1955): the number of nuclear weapons possessed made
peaceful coexistence the only practical option and the Geneva Conference, which
was the first meeting of the four powers since Potsdam, represented this attitude. In
September, Adenauer visited Moscow to negotiate the return of the last German
POWs and to establish diplomatic relations with the USSR. This prompted the