Berlin Crisis 1961
Berlin Crisis
Cause
- Berlin continued to
pose a problem for USA and USSR - between 1949 and 1961, 4 million East Germans fled from East Berlin to West Berlin.
They fled because they did not support the communist regime.
- Khrushchev claimed that the Allies used Berlin as a base of espionage.
- He called Berlin a 'fishbone stuck in my throat'
- Large
numbers of these refugees were professionals which further declined East German
economy = Brain Drain
What Happened
- In August 1961, Khrushchev
closed the border between East and West Berlin
by dividing the two sections using a concrete wall.
- The Iron Curtain had become
real and USA
did nothing to stop the building of the wall.
Consequence
- Families were split as a result and travel was
made harder, Khrushchev felt he had beaten Kennedy as he did not retaliate.
- The flow of refugees stopped and the economy was
recovering.
- The wall was a symbol of the division of the world.
Extra information
- In 1958 Khrushchev suggested that the Allies leave Berlin to make the divisions fair, and Eisenhower was
prepared to negotiate as he did not want to risk a war over Berlin.
- The Paris Summit Conference between the 2
superpowers was set up to discuss about Berlin
and nuclear weapons.
- 9 days before the Summit Conference, USSR announced
that they had shot down an American U2 spy plane.
- Khrushchev demanded that
all spying was to be stopped and for Eisenhower to apologise. However
Eisenhower claimed that spies were used for defensive purposes and refused to apologise.
- President Kennedy visited West
Berlin in 1963 and made several speeches which were greeted with
large cheering crowds
- 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech
- He was seen as a saviour to West
Berlin from Khrushchev.
