19. The Berlin Wall

Question 1

How long was the Berlin Wall to keep the city divided for?

Answer 1

30 years

Question 2

How was Berlin Wall split at first?

Answer 2

No east Berliners were allowed to pass. Barbed wire fences were put up and trains could no longer cross the border

Question 3

What happened in August 13th 1961?

Answer 3

East German troops lined the border between east and west Berlin

Question 4

How long did it take for the Berlin Wall to be built?

Answer 4

Seven days while troops blocked the border

Question 5

What happened as the wall went up?

Answer 5

Everyone mostly stayed at home, there were no protests and the streets were quiet

Question 6

Who carried out the building of the wall?

Answer 6

East Germans did officially but A few miles outside the city soviet tanks waited ready to intervene should there be any resistance

Question 7

How did the wall split families?

Answer 7

Became illegal to cross the border to visit relatives

Question 8

What lengths did people go to get between the wall?

Answer 8

A group built a tunnel from one side of Berlin to another

Question 9

Give political reasons the Berlin Wall was constructed

Answer 9

• Khrushchev wanted complete removal of allied troops
• The U2 crisis triggered a fear of Allied spies in East Berlin
• as Khrushchev was angry the Americans refuse to apologise for the U2 incident

Question 10

Give Economic reasons the Berlin Wall happened

Answer 10

• To stop high skilled workers from leaving East Berlin
• as west Germany became more prosperous due to the deutschmark
• as Berliners were working long hours and suffering food shortages so they may leave

Question 11

Give reasons of propaganda that the Berlin wall was built

Answer 11

• To save the reputation of communism and to ensure its survival
• West Berlin was an embarrassment to the Soviet union which had been transformed through US economic aid into a showpiece of capitalism

Question 12

What happened in the Vienna summit?

Answer 12

It was the first time Kennedy met Khrushchev and the first summit since the failed Paris summit. Khrushchev have ended up over powering Kennedy as he did not want West Berlin capitalist despite Kennedy’s interests.

Question 13

Give a score of how successful Kennedy was in the Vienna summit and the effect it had in its reputation

Answer 13

2/10 as he didn’t actually do anything and he looked weak and unreliable

Question 14

What was Kennedy’s initial response to the building of the Berlin Wall?

Answer 14

He didn’t do anything as West Berlin was still free and travel between West Berlin and west Germany was allowed. The USA only sent a complaint to Moscow about the east as it wasn’t worth a war

Question 15

What effect did Kennedy’s initial response to the Berlin Wall have on his reputation and give his actions a score.

Answer 15

4/10 as he seemed defeated, it made Kennedy seem somewhat wise but still undetermined

Question 16

What was the crisis at checkpoint Charlie?

Answer 16

In October 1961, American diplomat was refused entry to east Berlin to go to a theatre. This led to a standoff at the border including tanks. The crisis was averted when Kennedy and Khrushchev agreed to withdraw. The two sides took turns reversing the tanks 5 m at a time and the slightest error could’ve led to war

Question 17

What did Kennedy do in June 1963?

Answer 17

He visited the Berlin Wall in West Berlin and made a speech to 120,000 west berliners telling them he will protect them against communism through the USA’s commitment to fight and famously said ‘Ich bin ein berliner’ sending the SU a clear message

Question 18

What effect did the Berlin Wall visit speech have on Kennedy’s reputation?

Answer 18

He was making more people trust him and getting them on his side; the side of capitalism

Question 19

What consequences did the Berlin Wall have Berlin?

Answer 19

• there was an official death toll of 136, but some say it could have been 200
• number of people defecting from east to west was reduced
• Kennedy’s speech in Berlin made it clear the thaw was over

Question 20

What consequences did the Berlin Wall have on Kennedy?

Answer 20

• Kennedy gained criticism for not acting aggressive towards the wall
• the Wall was propaganda victory for the USA as it could portray Khrushchev as a dictator like Stalin

Question 21

What effects did the Berlin Wall have on Khrushchev?

Answer 21

• the SU had no hope of taking the whole of Berlin
• the economy of east Germany was stabilised as only one currency existed after the war
• many began to ask ‘of communist system was so perfect, why was it necessary to turn it into a prison?’

Question 22

Give some effects the Berlin Wall had on the Cold War?

Answer 22

• Berlin was no longer the centre of tensions as the wall had matters settled
• Kennedy’s speech made it clear the thaw was over