Tensions Increase After Berlin Crisis 1958-61 Flashcards
How many Germans have left East Germany by 1958?
3 million over a six of the country’s population
What kind of people were leaving East Germany during the ‘Brain Drain’?
Skilled workers who were essential to the East German economy, such as engineers, technicians and teachers
What did Khrushchev demand in his Berlin ultimatum?
He demanded that western countries should officially recognise East Germany (i.e GDR = German Democratic Republic) as an independent country
What were the names of the 4 summits held to discuss the Berlin Ultimatum’?
Geneva, May 1959
Camp David,September 1959
Paris, May 1960
Viana, June 1961
Why did the summits do badly?
On 1st May 1960 - as the various countries prepared for the Paris peace talks - and American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Eisenhower was embarrassed by this but refused to apologise. Khrushchev walked out of the meeting
Who was president of the USA at the beginning of the Berlin crisis and he was president at the end? What was the effect of this change?
Eisenhower was replaced by Kennedy in January 1961. At the Vienna summit in June 1961, Khrushchev Believe that as Kennedy was inexperienced in foreign affairs, it would be possible to get the better of him. However, Kennedy refuse to make any concessions and, after Vienna, decided to increase spending on American Armed Forces by over $2 billion
What was the result of the failure of the summits to find a conclusion to the Burlin ultimatum?
Concerns over the Burlin ultimatum to cause an increase in East Germans deciding to cross to the west, just in case Khrushchev decided to close the border. Then, on the night of 12 August 1961, East German troops that after barbed wire fence between East and West Berlin
What are the negative impacts of the building of the Berlin Wall on both the USA and the USSR?
Khrushchev had to abandon plans to unite Germany under Soviet control. The Berlin Wall also showed how the Soviet union had to ‘lock’ people into Socialist countries. For the USA, The Soviet union had put up the wall without asking USA and people who wanted to escape from communism could no longer do so
What are the positive impact of the building of the Berlin Wall and both the USA and the USSR?
That will stop large numbers of refugees leaving for the west, to some extent solving the problem of the east German government. It also showed the west that communism would survive in Berlin. On the other hand, it also showed that Khrushchev had been forced to accept western control in West Berlin. West Berlin became an emblem of freedom
What was the impact of President Kennedy’s visit to Berlin in 1963?
Thousands of West Berlin has went to see him speak. Canedy praise the freedoms of the west and contrasted them with communism in a famous speech in which she said, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ (I am a citizen of Berlin)
