The Berlin Wall Flashcards
List 7 reasons why there was tension over Berlin in the 1950s.
- In 1955 West Germany had joined NATO
- In 1957 West Germany had also joined the European Economic Community
- West Germany, already economically strong, was getting stronger
- West Berlin was an area symbolising capitalist prosperity in a communist area
- West Berlin was a hole in the Iron Curtain
- The USSR claimed the USA and its Allies used West Berlin as a base for espionage
- Khrushchev also feared its military strength, and a German invasion
- The refugee problem
What was the refugee problem in Berlin?
- Between 1949 and 1961, 4 million East Germans fled from the East to the West through Berlin
- They did this due to economic and political conditions, such as the forced collectivisation of agriculture, the end of private trading and a shortage of consumer goods while they were cheap in West Berlin
- From January 1961 the number of East Germans fleeing rose to over 20,000 a month, and many of these people were professionals, or skilled craftsmen (e.g. the University of Leipzig’s whole mathematics department defected on one day)
- This ‘brain drain’ threatened the collapse the economy of East Germany
What did Khrushchev do in regards to Berlin in 1958, and how did the USA respond?
He issued the Berlin Ultimatum:
- He accused the Allies of breaking the Potsdam agreement
- He said they should leave Berlin within 6 months, and the city would become neutral
- President Eisenhower was willing to negotiate as he did not want to risk a war
What were relations generally like after Khrushchev issued the Berlin Ultimatum?
- Khrushchev visited the USA in 1959
- It seemed to be a successful visit as a summit was agreed to be held the following year
What happened to the (May) 1960 Paris Summit?
- 9 days before it was meant to start, the USSR announced they had shot down an American U-2 spy plane
- The pilot Gary Powers had survived and parachuted down, and was captured by the Soviets
- The USA claimed it was a weather plane, but the USSR already had incriminating evidence
- Khrushchev demanded that the flights stop, and that the USA gives an apology
- Eisenhower was ready to stop the flights, but not to apologise
- There were bitter exchanges between the two at a preliminary meeting, and Khrushchev stormed out
- Eisenhower cancelled his planned trip to the USSR
- The summit didn’t happen
Who replaced Eisenhower, and when?
- Kennedy
- January 1961
Why was the 1961 Vienna Summit held?
- Khrushchev still wanted to find a solution to the issues over Berlin
- Khrushchev thought he could use his experience to push around Kennedy, who was young and inexperienced
- He hadn’t noticed that Kennedy had re-asserted the Truman Doctrine
What happened at the Vienna Summit?
- In June Khrushchev demanded that Western forces leave West Berlin
- He said he would make a treaty with East Germany which would end occupation rights, including the West’s access to Berlin
How did the USA respond to the Vienna Summit, and what did Khrushchev do in response?
- Kennedy refused to remove Western forces from West Berlin
- He increased US defence spending by $3.5 billion
- Khrushchev announced the Soviet defence budget would be increased by over 30%
When was the Berlin Wall built?
- On 13th August 1961 Khrushchev closed the border between East and West Berlin
- Streets close to the border were torn up to put barbed wire along the 27 miles between the two sides of Berlin
How did the Allies respond to the building of the Berlin wall?
- They did nothing as the new barrier was built inside East Berlin
What was the permanent version of the Berlin Wall like?
- 1.2m wide, 3.6m high and 97 miles in total (going around West Berlin, while 27 miles down the middle of Berlin)
- The area between the wall and the border had soldiers who were meant to shoot anyone trying to escape, dogs, floodlights and trip-wire machine guns
How did the construction of the Berlin Wall affect US-Soviet relations?
- The USA disrupted the right that Soviet soldiers had to patrol and guard the checkpoints, and to check the passports of American officials passing through
- This lead to a standoff in October 1961
- The Americans stationed their troops on the West side of the Wall, and so the Soviets did the same on their side
- Kennedy worked behind the scenes for Khrushchev to move his tanks and troops, promising he would follow, which ended the standoff
- Peace was maintained
List 5 impacts of the construction of the Berlin Wall on Germans.
- Families were split due to travel restrictions
- Germany felt betrayed as the USSR had broken the 1949 agreement (to end travel and trade restrictions within Germany)
- They also felt let down by Kennedy who did nothing
- It was a reminder that their country was a tool of the superpowers
People continued to try to defect- which killed many people- through: - Tunneling
- Swimming where a canal and the wall crossed
- Jumping out of windows close to the Wall
- Climbing and then running across, hoping German soldiers would sympathise and deliberately miss
What effect did the construction of the Berlin Wall have on the USSR, and why?
- It was both a success and a failure
- Western forces had not been removed from Berlin
- The flow of refugees had stopped and the economic crisis East Germany had been facing was over- Khrushchev said the Wall was “guarding the gates of socialist paradise”
- Khrushchev felt he had out-outmaneuvered and beaten Kennedy
