The Berlin Wall

Question 1

What is life like in West Berlin?

Answer 1

• fashion and luxury
• freedom of speech
• West Berlin television
• capitalist society

Question 2

What was life like in East Berlin?

Answer 2

• poor wages
• poor quality homes
• empty shops
• society heavily controlled by the Soviets

Question 3

What were many East Berliners doing up until 1961? Why was this an issue?

Answer 3

• many people, especially young ones were moving to West Berlin
• 3 million people fled East Germany via Berlin
• these young people were the next generation

Question 4

What was the official reason given for the wall?

Answer 4

to stop Western spies from entering Soviet territory

Question 5

What was the actual reason for the construction of the Berlin Wall?

Answer 5

• to stop the many educated people from leading East Berlin
• also to prevent East Berliners from seeing what life was like in West Berlin

Question 6

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

Answer 6

• angered by it
• decided that so long as West Berlin remained free, East Berlin was not worth a war
• USA sent an official complaint to Moscow but nothing more

Question 7

What happened in October 1961 with an American diplomat trying to enter East Berlin?

Answer 7

• American diplomat was refused entry to Eat Berlin
• this incident led to a stand off at the border which included tanks
• the crisis was averted when Kennedy and Khrushchev both agreed to withdraw
• the two sides took turn reversing their tanks 5 metres at a time
• the slightest error could’ve lead to war