Berlin crisis 1959-1963

• Eventually Khrushchev built a Wall to prevent refugees moving. What were the dimensions of the wall?

  3.6 meters high and 1.2 meters wide.
• Who were the leaders during the Berlin crisis?

  Khrushchev (USSR)Eisenhower (USA) Kennedy.
• What was Khrushchev not happy about in Berlin?

  20, 000 refugees were fleeing from East to West each month. This made communism look bad. Also the refugees tended to be more skilled and led to brain drain.
• What did Khrushchev issue as a response to the Refugee crisis?

  His Ultimatum - a demand that all American troops withdraw from Berlin within 6 months.
• Initially the two sides met to discuss the situation. Where did they meet?

  Vienna and Paris
• Why did the summits not work?

  Prior to the Paris Summit an American Spy plane was shot down. In Vienna Kennedy was in charge and he was not willing to budge.
• What happened to family's as a consequence of the wall?

  Family were split up. in same cases people were shot trying to cross, people lost their jobs and the quality of life was reduced in the East.
• In what was did the Wall increase tension?v

  -Initially the Wall led to a stand off at either side of the wall- this incident was called Checkpoint Charlie.-In the longer term the Wall became a symbol of revision. The Soviets claimed they were protecting a 'socialist paradise' but the USA claimed that communism was so bad they had to build a wall to keep people in.-the Berlin wall became a symbol of division in Europe.
• In what way did the Belin Wall ease tensions?

  It ended the refugee crisis and Kennedy accepted the wall- Kennedy remarked 'a wall is better than a war'.
• What was significant about the Kennedys visit to Berlin in 1963?

  Kennedy made a famous speech in which he declared 'ich bin ein Berliner/ I am a Berliner'. This reaffirmed Kennedys commitment to Germany and the West and was seen as an aggressive stance by the Soviet Union.