A Divided Berlin

• Between 1949 and 1961, 2.7 million people in East Berlin migrated to West Berlin. The economy of West Berlin increased as a large wave of skilled workers were coming in
• Many people leaving for West Berlin meant that there was a shortage of workers in East Germany. This looked bad for the USSR, as people clearly preferred West Germany
• In West Germany, there were better jobs with higher wages. It was easy to get to West Germany if you had reached West Berlin
• Krushchev's Berlin Ultimatum 1958

  Speech by Krushchev stating that as Berlin was in East Germany, the West should withdraw their troops from West Berlin and allow it to be a free city. This would mean that Krushchev could easily take over West Berlin
• The Soviet Union knew that if it tried to push the West out of Berlin by force, a war would start that it could not win, as the US had more nuclear weapons. So, a series of summit meetings took place between the leaders of the USA and the Soviet Union
• Dates of each Summit meeting in order

  1959 - Geneva

  1959 - Camp David

  1960 - Paris Summit

  1961 - Vienna Conference
• Geneva Summit 1959

  • No solution was made but it was agreed there would be another summit meeting in Camp David in the USA
• Camp David 1959

  • Krushchev and Eisenhower face to face
  • The USSR agreed to withdraw the Berlin ultimatum
  • No solution for the way forward for Berlin
  • Agreed to meet again at Paris
• Paris Summit, 1960

  • On 1st of May, the USSR shot down an American spy plane
  • Eisenhower refused to apologise, saying spy operations were inevitable
  • Krushchev stormed out and no agreements were made
• Vienna conference 1961

  • Krushchev saw Kennedy's inexperience as a weakness and reissued the Berlin Ultimatum