Berlin Wall 1961

• what happened October 27th 1961?

  soviet tanks pulled up at checkpoint Charlie and refused to allow any access to the East. US and soviet tanks faced each other in a stand off
• what happened after 18 hours ?

  one by one, the tanks slowly pulled back
• why did Khrushchev actually have the wall built?

  to stop defection
• why did Khrushchev claim the wall was being built?

  to protect east Berlin from foreign spies and agents
• what happened on august 13th 1961?

  barbed wire erected between east and West Berlin crossing points were sealed - except checkpoint charlie
• Khrushchev said that the USA were using Berlin as a base for spies who were stirring up trouble in east berlin
• what was the cause for dissatisfaction in east berlin?

  low standard of living
• in 1949, berlin was divided into east and west
• east and West Berlin were divided for 28 years, from 1961 to 1989
• long term causes :

  • division - joining together of three zones controlled by western allies
  • dissatisfaction - East Germans suffered from poor housing, food shortages and low wages
• Short term causes :

  • 1961 JFK backed a disastrous attempt to invade Cuba and remove its communist president. Khrushchev told JFK to remove troops from Berlin which he refused to do. In fact he sent 150K troops to be called up for action in Germany. Khrushchev accuses JFK of provoking conflict