The construction of the Berlin Wall

• 1. The East German leader, Walter Ulbricht, asked Kennedy to close the border from East to West

  Berlin
• 2. On the night of 12 August 1961, East German troops built a barbed wire fence between East and West Berlin
• 3. A concrete wall was then built, which stretch 165 km. Overtime, it was reinforced with barbed wire, minefields and car-barriers
• Consequently, German families and friends were separated
• Consequently, some German people engaged in escape attempts, eg in August 1962 Peter Fechter was shot attempting to cross the wall, and this made international news
• Consequently, the refugee crisis was ended as people could no longer cross the wall
• Consequently, West Berlin became a symbol of freedom and defiance against communism
• Consequently, Kennedy became very popular in West Berlin, especially when he visited in 1963 and made his famous ich bin ein Berliner speech (especially useful to restore his reputation after the embarrassment of the Bay of Pigs)
• Consequently, the Berlin Wall became a powerful physical symbol of the divide between East and West
• Consequently, the wall resolved the tension. Kennedy said ’a wall is better than a war’