impact of so many people leaving berlin (into west)
P: made communism look weak in propaganda
S+E: - 'brain drain' as lots leaving were skilled and young. - lost many skilled workers (engineers, physicians, teachers, lawyers). - 1960 only 61% of population compared to 70% pre war
berlin wall was built to stop people escaping to the west
thousands skilled workers left
looks bad for propaganda
couldn't control it
comm gov looked weak
east berliners could see the high quality of life in west
berlin wall was built to reduce cold war tension
"a wall is better than a wall" - kennedy
berlin blockade caused lots of tension, this reduced it
khrushchev demanded all US troops leave Berlin
any invasion attempt from east was unlikely
short term increased tensions
oct 1961 - US diplomats regularly crossed over to see response
oct 1961 - tank stand off, slowly backed off 5m at a time
kennedy amped up his anti-communist idea
what did the wall symbolise
the division of east and west germany --> europe --> the world
