The Berlin Wall, 1961
•People had been fleeing to the west through Berlin for many years “Brain Drain” (3 mil.)
•Krushchev wants Kennedy to pull out of Berlin and make it a free city
•Kennedy increases US strength
•Krushchev responds by building a wall around West Berlin
•Both leaders were accused of being soft in Berlin and fixed this by ordering more tests of nuclear weapons
Summary: In response to Krushchev building the Berlin Wall, Kennedy fought to show the US' strength. Both sides began to test nuclear weapons to appear more intimidating to one another.
•Krushchev wants Kennedy to pull out of Berlin and make it a free city
•Kennedy increases US strength
•Krushchev responds by building a wall around West Berlin
•Both leaders were accused of being soft in Berlin and fixed this by ordering more tests of nuclear weapons
Summary: In response to Krushchev building the Berlin Wall, Kennedy fought to show the US' strength. Both sides began to test nuclear weapons to appear more intimidating to one another.
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"The Berlin Wall wasn't the only barrier to fall after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Traditional barriers to the flow of money, trade, people and ideas also fell" - Fareed Zakaria
The Crisis
•The US had 3 options:
•Diplomatic solution (negotiated settlement)
•A conventional attack (air attack followed by invasion)
•A naval blockade
•Robert Kennedy, attorney general, convinced Security Council to go with blockade
•Ships turn around at the quarantine
• 2 Letters sent from Krushchev to Kennedy
•Brinkmanship ensues (U.N. gets involved)
•Russians pull out of Cuba in exchange for a removal of missiles in Turkey at a later date
•Directly resulted in the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1962
Summary: The Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the last major politico-military European incident of the Cold War. The war was fought over the occupation of the German capital, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany.
•Diplomatic solution (negotiated settlement)
•A conventional attack (air attack followed by invasion)
•A naval blockade
•Robert Kennedy, attorney general, convinced Security Council to go with blockade
•Ships turn around at the quarantine
• 2 Letters sent from Krushchev to Kennedy
•Brinkmanship ensues (U.N. gets involved)
•Russians pull out of Cuba in exchange for a removal of missiles in Turkey at a later date
•Directly resulted in the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1962
Summary: The Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the last major politico-military European incident of the Cold War. The war was fought over the occupation of the German capital, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany.