The Berlin Wall (1959-61)

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The Berlin Wall (1959-61)

Causes

  • Until the building of the Berlin Wall, it was possible for Eastern Europeans to flee to the West through West Berlin.
  • Many people wanted to do so because of West Berlin's economic prosperity compared to that of a communist lifestyle. By 1962, over two million Eastern Europeans. This was an embarrassment to the USSR.
  • Khrushchev was also concerned because West Berlin was a centre for western espionage, enabling the West to gather information about activities behind the Iron Curtain.
  • Khrushchev wanted to pressure the West into leaving Berlin. In 1958, he attempted to force the West to withdraw by threatening to give East Germany control of access points to the city. In 1960, he tried again, attending a summit meeting in Paris to persuade the West to leave, but this meeting collapsed when he revealed that the USSR had shot down a U2 spy plane flying over his territory. Following this, tensions increased and a new wave of people fled through West Berlin, causing labour shortages in the east of the city.
  • At the Vienna meeting of June 1961, Khrushchev demanded that the West hand over West Berlin to the Soviets. Kennedy refused to do so, and increased US spending on weapons by $6.4 billion.

Effects

  • The river of defections dwindled to a trickle.
  • Anti-communist sentiment in the West increased, and this    'Concrete Curtain' became a symbol of East/West divisions
  • Over the years, hundreds of people died trying to get across the wall
  • Although the building of the wall had initially seemed to be a Soviet victory, the West was able to use it as a propaganda vehicle

Overall summary

In August 1961, Khushchev ordered the erection of a massive wall that made permanent division of the city. Armed guards patrolled the wall and those attempting to cross it without permission ran the risk of being shot.The USA protested but did nothing, unwilling to risk war. Although in public the Americans complained about the Wall, they were secretly relieved as the Soviets had eradicated a source of tension between the superpowers. 

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