the four summit meetings of 1959-61 had failed to resolve the problem in Berlin and President Kennedy started to prepare for a nuclear war
Khrushchev couldn't risk a nuclear war but needed to solve the refugee problem (2,000 skilled and qualified workers leaving every day)
his solution was to build the Berlin Wall in August 1961 to prevent East Berliners travelling to West Berlin
12 August 1961, East German troops erected a barbed wire fence around the city - it eventually became a heavily guarded wall
Soviet tanks were deployed to stop Western access to the East
October 1961, West Berlin was completely cut off from East Germany
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Why it was built
Khrushchev backed down: he knew he couldn't win a nuclear war
Western powers stayed in Berlin
The Berlin wall was built
Anyone who tried to escape was shot at. Many were killed
The wall stopped East Germans leaving for the West, which solved the crisis
Khrushchev avoided war with the USA and still looked strong
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The impact of the wall
solved the refugee problem
the number of military alerts in Berlin declined - President Kenned commented that, although not a nice solution, the wall was better than a war
wall suggested that the Soviets were no longer interested in unifying Berlin under communist rule as Khrushchev had demanded in 1958
a humiliation for the Soviet Union and a propaganda victory for the west - suggested that East Germans preferred living in Capitalist West Germany and had to be forced to remain in Communist East Germany
a notorious barrier between the freedom enjoyed in the West and denied in the East - made the west an enduring symbol of freedom: highlighted by the fact that 200 people lost their lives trying to cross the wall
Khrushchev mistakenly thought Kennedy had shown weakness allowing the wall to be built - encouraged him to think about deploying missile in Cuba
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Kennedy's visit to West Berlin, 1963
Kennedy visited West Berlin and claimed "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner")
The speech was an expression of solidarity with the people of West Berlin - the fact that he chose to visit personally and give his speech demonstrated that the USA and NATO were prepared to defend West Berlin from communist attack
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