Superpower relations and the Cold War - The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall

In 1961 around 2000 Germans crossed over from East to West Berlin every day. When it became clear hat the situation wasnt going to be solved diplomatically, Khrushchev constructed the Berlin Wall.

Talks about Berlin broke down...

President Eisenhower and Khrushchev had agreed to discuss the Berlin question at the Paris summit in 1960. Days before the summit was due to take place, USSR shot down a U2 American spy plane over Soviet territory.

Eisenhower denied that it was a spy plane, but USSR then produced the pilot (alive) and the plane's wreckage as evidence. When USR refused to apologise, Khrushchev walked out of the Paris summit.

The U2 incident hindered futher negotiatoins about Berlin. Both countries met again at Vienna in June 1961 - by this time, John F. Kennedy had replaced Eisenhower as US President.

Kennedy vowed to take a tougher approach towards communism. He refused to compromise over Berlin and no resolution was reached.

After teh Vienna Summit, USSR believed that problems in Berlin wouldnt be resolved by negotiation. This sparked the creation of the Berlin Wall.

...so the Berlin Wall was put up

Khrushchev felt he had to act…