Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Tention over
Berlin 1958-1961
- Khruchshev tried to solve the crisis through threats, twice gave the US the
threat to get out of west Berlin in six months first in 1958 and secondly in
1961and threatened to agree a formal treaty with east Germany ending
all the temporary arrangements agreed in 1945
- The USA was determined not to back down
- Eisenhower seemed willing to negotiate
when both sides meet in the Geneva
conference in 1958 but a deal was not meet
- The U2 spy plane incident (in 1960 when the
USSR shot down the US spy plane and capturing
its pilot, the US was forced to admit it had been
flying spy planes over the USSR for years, the
pilot was sentenced to 10 years but was
released after 2 in a spy swap) ended talks in
1960
- In 1961 Khruchshev hoped that the new president Kennedy
would give up under his intimidation in Vienna but Kennedy
refused to abandon west Berlin and increased defence
spending by $3.5 billion
- Khruchshevs ultimatums had failed
to solve the refugee problem and
had to think of a new solution
- Tensions increased massively as the USA was now worried
that the USSR would threaten west Berlin and spark war
- The USSR could easily invade west Berlin
increasing suspicions and tensions