The Berlin Wall

Which of the following are 'true' of Germany / Berlin before 1961?

Which of the following was a consequence of the failed Hungarian uprising?

What did Khrushchev do in 1958?

What was the 'outcome' of Khrushchev's Berlin Ultimatum?

The West deliberately poured money into West Berlin to show East Germans the benefits of a capitalist economy

East Germans were able to watch West German television and were able to travel freely into the Western zones of Berlin before 1961

Walter Ulbricht, the East German Chancellor was known in the West as....

What term is used to describe someone that leaves one regime for another?

How many East Germans are thought to have defected to the West between 1949 and 1961 (before the Wall)

Of the 2.5 million that defected, most were highly skilled workers or well qualified in their professions

How did Khrushchev view this 'defection' of East Germans?

Who became the US President in 1961?

Khrushchev saw JFK as inexperienced and thought he would be able to 'bully' him over Berlin and get JFK to withdraw Western troops

Construction on the Wall began on.....

What was the name of the East German 'secret police'?

East Europeans benefitted from a good standard of free health care, education and very low levels of unemployment under communism

The 'Wall' literally engulfed the whole of West Berlin

Approximately how many people managed to flee the East after the wall was constructed? (Before 1989)

What incident did the construction of the Wall lead to?

The communists referred to the Wall as.....

Why was the Berlin Wall built? The [blank_start]Brain[blank_end] Drain: throughout the 1950s thousands of East Germans had fled to the West through Berlin, leaving behind the harsh [blank_start]political[blank_end] climate and economic [blank_start]hardship[blank_end] of life under communism. Many of those who defected were [blank_start]educated[blank_end] or highly skilled workers and the East German authorities could not afford to lose their best and brightest citizens. [blank_start]Lure[blank_end] of the West: during the 1950s travel was relatively [blank_start]easy[blank_end] between the Eastern and Western sectors of Berlin. People living under communism in the Eastern sector could visit the West and see what [blank_start]capitalism[blank_end] offered. There was [blank_start]better[blank_end] housing, shops full of goods and relative [blank_start]freedom[blank_end]: all provided by the Western Allies. Espionage: Berlin was a Western [blank_start]island[blank_end] in a communist sea – an ideal place for American [blank_start]spies[blank_end] to gather [blank_start]intelligence[blank_end] on the Soviet military.

Stand-off at [blank_start]Checkpoint[blank_end] Charlie Once the Wall had been constructed, the US decided to [blank_start]test[blank_end] how far they could push the USSR. [blank_start]Foreigners[blank_end] were still allowed to cross the Wall, and the [blank_start]US[blank_end] regularly sent troops and [blank_start]diplomats[blank_end] into the [blank_start]Soviet[blank_end] sector through Checkpoint [blank_start]Charlie[blank_end], one of the guarded crossing points between East and West. Both sides were entitled to do this under the Four Powers Agreement made after the [blank_start]Yalta[blank_end] Conference, but by constructing the Wall the Soviets were [blank_start]breaking[blank_end] this Agreement and there was a [blank_start]tension[blank_end] over whether or not East German guards were [blank_start]authorised[blank_end] to examine the travel [blank_start]documents[blank_end] of Americans passing through the checkpoint. On 27 October 1961 the US stationed [blank_start]tanks[blank_end] on its side of Checkpoint Charlie. Fearing the US tanks might try to break down the Wall or pass into its sector, the Soviets [blank_start]responded[blank_end] with an equal show of force and [blank_start]Red[blank_end] Army tanks pulled up to their side of Checkpoint Charlie. All day long the two sides, with tanks and soldiers at the ready, faced each other in a tense [blank_start]stand-off[blank_end]. The nail-biting crisis lasted for 18 hours until diplomatic [blank_start]negotiations[blank_end] agreed that both sides would slowly withdraw.