Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: The Berlin Crisis and the Building of the Berlin Wall, 1958-61
The Berlin Crisis of 1958 to 1961 was one of the sharpest confrontations of the Cold War, arising because Berlin remained a divided city deep inside communist East Germany through which around 2.6 million East Germans had escaped to the West by 1961.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn why Berlin was a problem for the USSR specifically: because it sat inside East Germany but had free crossing points between its Western and Soviet-controlled zones, it let dissatisfied East Germans, often skilled workers and professionals, escape to the West without leaving the city, a serious economic and propaganda loss for East Germany.
- Learn the Berlin Ultimatum (November 1958) precisely: Khrushchev demanded Western troops withdraw from West Berlin within six months and that it become a free, demilitarised city; the West refused, and the six-month deadline passed without action.
- Learn the sequence of failed diplomacy: the Paris Summit (May 1960) collapsed after the USSR shot down an American U-2 spy plane and captured its pilot, Gary Powers, embarrassing Eisenhower; the Vienna Summit (June 1961) between Khrushchev and the newly elected Kennedy was hostile and resolved nothing, with Khrushchev repeating his demands over Berlin.
- Learn the building of the Wall as the USSR and East Germany's solution once diplomacy had failed: on 13 August 1961, East German troops and workers began sealing the border with barbed wire, quickly rebuilt in concrete, physically stopping the refugee flow rather than negotiating a withdrawal of Western troops.
- For 'explain two of the following: the importance of X for Y' questions on this topic, be ready to compare the importance of different factors (for example, the refugee crisis, failed summits, and the U-2 incident) for a stated outcome such as the building of the Wall, always explaining HOW each factor led to that outcome rather than just describing the factor.
- For 'write a narrative account' questions, keep the order tight: Ultimatum (1958), Paris Summit collapse (1960), Vienna Summit (1961), building of the Wall (August 1961), and use linking phrases to show each failed attempt at diplomacy made East Germany's unilateral solution more likely.
- Do not confuse this crisis with the Cuban Missile Crisis the following year, 1962; keep Khrushchev's two big confrontations with the West in separate mental boxes by their subject (Berlin vs Cuba) and their outcome (a wall built vs missiles withdrawn).
Worked example
Write a narrative account analysing the key events leading to the building of the Berlin Wall, from the Berlin Ultimatum of November 1958 to August 1961. You may use the following information to help write your answer: the Paris Summit, 1960; the Vienna Summit, 1961. You must also use information of your own.
- Plan the sequence: Berlin Ultimatum (November 1958), the U-2 incident and collapse of the Paris Summit (May 1960), the Vienna Summit (June 1961), and the building of the Wall (13 August 1961).
- Open with the Ultimatum: Khrushchev demanded Western troops leave West Berlin within six months; the West refused, so the deadline passed without a resolution, leaving the underlying refugee problem unsolved.
- Link forward: 'As the crisis dragged on, a planned summit in Paris in May 1960 collapsed before Berlin was even discussed, after the USSR shot down an American U-2 spy plane, which increased distrust between the two sides.'
- Link forward again: 'Following this failure, Khrushchev met the newly elected President Kennedy at the Vienna Summit in June 1961, where he again threatened to sign a separate treaty with East Germany that would end Western access rights, but no agreement was reached.'
- Close with the consequence: 'With diplomacy repeatedly failing and refugees continuing to flee through Berlin in growing numbers, East Germany, backed by the USSR, sealed the border with barbed wire on 13 August 1961, a wall that was rapidly rebuilt in concrete.'
- Check that each stage explicitly explains why diplomacy had failed by that point, so the ending (a physical wall rather than a negotiated withdrawal) follows logically from the events before it.
Practice questions
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Q1Roughly how many East Germans left for the West through Berlin between 1949 and 1961?Show answer
Answer: Around 2.6 million.
Q2What did Khrushchev demand in the Berlin Ultimatum of November 1958?Show answer
Answer: That Western troops withdraw from West Berlin within six months and that the city become a free, demilitarised city.
Q3Why did the Paris Summit of 1960 collapse?Show answer
Answer: Because the USSR shot down an American U-2 spy plane over Soviet territory and captured its pilot, Gary Powers, embarrassing the USA and angering Khrushchev.
Q4Who represented the USA and the USSR at the Vienna Summit of June 1961?Show answer
Answer: The new US president, John F. Kennedy, and the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev.
Q5On what date did East Germany begin building the Berlin Wall?Show answer
Answer: 13 August 1961.
Q6Why was the flow of refugees through Berlin especially damaging to East Germany?Show answer
Answer: It lost skilled workers and professionals it needed for its economy, and their departure was an embarrassing sign that people preferred to live in the West.
Q7What material was used to build the Wall first, before it was rebuilt more permanently?Show answer
Answer: Barbed wire, later replaced by a concrete wall.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two of the following: (a) The importance of the refugee crisis for the building of the Berlin Wall in August 1961. (b) The importance of the Vienna Summit of 1961 for the building of the Berlin Wall in August 1961. (c) The importance of the U-2 incident of 1960 for relations between the superpowers. You must answer on two options.
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Explain two consequences of the building of the Berlin Wall in August 1961.
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