The Berlin Wall

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The Refugee Problem in Berlin

In the 1950s, Berlin was still divided into East and West Berlin. Germany was divided into East and West Germany.

Difference in living standards in East and West Germany

The living conditions in West Berlin were better than the living conditions in East Berlin.
Wages in West Berlin were higher than wages in East Berlin. The Hans Böckler Foundation has found that wages in areas that were in West Germany were still 17% higher than in East Germany in 2018. The difference was even greater in the 1950s.

Refugees and workers moving to West Germany

Many East Germans were aware that living conditions were better and wages higher in West Berlin.
Because West Berlin was a US-controlled haven in East Germany, people could move from East Berlin to West Berlin and then move to West Germany.
Between 1952 and 1961, it is estimated that 3.5 million East Germans migrated to West Germany.
This was a propaganda defeat for the Soviets - people were leaving their territory and moving to American-controlled territory. It also caused a problem for East Germany. Skilled workers tended to leave East Germany, so East Germany's output, productivity and wealth didn't rise as much. There was a shortage of skilled labour.

The Berlin Ultimatum, November 1958

In November 1958, Khrushchev issued a memorandum (written document), claiming that Berlin should be absorbed into East Germany.
Khrushchev threatened that all American, British and French troops should leave Berlin within 6 months.

Response to the ultimatum: summits

The ultimatum led to a series of summit meetings between the leaders of the great powers.
- The first summit happened in Geneva and the second summit happened in September 1959 at Camp David. The Camp David summit was led by the US President, Dwight Eisenhower, and Krushchev.
The U2 Spy Plane Crisis undermined all progress at the 1960 Paris Summit. Talks broke down after the USSR shot down an American 'U2' spy plane in Russian airspace.

The Berlin Wall

The summits at Geneva, Camp David, Paris, and Vienna failed to resolve the USA and Soviet Union's differences.

The construction of the Berlin Wall

On the 13th August 1961, the USSR (Soviet Union) began to build the Berlin Wall.
Krushchev's Berlin Ultimatum of 1958 ordered Western troops to leave Berlin, but they did not.
The Berlin Wall was an effort to solve the refugee crisis and keep people in East Germany and East Berlin.
Initially, the Berlin Wall was a flimsy fence with razor wire at the top. Over time, it became a heavier concrete border between East and West Berlin.

The reaction to the Berlin Wall

The Allies (Britain, France, and the USA) kept control of West Berlin.
It was far harder for East German refugees to move into West Germany.
The Berlin Wall was a propaganda defeat for the Soviet Union. Having to build a wall to keep your citizens in is not a great look.
Although the Berlin Wall was not great, it was less violent than the events of the Hungarian Uprising and was a peaceful solution to the refugee crisis.

Crossing the border

Some refugees tried to cross the Berlin Wall anyway. On the 17th of August 1972, a man was shot by East German soldiers firing machine guns. Between 80 and 200 people are estimated to have been killed trying to cross the Berlin Wall.
Initially, foreigners were allowed to travel into East Berlin from West Berlin by crossing 'Checkpoint Charlie'. There was a tense stand-off between the Soviet army (including tanks) stopping American citizens from crossing into East Berlin on the 27th October 1961.

The international reaction

On a visit to West Berlin on the 26th June 1963, John F Kennedy, the US President who would be assassinated in November 1963, described himself as a 'Berliner' in a symbolic speech.

1The Cold War

1.1Early Tension

1.1.1The Grand Alliance

1.1.2Yalta & Potsdam Conferences

1.1.3Exam-Style Questions - Potsdam Conference

1.1.4Ideological Differences Between the Superpowers

1.1.5Early US-Soviet Relations

1.1.6End of Topic Test - Early Cold War Tension

1.1.7Grade 9 - Early Tension

1.2The Development of the Cold War

1.2.1The Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan

1.2.2East-West Boundaries

1.2.3End of Topic Test - East & West

1.3The Cold War Intensifies

1.3.1The Arms Race

1.3.2The Hungarian Uprising

1.3.3End of Topic Test - Developing Tension

1.3.4Grade 9 - The Development of the Cold War

1.3.5Exam-Style Questions - Hungarian Uprising

1.4Cold War Crises, 1958–70

1.4.1The Berlin Wall

1.4.2Czechoslovakia

1.4.3The Cuban Missile Crisis

1.4.4End of Topic Test - Cold War Crises 1958-70

1.4.5Grade 9 - Cold War Crises

1.5Attempts to Reduce Tension Between East & West

1.5.1SALT & Helsinki

1.5.2End of Topic Test - SALT & Helsinki

1.5.3Grade 9 - SALT & Helsinki

1.5.4Exam-Style Questions - Helsinki Accords

1.6The End of the Cold War

1.6.1Flashpoints

1.6.2Reagan & Gorbachev

1.6.3The Collapse of Soviet Control

1.6.4End of Topic Test - Reducing Tensions and The End

1.6.5Grade 9 - The End of the Cold War

1.6.6Exam-Style Questions - Eastern Bloc Collapse

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