The berlin Wall, 1961
- People had been fleeing to the west through Berlin for many years “Brain Drain” (3 mil.)
- Krushchev wants Kennedy to pull out of Berlin and make it a free city
- Kennedy increases US strength
- Krushchev responds by building a wall around West Berlin
- Both leaders were accused of being soft in Berlin and fixed this by ordering more tests of nuclear weapons
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Summary
Russia wanted to stop the Brain Drain from East to West Germany and asked the USA to pull out of Berlin. But Kennedy increased the US strength and Krushchev´s response was to build a wall around West Berlin. In this moment, both leaders tried to act not to strong to prevent the danger of a upcoming war. This was the reason why they afterwards were accused of being too soft.