The Berlin Wall 1961
On the night of 13 August 1961, Communist East German troops put up a barbed wire barrier cutting off East and West Berlin. Families and friends were separated overnight. Soon afterwards, a concrete wall was built and a killing zone with watchtowers prevented anyone leaving East Berlin. Berlin had been a source of tension between East and West since 1945. You can find out more about why the wall was built and how it affected people in the resource section 'The Significance of Berlin' (coldwarberlin.lgfl.net). Here we are looking at how it affected relations between the USA and the Soviets.
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Aims:
- To explore how President Kennedy reacted in 1961
- To ask if building the Berlin Wall solved the problem of Berlin
- To weigh up the evidence and reach a conclusion for yourself
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Berlin Wall preserved section
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