The twentieth-century world, Year 10: the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis (East and West (Cold War) option)

13 August

HintBerliners woke up to find it had happened overnight.

The whyA barbed wire fence went up overnight on the orders of East German leader Walter Ulbricht. It was soon extended with walls and guard towers.

Large numbers of its people, many of them well educated, leaving for the West

HintThink about who was crossing the border.

The whyAbout 3.5 million East Germans, around a fifth of the population, had left by 1961. Oak describes this as a brain drain, and the open border in Berlin was the easiest way out.

That the Western powers pull their forces out of West Berlin within six months

HintIt came with a time limit attached.

The whyThe ultimatum began a three-year crisis over the future of Berlin. That crisis ended in 1961 with the building of the Berlin Wall.

He criticised it but accepted it and did not use force

HintHe did not want to risk a war over the border.

The whyThe USA believed the Wall meant West Berlin was no longer threatened, and it used the Wall as a valuable propaganda symbol of communist oppression.

Walter Ulbricht

HintHe led East Germany's communist government.

The whyUlbricht had pushed for a border closure for some time, arguing that East Germany's existence was at stake. A barbed wire fence went up overnight on his orders.

Fidel Castro

HintHis revolution happened less than 150 km from the American coast.

The whyCuba lies less than 150 km from the American coast, so the revolution worried the USA. The USA restricted trade, and Castro mainly turned to the USSR for support in 1960.

Cuban exiles trained and funded by the CIA

HintThey were Cubans who had left after the revolution.

The whyPresident Kennedy refused to send American ground troops or air support, and the invaders were defeated within a few days. The failure damaged American prestige and deepened relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union.

A U-2 spy plane took photographs of them

HintThe same type of aircraft had been shot down over the USSR in 1960.

The whyThe photographs were taken on 14 October 1962. They showed sites under construction for medium-range and intermediate-range missiles, which could hit most of the USA.

Quarantine

HintA word usually used about illness.

The whyIn law, a blockade implied that a state of war existed. The word quarantine also helped the USA win support from other countries.

It agreed to withdraw its missiles from Turkey

HintThink of a country on the southern edge of the USSR.

The whyThe withdrawal of American missiles from Turkey was kept secret at the time. Khrushchev's reputation suffered in the USSR, while Kennedy's tough stance was praised in the USA.

A hotline

HintIt allowed leaders to talk quickly in an emergency.

The whyBoth sides were relieved to have avoided war, and agreements were made to make a future war less likely. The hotline connected the White House with the Kremlin.