Causes of the building of the Berlin Wall: short and long term

Seite 1

Brief causes for the building of the wall

Exclusion zone

Ulbricht's May Directive - rapid socialism

Collectivisation and rationing

Economic Miracle of the FRG

Magnet Theory

June Uprising

1956 - Hungarian Uprising

The existence of a western section in Berlin undermined the existence of the GDR

Berlin had become the frontier of espionage

An embarrassing island of capitalism in their territory

Berlin Crisis - SHORT TERM TRIGGER

Lack of response from the West - Kennedy quoted saying "A wall is better than a war"

The reasons for the building of the Berlin

Wall

It was too easy for East Berliners to

compare life in East Berlin with West Berlin…

Berlin offered an ideal escape route…

It became a drain on the labour supply

of the GDR…

The GDR accused the West of deliberately

wooing professional and skilled workers from the GDR…

In reality it was driven by poor food

provisions and political suppression in the East…

It was the

drain of manpower which proved insufferable to Ulbricht - it was both

economically and psychologically damaging his country.

Berlin had become of symbolic importance

in the Cold War battles between the USSR and the USA, for example it was a

useful base for espionage…

The SED resented well off Westerners

buying their cheap state subsidised goods and then going back West…

Khrushchev ideally had wanted to push

the West out of Berlin altogether and create a neutral Berlin – however,

when it became obvious that the West would not do this, he bowed to

Ulbricht’s demand to close the border.

The Berlin Crisis 1958-61

27th

November 1958 – Khrushchev issued an ultimatum giving the Western powers 6 months to

agree to withdraw from Berlin and make it a free demilitarised city…

1959 –

International crisis averted when the Soviet Union withdrew its deadline….

May

1960 – Follow up summit called off at the last minute…

Ulbricht

stepped up the GDR’s own propaganda…

1960 -

Ulbricht’s desires versus Khrushchev’s…

Spring

1961 - Ulbricht’s and the GDR’s role in the decision to erect the Berlin

Wall…

June

1961- Summit between K and JFK: Khrushchev renewed his ultimatum…

June

1961 - Ulbricht’s declaration …