The Berlin Wall was a physical symbol of oppression by the Soviet Union and whilst it did stop the defections to the West the tensions were still heightened between USA and the USSR. The exponential number of defections of East Berliners going to the West meant that East Berlin was losing a lot of its population and economy. Many sources indicate the sheer number of defections, such as the Australian history textbook “Flashpoints: National and International Studies” which presents a slightly pro-West and orthodox perspective, which showed that over 200,000 in 1961 had fled from East to West. Another source also shows how in just June of 1961 some 19,000 had fled from East to West via Berlin, in July alone another 30,000 had fled and in the first 11 days of August, 16,000 had crossed the border. (History Channel, 2009: online.) On August 12 alone, 2,400 crossed the border via Berlin: which was the largest number of defections to leave East Germany in one day. (History Channel, 2009: online.)
Kennedy had prophetically said to an aide in early August 1961 that: “Khrushchev is losing East Germany. He cannot let that happen. If East Germany goes, so will Poland and all of Eastern Europe. He will have to do something to stop the flow of refugees - perhaps a wall. And we won’t be able to prevent it.” (Phillips J, Kemp B; 1994, p.193). This may have not been prophetic as it seemed: espionage was rife in West Berlin: The Russians believed according to American historian John D Clare: “The Americans use West Berlin as a base for recruiting spies, sabotage and starting riots.” (John D Clare, 2002: online.) Clearly however, a war was looking more and more likely if something was not to be done soon. Previously Khrushchev in October 1958 gave a speech on these problems and his opinion on this, saying:
“The Soviet people have stated and declare again that they do not want war. If the Soviet Union and the countries friendly to it are not attached, we shall never use any weapons either against the United States or any other countries. … Together with our friends, we are united and stronger than ever. But precisely because of that do we say that war can and should be prevented. Precisely because we want to rid mankind of war, we urge the Western powers to peaceful and lofty competition. … I repeat, there is only one way to peace, one way out of the existing tension: peaceful coexistence.” (Khrushchev, 1977 cited in L Gerdes, 2004, p. 94.)
Khrushchev indeed says that he did not want the war. This proves true for Berlin, as there was never any fighting occurring in the city, although he did later threaten war in June 1961 at the Vienna Conference if Kennedy didn’t leave West Berlin within 6 months. This speech however shows why the Wall was the best decision in the opinion of Khrushchev. He did not want war, but wanted peaceful coexistence. The Wall achieved both of these in his opinion, even though he did want to have West Berlin under Soviet rule in the GDR. Kennedy was certainly aware of why Khrushchev thought this was the best decision, stating in 1961:
“Why would Khrushchev put up a wall if he really intended to seize West Berlin? … There wouldn’t be any need of a wall if he occupied the whole city. This is his way out of his predicament. It’s not a very nice solution but a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war.” (Kennedy, 1961 cited in Briggs J, 2010, p.56-57.)
This raises a good point, as Khrushchev did want West Berlin to be a part of the GDR based on his actions in demanding Kennedy leave West Berlin within 6 months or he would take it by force. However the USSR did not have as superior nuclear and military power as Khrushchev boasted. (Briggs J, 2010, p.56.) This was the crucial thing that made Khrushchev believe that the Wall was the best decision given the tensions.
The USSR had stated the official purpose of the Wall was to keep Western fascists from entering the East, however it was really to just stop the mass defections. (History Channel, 2009: online.) There were immediate impacts as a result of the Wall been put up. The labour force had been reduced by more than 50,000 as stated by an Australian history textbook. (Phillips J, Kemp B; 1994, p.195). Another immediate impact of the Wall was that due to consumer goods being cheaper in the East, and West Berliners typically travelled there for groceries and stocked up. This meant West Berliners were unable to buy it and thus there was a decline in demand for consumer goods in East Berlin and was only available now to East Berliners. Khrushchev’s opinion in 1977 was that GDR’s economic problems were relieved by the creation of the all, and Ulbricht reported that the GDR economy did in fact improve immediately after the wall went up. (Briggs J, 2010, p.56.) This all shows how the Wall heightened tensions and was significant to the Cold War.
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Below are images of Soviets building the Berlin Wall.
Kennedy had prophetically said to an aide in early August 1961 that: “Khrushchev is losing East Germany. He cannot let that happen. If East Germany goes, so will Poland and all of Eastern Europe. He will have to do something to stop the flow of refugees - perhaps a wall. And we won’t be able to prevent it.” (Phillips J, Kemp B; 1994, p.193). This may have not been prophetic as it seemed: espionage was rife in West Berlin: The Russians believed according to American historian John D Clare: “The Americans use West Berlin as a base for recruiting spies, sabotage and starting riots.” (John D Clare, 2002: online.) Clearly however, a war was looking more and more likely if something was not to be done soon. Previously Khrushchev in October 1958 gave a speech on these problems and his opinion on this, saying:
“The Soviet people have stated and declare again that they do not want war. If the Soviet Union and the countries friendly to it are not attached, we shall never use any weapons either against the United States or any other countries. … Together with our friends, we are united and stronger than ever. But precisely because of that do we say that war can and should be prevented. Precisely because we want to rid mankind of war, we urge the Western powers to peaceful and lofty competition. … I repeat, there is only one way to peace, one way out of the existing tension: peaceful coexistence.” (Khrushchev, 1977 cited in L Gerdes, 2004, p. 94.)
Khrushchev indeed says that he did not want the war. This proves true for Berlin, as there was never any fighting occurring in the city, although he did later threaten war in June 1961 at the Vienna Conference if Kennedy didn’t leave West Berlin within 6 months. This speech however shows why the Wall was the best decision in the opinion of Khrushchev. He did not want war, but wanted peaceful coexistence. The Wall achieved both of these in his opinion, even though he did want to have West Berlin under Soviet rule in the GDR. Kennedy was certainly aware of why Khrushchev thought this was the best decision, stating in 1961:
“Why would Khrushchev put up a wall if he really intended to seize West Berlin? … There wouldn’t be any need of a wall if he occupied the whole city. This is his way out of his predicament. It’s not a very nice solution but a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war.” (Kennedy, 1961 cited in Briggs J, 2010, p.56-57.)
This raises a good point, as Khrushchev did want West Berlin to be a part of the GDR based on his actions in demanding Kennedy leave West Berlin within 6 months or he would take it by force. However the USSR did not have as superior nuclear and military power as Khrushchev boasted. (Briggs J, 2010, p.56.) This was the crucial thing that made Khrushchev believe that the Wall was the best decision given the tensions.
The USSR had stated the official purpose of the Wall was to keep Western fascists from entering the East, however it was really to just stop the mass defections. (History Channel, 2009: online.) There were immediate impacts as a result of the Wall been put up. The labour force had been reduced by more than 50,000 as stated by an Australian history textbook. (Phillips J, Kemp B; 1994, p.195). Another immediate impact of the Wall was that due to consumer goods being cheaper in the East, and West Berliners typically travelled there for groceries and stocked up. This meant West Berliners were unable to buy it and thus there was a decline in demand for consumer goods in East Berlin and was only available now to East Berliners. Khrushchev’s opinion in 1977 was that GDR’s economic problems were relieved by the creation of the all, and Ulbricht reported that the GDR economy did in fact improve immediately after the wall went up. (Briggs J, 2010, p.56.) This all shows how the Wall heightened tensions and was significant to the Cold War.
~~
Below are images of Soviets building the Berlin Wall.