Western Reaction To The Berlin Wall - University Of Texas HIS 350L - Essay

1255 words - 6 pages

Ben de Alvarez
Dr. Brown
Research on the Global Cold War
18 September 2017
Western Reaction to the Berlin Wall
Perhaps the most critical moment of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall crisis of 1961 presented a precarious quandary for John F. Kennedy and his administration. Since the division of Germany post World War II, thousands of East Germans fled the Soviet controlled German Democratic Republic to seek economic opportunity in West Germany. Berlin was the main route of passage to the West because it was occupied by all four controlling powers (France, Great Britain, United States and Soviet Union). Many of these emigrants were young, well-educated citizens attracted to the growing capitalist economy in the West. The exodus of vital professionals from East Germany prompted Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev to order the building of the Berlin Wall, which prevented migration between East and West Berlin. Construction of the wall took place on August 13th, 1961, just four months after the Bay of Pigs disaster in Cuba. If the Kennedy Administration wished to avoid another defeat in the struggle against Communism, why did they not intervene to prevent the construction of the Wall? This essay will draw upon Manfred Wilkes’ The Path to The Berlin Wall and W.R. Smyser’s Kennedy and the Berlin Wall to help examine the reasoning behind the United States’ tolerance of the Wall. Kennedy did not want to act too impulsively and cause another World War, but also did not want to appear weak and encourage further aggression from Khrushchev. While the threat of another World War was a central reason for allowing the Wall to stand, it also represented a moral victory for the West and prevented another devastating war in Europe.
As tensions increased between the United States and USSR, Khrushchev and Kennedy met face to face for the first time at the Vienna Summit on June 4th, 1961. The meeting quickly turned contentious when Khrushchev revealed his intention to sign a separate peace treaty with the GDR. The treaty would grant the GDR control of Berlin, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate with Ulbricht and the GDR for control of West Berlin. Kennedy viewed this treaty as a “belligerent act”, stating that “We are not in Berlin by agreement of East Germans but by contractual rights” (Wilke 217). Despite Kennedy’s strong stance on the U.S. retaining its position in West Berlin, Khrushchev insisted that “the decision to sign a peace treaty is firm and irrevocable and the Soviet Union will sign it in December if the US refuses an interim agreement” (Wilke 218). The Vienna Summit ended with U.S.-Soviet tensions at an all-time high. If Khrushchev followed through with the treaty, the U.S. would have likely been forced into military action to retain their contractual rights to West Berlin and maintain the world’s respect as a super power. Thus, Kennedy felt relieved when the Wall appeared a few months later because “Khrushchev had solved his most urgent problem with...

More like Western Reaction To The Berlin Wall - University Of Texas HIS 350L - Essay

Assignment On The Berlin Wall

328 words - 2 pages ... that the flood in the bible was 40 days and 40 nights, and the flood in The Epic of Gilgamesh was only 6 days and 6 nights. Noah was a very nice and wonderful guy, and Utnapistim was a very greedy person. Noah brought bare essentials, and Utnapishtim brought gold and wine. Last but not least, the god in Genesis made a decision and stuck with it without feeling bad, but in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods felt bad about killing most of the humans. In Conclusion The major points of these stories are similar, but if read close enough, they are totally different. This shows how much religions will change the story to fit individual beliefs. ...

To What Extent Was Romanticism A Reaction To The Enlightenment - University Of Brighton - Essay

1912 words - 8 pages ... zelal aktas 1/25/18 CTWT ESSAY 2 To what extent was Romanticism a reaction to Enlightenment values? Although it appears Romanticism is a complete contrast to the Enlightenment values that comes before it, such as the importance of objective thought, the necessity to think with reason and logic and more. However, upon further study of the literature and ideas that Romanticism portrays, I would argue that it is more of a development of the ...

Faces On The Wall: "the Yellow Wall Paper" The Husband's Intention Is For His Wife To Get Well, However, His Way Of Doing So Drives Her To Depression And Insanity

498 words - 2 pages ... assistin making her feel imprisoned. "The windows are barred for little children, and there arerings and things in the walls." (203) The yellow wallpaper in the room is atrocious andencourages negative creativity. Throughout the story, the wall serves as an enemy to thenarrator's wellness and constantly disturbs her. She tells of the pattern having noorganization to it, and annoyingly enough all she can do is stare at it. "It is dull enoughto confuse ...

The Death Penalty And Its Flaws - University Of Texas - Essay

1554 words - 7 pages Free ... executed prisoners studied the anesthetic administered during lethal injection was lower than required for surgery.” ("Six Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty"). This would mean that the inmates would feel the pain very much as well as if no anesthetics were used. For example December 13, 2006 “Technicians wrongly inserted the needles carrying the poisons that were to kill Diaz. The caustic chemicals poured into his soft tissues instead of his ...

Reaction Paper To "factfulness" - University Of Alabama GBA 271 - Reaction Paper To Factfulness

1062 words - 5 pages ... ignorance and susceptibility to manipulation. I introduced this book to my dad after I read it because I knew it was right up his alley. Of course, I was right, and he loved it. After reading it he told me, “Anna, this book aligns perfectly with my beliefs. I believe in facts. Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” I agree with this mentality. I consider myself a person that strictly believes in facts, but also realized I do not take the time to ...

Three Main Events That Caused The Escalation Of The Cold War Up To The Berlin Blockade

933 words - 4 pages ... I believe that there were three main events that caused the escalation of the Cold War. This essay is going to assess how these three events contributed to the escalation of the Cold War and how important they were to its continuation.In my opinion the first strains in the relation between the two sides started at Potsdam more then at Yalta. When we look at Yalta we only see agreements such as "Hold free elections in Soviet occupied territory ...

Great Wall Of China Essay

363 words - 2 pages ... Darina EidEnglishI have learned a variety of things researching the Great Depression. First of all that it was the largest economic breakdown in history, it all started on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929 when the stock market crashed. This affected everyone, banks businesses etc. Since banks invested in the stock markets, they were forced to close and people were crazy going to banks to get their money and people who did not go in time became ...

Reformation Of Copper Through The Copper Cycle - Texas A&m University; Chem Lab 111 - Essay

1073 words - 5 pages ... the copper cycle. Materials and Methods: In the first part of this experiment, we obtained 0.2497 grams of copper turnings and placed it into a 50mL beaker. We then obtained 5mL of 6 M HNO3 and placed it into the beaker with a magnetic stir bar to stir the solution throughout the experiment. As the copper was reacting with the chemical, we noticed the copper had started to slowly dissolve. As it dissolved, the reaction produced heat which made ...

One Of The Cornerstones Of Marketing Theory Is The Notion That Marketers Can “segment” The Market - University Of Western - Essay

1575 words - 7 pages ... , and draw blocks around the separate parts of the question, and number each part if you need to. Then, write a brief essay plan, with bullet points, to help you generate a good answer that is clear, and isn’t repetitive or incomplete. Then, as you are writing, every 5 minutes or so, just quickly read what you have written, and ask yourself: “is what I have just written answering the question?” If it is not, then get back to the point immediately. 4 ...

History Of The Great Wall Of China

604 words - 3 pages ... No one can tell precisely when the building of the Great Wall was started but it is popularly believed that it originated as a military fortification against intrusion by tribes on the borders during the earlier Zhou Dynasty. Late in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC), the ducal states extended the defence work and built "great" structures to prevent the attacks from other states. It was not until the Qin Dynasty that the separate ...

Reaction To The Persuaders Documetry - Advertising 101 - Reaction Paper

857 words - 4 pages ... NYIT Spring 2019 ADVG 101 Maiomie Rohoo The Persuaders Reaction Everyday there are more and more people trying to sell us things. Sometimes it can be things we actually need and would make life easier, however most of the time it's useless clutter that we still find ourselves buying. Why do we do this? What makes us think that we must have this latest phone or sneakers? It takes billions of dollars and thousands of people to sell us on the idea ...

The Ethical Complications Of The ‘gray Zone’ - University Of Tennessee Knoxville HIST 242 Final Essay - Western Civ Part 2 Essay

1621 words - 7 pages ... is a ‘gray zone’ somewhere in their field, where the answers are not binary and involve a much more complex system. This meaning and implication of the ‘gray zone’ may not always be as true to its original definition, but it still holds the same principle as it did in 1986 when Primo Levi, a famous Italian holocaust survivor, coined the term. Primo Levi used this term in his last book, The Drowned and the Saved, as the title of the second chapter ...

Bob The Builder And His Impact Upon Western Cilivations - 11 Grade - Essay

1152 words - 5 pages ... CLARK ROSS: Economics as a discipline begins with the challenge of scarcity. That important concept is where we will begin our lecture today. Scarcity has been an issue as long as individuals have walked the earth. They've always addressed need for food, clothing, shelter, and comfort. No society has ever had as much as all individuals would wish to have of these important goods. From written time, we are aware of issues of poverty, issues of ...

The Unjust Prosecution Of Socrates - Ave Maria University, Western Civilization Honors, Sugrue - Short Essay On Trial Of Socrates

548 words - 3 pages ... falsely represents him as a sophist claiming he is corrupting the youth of the city for his own benefit. This defamation greatly affected how the public perceived Socrates. From then on, they believed that Socrates embodied the destruction of society because of his contempt for traditions. Moreover, everyone regarded Socrates as conceited, thinking he was superior to all other men. In Plato’s Apology, written by Socrates’ student, Socrates says, “I ...

Petrarch's Attitude Toward His Own Time Vs. The Classical Past - Academy Of Art University - Essay

776 words - 4 pages ... analysis. Use some of the terms you encountered in the module to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject. Part 2: Describe the differences and commonalities, in your own words, of Plotinus's beliefs and Christianity, especially comparing the significance of the mystical experience. Why did Plotinus think his philosophical vision was superior to religious views? And what do both approaches have in common?  Petrarch saw, in his own time, the twilight ...