Berlin Crisis of 1961

Berlin Crisis of 1961
Part of Cold War

U.S. M48 tanks face Soviet T-55 tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, October 1961.
Date4 June – 9 November 1961
Location
Result

'Stalemate'

Belligerents
 Soviet Union
 East Germany
Supported by:
Warsaw Pact (Except Albania)
 United States
 West Germany
Supported by:
 NATO
Commanders and leaders
Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev
East Germany Walter Ulbricht
United States John F. Kennedy
West Germany Konrad Adenauer

The Berlin Crisis of 1961 (German: Berlin-Krise) was the last major European political and military incident of the Cold War concerning the status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany. The crisis culminated in the city's de facto partition with the East German erection of the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Crisis began in June 1961 when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, meeting with US President John F. Kennedy at the Vienna summit, reissued an ultimatum which demanded the withdrawal of all armed forces from Berlin, including the Western armed forces in West Berlin. The East German government also sought a way to stop its "brain drain" as its population fled west through Berlin, made possible by the city's four-power status and the allowance of free travel. No agreement was reached and in August 1961, with Khrushchev's backing, East German leader Walter Ulbricht ordered the closing of the border and the construction of a wall around West Berlin. A brief stand-off between American and Soviet tanks occurred at Checkpoint Charlie in October following a dispute over free movement of Allied personnel; the confrontation ended peacefully after Khrushchev and Kennedy agreed to withdraw the tanks and reduce tensions.


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