Background to the Crisis

Cold War – The Berlin Crisis, 1958-61

In this course, Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman (King's College London) discusses the Berlin Crisis. In the first module, we take at the background to the crisis in. the years that preceded it, including the Berlin Blockade. We then turn to look at the early years of crisis from 1958 to 1960. After this, we take a look at Nikita Khrushchev's ultimatum (of 1961) to President John F. Kennedy over the status quo in Berlin. In the next module, Kennedy's response to Khrushchev's ultimatum and the construction of the Berlin Wall. In the final module, we take a look at the aftermath of the crisis all the way up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Background to the Crisis

In this module, we take a look at the background to the crisis in the years that preceded it. In particular, we will focus on: (i) how the Berlin Crisis is remembered today, including its relation to the Cuban Missile Crisis (ii) the dynamics of the Cold War in the years 1945-58 and how Berlin was split after the Second World War; and (iii) how Berlin was meant to operate after the Second World War and the issues this caused, including the Berlin Blockade of 1948.