Quick questions on Berlin Wall 1961: HSC Modern History Cold War Crisis

The November 1958 ultimatum demanded that the Western powers leave Berlin within six months; the city should become a "free city" administered by the UN; failing agreement, the USSR would conclude a separate peace treaty with East Germany and transfer access controls to East German authorities. Eisenhower and Macmillan refused. The deadline passed without action at the Geneva conference of May to August 1959.

Kennedy's televised speech of 25 July 1961 set the American position. The three essentials were: the presence of Western forces in West Berlin; free access to West Berlin; freedom and viability of West Berlin. The implication was that the sector boundary itself was not a red line. Kennedy authorised an additional $3.25 billion for defence and increased American forces in West Berlin.

The Western Allies did not act. American troops remained in West Berlin. On 19 August Vice President Lyndon Johnson visited West Berlin and delivered an empty solidarity speech. On 23 August Kennedy ordered Major General Lucius Clay's reinforcement of the Berlin garrison: an additional 1,500 troops drove down the autobahn, demonstrating that Western access still held.

Source A is Kennedy's address of 25 July 1961 on "the three essentials." Using Source A and your own knowledge, explain the American response to the Berlin crisis. [5 marks]

Evaluate the extent to which the Berlin Wall stabilised superpower relations between 1961 and 1989. [25 marks]

Compare the views of Hope Harrison and Frederick Kempe on responsibility for the Berlin Wall. [10 marks]