But Western rights have not been challenged. Many in the United States see the Wall as neutralizing the crisis. West Berlin's confidence in Allied support crumbles. To show U.S. support, Kennedy orders an American military convoy to West Berlin. In the East, people risk death to flee through the barbed wire divide.
People swim lakes and canals, cling beneath trains, hide in cars, climb barriers under fire.
And the Wall was the actual symbol of a defeat, or inferiority. In light of these East German perspectives, assess the purpose of the Wall and the reason for its existence for almost 30 years. General Lucius Clay, Western hero of the Berlin Blockade, orders armed American soldiers to escort vehicles back and forth across the border at Checkpoint Charlie. The Russians counter by bringing up their tanks and guns. The two sides face each other at gunpoint.