Berlin Crisis of 1961

The **Berlin Crisis of 1961** () was an event in the Cold War. It was between United States, West Germany, and the rest of NATO against the Soviet Union, East Germany, and the rest of the Warsaw Pact. It led to the city being divided into two parts and to to the Berlin Wall being built.

## Related pages

- Nikita Khrushchev
- Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Presidency of John F. Kennedy
- Berlin Wall

## Further reading

- Barker, Elisabeth. “The Berlin Crisis 1958–1962.” _International Affairs_ 39#1 (1963), pp. 59–73. online.
- Beschloss, Michael. _The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960–1963_ (1991) online
- Carmichael, Neil. "A Brief History of the Berlin Crisis of 1961" (US National Archives. 2011); short essay; no copyright
- Freedman, Lawrence. _Kennedy's Wars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam_ (Oxford UP, 2000) pp 45–120. online
- Gearson, John PS, and Kori N. Schake, eds. _The Berlin Wall Crisis: Perspectives on Cold War Alliances_ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002).
- Lunak, Petr. "Khrushchev and the Berlin Crisis: Soviet brinkmanship seen from inside." _Cold War History_ 3.2 (2003): 53–82.
- Newman, Kitty. _Macmillan, Khrushchev and the Berlin Crisis, 1958–1960_ (Routledge, 2007).
- Rasmussen, Kasper Grotle. "In search of a negotiated settlement: McGeorge Bundy and the 1961 Berlin crisis." _Journal of Transatlantic Studies_ 14.1 (2016): 47–64.
- Schick, Jack M. _The Berlin crisis, 1958–1962_ (1971) online
- Sergunin, Alexander. "The role of the Executive Office of the President in the US decision-making on the Berlin crisis of 1961." _Americana_ 15 (2017): 64–95.
- Slusser, Robert M. _The Berlin Crisis of 1961: Soviet-American Relations and the Struggle for Power in the Kremlin, June–November, 1961_ (Johns Hopkins UP, 1973) excerpt
- Smith, Jean Edward. _The defense of Berlin_ (1963).
- Taubman, William. _Khrushchev: The Man and his Era_ (WW Norton & Company, 2003). pp 480–506.online
- Tompson, William. _Khrushchev: A political life_ (Springer, 2016). online
- Trachtenberg, Marc. _A Constructed Peace: The Making of the European Settlement 1945‒1963_ (Princeton UP, 1999) pp. 283–402. excerpt
- Voorhees, Theodore. _The Silent Guns of Two Octobers: Kennedy and Khrushchev Play the Double Game_ (U of Michigan Press, 2020).
- Windsor, Philip. "The Berlin Crises" _History Today_ (June 1962) Vol. 6, pp. 375–384, summarizes the series of crises 1946 to 1961; online.
- Zubok, Vladislav. "Khrushchev and the Berlin Crisis (1958‒1962)" (CWIHP, 1993) online, primary sources

## Other websites

- The Wall, 1958–1963
- Forty Years Crisis
- First strike options and the Berlin Crisis
- The Berlin Crisis of 1961: Documents at the National Archives
- Khrushchev's Secret Speech on the Berlin Crisis, August 1961
- Conference: "From Vienna to Checkpoint Charlie: The Berlin Crisis of 1961"

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Berlin Crisis of 1961
- **partof**: the Cold War
- **image**: US Army tanks face off against Soviet tanks, Berlin 1961.jpg
- **imagesize**: 250px
- **caption**: U.S. M48 Patton, M48 tanks face Soviet T-54/55, T-55 tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, October 1961.
- **date**: 4 June – 9 November 1961
- **place**: Checkpoint Charlie
- **result**: Stalemate
* Erection of the Berlin Wall on 12–13 August 1961
- **combatant1**:

**Supported by:**
 Warsaw Pact
- **combatant2**:

**Supported by:**

- **commander1**: Nikita Khrushchev
 Walter Ulbricht
- **commander2**: John F. Kennedy
 Konrad Adenauer