HIS344Y1 Chapter 9: The Berlin Crisis and the Fragmentation of the Communist ‘World’
Document Summary
The berlin crisis and the fragmentation of the. Khrushchev and kennedy meet in berlin --> threats. Both begin increasing army and building up weapons. Khrushchev blocks off passage way between east and west berlin --> no response from west, did not want to start a war over such a small issue. Shoot to kill those who try to escape. Western germany angry at washington - could not rely upon. Mao had to align with ussr --> no one else would support him. Ussr provided more support to third war in effort to win them over --> dissatisfaction of china. Great leap forward --> china stepping out on their own economically, could not rely on the ussr anymore. Depopulation of farmland led to massive food shortages and famine. Mao more willing than khrushchev to rely upon nuclear weapons. 1955 mao to build own nuclear force - reduce dependence upon ussr.
