Lesson 6 - Berlin and Cuba
In 1961 a second Berlin crisis resulted in the building of the iconic symbol of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall. A year later, partly as a result of the Berlin crisis, the world came close to nuclear war on the island of Cuba. Both of these events were consequences of Cold War events we have already studied. The 'problem' of Berlin had been left unresolved after the blockade and airlift of 1948-9. The Paris talks designed to address the problem had collapsed in the aftermath of the U2 spy plane incident a year before in May 1960. The Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959 was a culmination of a fierce five and a half year struggle to establish an independent Cuban state which overthrew the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Like many states in central America, Cuba had traditionally been a client state of the USA, its leaders no more than puppets placed to uphold US strategic and economic interest.
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Berlin Crisis - Walsh 407-409. Begin with the film and then get the key information from the presentation.
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Activity 1
Using the presentation, the film and your textbook, explain a) why the wall was built and b) what the consequences were for the Cold War.
Using the presentation, the film and your textbook, explain a) why the wall was built and b) what the consequences were for the Cold War.
We examine the Cuban missile crisis in two stages. Firstly we examine the causes, why Castro and Khrushchev decided to put the missiles on the island and why this presented a problem to the USA. (Walsh 346-52)
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Activity 2
This activity asks you to imagine that you were part of President Kennedy's group of advisors, the so-called 'Ex comm' committee. You are going to advise the President about how to respond. You can download the worksheet here.
You should begin by reviewing the presentation above and watching the short film - Cuban Crisis Ex comm - from the Cold War series. It is important that you consider the options available to you empathetically, as if you were present in October 1962 and not with advantage of hindsight.
This activity asks you to imagine that you were part of President Kennedy's group of advisors, the so-called 'Ex comm' committee. You are going to advise the President about how to respond. You can download the worksheet here.
You should begin by reviewing the presentation above and watching the short film - Cuban Crisis Ex comm - from the Cold War series. It is important that you consider the options available to you empathetically, as if you were present in October 1962 and not with advantage of hindsight.
Activity 3
a) Using the film and the information above, explain how Kennedy was able to resolve the crisis. b) Using your textbook page 352, outline the main consequences of the Cuban crisis for for the development of the Cold War. |
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