Word: berlins
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...villain of a book is seldom an inanimate object. But in this case, the Berlin Wall qualifies for the role. If Curtis Cate's richly detailed, gripping history has a villain, however, it lacks a hero. For the author, a longtime commentator on European affairs and a biographer of George Sand and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, strongly implies that the Wall would never have been built if the Western Allies had shown a little more sophistication and a little less fear...
Kennedy finally sent someone of mettle to Berlin: General Lucius Clay, who had been military governor of the U.S. zone during the 1948-49 airlift. When the East Germans started harassing American officials entering their sector after the Wall was built, Clay ordered an armed escort to accompany the Americans through the checkpoint; then he brought up tanks to the border. The Soviets in turn sent then" tanks to confront the Americans. For 16 tense hours, the two superpowers were thus nose to nose. Though White House advisers were rat tled, Khrushchev finally backed down and withdrew his hardware...
John F. Kennedy and his advisers. They were, he claims, intimidated by Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, who had been making grim references to a nuclear holocaust if the West did not get out of Berlin, where it had had a legal right to be since 1945. Beneath the bluster, however, Khrushchev was behaving cautiously. At first, he resisted East German Party Boss Walter Ulbricht's request to build the Wall. When the barrier was erected, Western leaders reacted with relief. They had been expecting much worse...
They maintained an air of indifference, acting as though the crisis might go away if they ignored it. "When I go to bed at night, I try not to think about Berlin," confessed Secretary of State Dean Rusk. A few Administration officials dissented...
...Gate is not very kind to Kennedy's entourage, he is scathing on the subject of Lyndon Johnson. As Vice President, L.B.J. was sent by Kennedy to Berlin to demonstrate American concern. There was no way of telling that from Johnson's trip. Avoiding the Wall, the Vice President seemed to be mainly interested in gathering souvenirs. "Say, Mr. Mayor," he addressed Willy Brandt, "where did you get those spiffy shoes? I want a pair just like them." Brandt replied that he would be glad to oblige, but it was Sun day and the store was closed...