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Primary
US National Archives

Nara: Prologue Magazine: The 1961 Berlin Crisis Some New Insights

For Students 9th - 10th
Primary documents, including memos and letters detailing the blockade of Berlin and the president's contigency plans provide some new insights into the Berlin Crisis.
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Website
Other

Southwestern Academy: Eisenhower's Foreign Policy [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A well-organized look at President Eisenhower's Cold War policies throughout his two terms as president. Find out about his policies toward the USSR, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East.
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Website
US Department of State

Office of the Historian: The Berlin Crisis, 1958 1961

For Students 9th - 10th
Because Berlin was a divided city, between East and West, there was potential for diplomatic problems. Read about President Eisenhower's failed attempts to negotiate with Soviet Premier Khrushchev, and the negotiations between President...
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: The Presidency and the Cold War: John F. Kennedy

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Portait Gallery explores the actions of presidents during the Cold War. Here find President Kennedy's decisions during the Berlin Crisis, the building of the Berlin War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Watch a video of...
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Unit Plan
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum

The Berlin Airlift: June 27, 1948 to May 12, 1949

For Students 9th - 10th
This site offers an abundance of information about the Berlin Airlift. Along with general information, the site includes vocabulary related to the Berlin Airlift, and follow questions about the information presented.
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Website
BBC

Bbc: On This Day: Kennedy: "Ich Bin Ein Berliner"

For Students 9th - 10th
News article retells the story of President Kennedy's inspirational speech of defiance to the Soviet Union given to the people of West Germany.
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Article
US National Archives

Nara: u.s. Response to 1960 1962 Berlin Crisis [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A transcript from the U.S. Army Center for Military History regarding the United States' response to the 1960-62 Berlin Crisis.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Wedding (Berlin)

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a comprehensive look at Wedding, one of the areas under France's charge during the Cold War in West Berlin.
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Website
George Washington University

National Security Archive: The Berlin Wall, Fifty Years Ago

For Students 9th - 10th
While condemning the wall in public, U.S. officials saw "long term advantage" if potential refugees stayed in East Germany. Three days before the wall went up, the CIA expected that East Germany would take "harsher measures" to solve the...
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Website
George Washington University

National Security Archive: First Strike Options and the Berlin Crisis

For Students 9th - 10th
Fred Kaplan's article in the October 2001 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, "JFK's First Strike Plan," shows that key White House officials and the President himself briefly considered proposals for a limited nuclear first strike against...
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Website
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

Jfk Presidential Library and Museum: The Cold War in Berlin

For Students 9th - 10th
Article explores the division of Germany and Berlin into two zones, East and West, and delves into President Kennedy's relationship with the Soviets during the Cold War. On June 26, 1963, President Kennedy delivered an explosive speech...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Kennedy's Global Challenge

For Students 5th - 8th
The Cold War was still being waged during John Kennedy's administration. Read about the challenges he faced in Europe, Latin America, and, most ominously, in Cuba.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Postwar Challenges

For Students 5th - 8th
A brief survey of the beginning of the Cold War and the challenges that faced the United States in confronting communist totalitarianism.
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Article
Internet History Sourcebooks Project

Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Notes on the Berlin Wall, 1961

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, which is provided for by the Fordham University, gives the actual text of the United States' note to the USSR on Berlin and the Soviet reply.