Crisis Over Berlin and Bay of Pigs

The Bay of Pigs
In March of the year 1960, President Eisenhower granted the CIA permission to train Cuban exiles in secret for an invasion of Cuba. The purpose of the invasion was to trigger a mass uprising that would overthrow Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro. Kennedy heard of this plan only nine days after his election, and he approved it even though he was somewhat doubtful. Soon after, on April 17, 1961, up to 1,500 Cuban exiles with support from the US military landed on the southern coast of the island at Bahia de Cochinos, or the Bay of Pigs. The invasion, however, did not go according to plan; an air strike failed to knock out the Cuban air force, and an advance group that was sent to distract Cuban forces never reached the shore. The main commando unit landed only to face 25,000 Cuban troops backed up by Soviet tanks and jet aircraft. Invadors were either killed or imprisoned.

The disaster left Kennedy embarrassed, but he accepted the blame publicly for the fiasco. He negotiated with Castro for the release of surviving commandos and a paid ransom of $53 million in food and medical supplies. Kennedy promised exiles that they would soon return to a "free Havana."

Crisis over Berlin
In 1961, Berlin was in a state of turmoil. In the 11 years since the Berlin Aircraft, nearly 3 million East Germans (20% of the population) fled to West Germany to escape Communist rule. Their deperature threatened the country's weakening economony, and it also advertised the failure of the Communist government in East Germany. Krushchev wanted to solve this problem. In June of 1961, he threatened to sign a treaty with East Germany that would allow the country to close all access roads to West Berlin. Kennedy refused to give up US access to West Berlin. America's superior nuclear power prevented Krushchev from closing air and land routes between West Berlin and West Germany. Instead, the Soviet premier made a "shocking decision." On August 13, 1961, East German troops unloaded concrete posts and rolls of barbed wire along the border. Within a few days, the Berlin Wall was constructed, dividing East and West Germany.

The construction of the wall ended the Berlin Crisis. The wall proved successful in reducing the number of East German refugees, solving Krushchev's main problem. The barrier, however, became a symbol of Communist oppression that further aggravated Cold war tensions.