Why don't we raise our salaries for this category of people? First of all, we don't have the means. Secondly, even if we raised their salary, we could not satisfy their purchasing power with the goods that we have, and they would buy things with that money in West Berlin. .
Certainly, it was in the best interest of the future of the GDR to limit access to West Berlin. By the late 1950s it was clear that some resolution needed to be made concerning the question of the two Germanys-at least to the Soviets. This was the rationale behind the Soviet thinking in giving the Western powers six months to agree to make Berlin a free, demilitarized city. Khrushchev mandated that the U.S.S.R would sign a treaty with the GDR, thus formally recognizing them and according all access routes and transportation into their jurisdiction. The three powers replied that no unilateral treaty could negate their responsibilities and rights in West Berlin, including the right of unhindered access to the city. Although the ultimatum's deadline passed without acquiescence from the West or decisive action from the Soviets, its" meaning hung in the air as a reminder to both sides that this crisis was far from being resolved.
Though tensions escalated on both fronts of the Cold War, neither side felt that a war was necessary or even probable. Khrushchev knew that if the Soviets followed through on their threats and signed a peace treaty with the GDR, the U.S. would be angered. However, he expected that Soviet actions would cause the U.S. to take economic or political action, but never to wage war. Both countries were fully aware of the nuclear capabilities of the other, and assumed that neither country wanted war. While this clearly suggests that the danger was not as great as assumed, nothing could be further from the truth. It is exactly this mentality of Kennedy and Khrushchev, that a nuclear war is so catastrophic that nobody would seek it, which is so dangerous.
