Moynihan European Research Centers Co-Sponsored by the Department of History presents: Frederick Kempe

Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous City on Earth 50 years ago, East Germany started building the Berlin Wall, the dominant symbol of the Cold War between the Union States and the Soviet Union.   Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev called Berlin “the most dangerous place on earth.” He knew what he was talking about.  For the first time in history, American and Soviet fighting men and tanks stood arrayed against each other, only yards apart. One mistake, one overzealous commander, and the trip wire would be sprung for a war that would go nuclear in heartbeat.  Khrushchev and the new U.S. President John F. Kennedy faced off in one of the signature crises of the Cold War.  Berlin 1961, according to Henry Kissinger, is "Gripping, well researched, and thought-provoking, with many lessons for today."