4 June 1961
The American president, John F. Kennedy, and Soviet party leader Nikita Khrushchev meet at a summit in Vienna. In view of the American disaster in the Bay of Pigs in April 1961, Khrushchev feels the time is ripe to put pressure on the United States in Europe as well. He repeats his Berlin ultimatum of 1958 and announces that the Soviet Union is now firmly resolved to sign a separate peace treaty with the GDR by the end of 1961 if the United States does not sign such a treaty itself. In this case, he says, the West will have to negotiate the use of the access routes to Berlin with the GDR government, which would then be in charge of them. "We do not want a war, but if you force one on us, there will be one," Khrushchev says, challenging Kennedy. Kennedy answers: "It looks like it’s going to be a cold winter."
Upon his return, Kennedy, profoundly concerned about Khrushchev's intentions, requests his staff to come up with an answer to the question of how the USA could react to a new blockade and intervention of the Soviets in West Berlin.
