JCC2 BGWarsawPact BerlinCrisis1961
JCC2 BGWarsawPact BerlinCrisis1961
Index
Letter from the Secretary-General 2
History of Committee 5
Current Situation 11
Characters 12
Bloc Positions 21
Committee Objectives 22
Bibliography 23
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Dear Delegates and Faculty Advisors, networking and negotiating skill from
delegates.
Welcome to NewMUN 2019! Before
anything, I would like to wish you the best I will just like to leave you the message,
of luck in this two-day conference which that the only way to be successful is to
is going to bring together the best MUN give your best. As Eric Thomas once said:
delegates from Lima. I am sure that I will "You will be successful when you want
witness the highest level of debate at this something as hard as you want to
conference. breath".
More than as a MUNer, but as a I wish you the best of luck in your
responsible citizen, I understand that the committees and hope you have an
global issues in our world must be solved amazing time in NewMUN 2019!
by the international community. I also
understand that MUN delegates don't Sincerely,
have the capabilities to take the decisions Santiago Bustamante
to change the world, but at least we have Secretary-General
the capacity to outrage ourselves when
seeing that something is not working for
our well being. That capacity to go out
and speak for your beliefs, to stand up
and raise the flag of your country
demanding for consensus, demanding for
peace, demanding for the well being of
everyone. That capacity is the only way in
which countries can move forward, and it
is the only way in which we will contribute
to building a better world. Maybe a little
visionary, but is the truth.
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History of Committee
Prelude to the Crisis of Berlin because of the amount of territory that the
USSR had in control at the time of the
The Formation of the NATO conference. This resulted in the division of
Germany between the allied occupied
From the remainings of the debris left by
territory, West Germany, and the
the fight between the Allied Forces and
Soviet-occupied land, East Germany or
the Axis Powers, humanity already knew
the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
that if the same methods. traditionally
used were implemented, it would
inevitably lead to another mass
destruction conflict. World War II was an
example of this: how the allied forces
implemented unreasonably harsh
sanctions in Germany, initiating one of the
darkest years in German history not just
breaking its economy but the morale of
the German people, giving to birth a
Fig 1. Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Henry
resentful nationalist wave that would put Truman shaking hands at the Potsdam Conference
Adolf Hitler in the history books. in 1945
After World War II, there were two newly In the meantime, anti-communist
implemented superpowers: the United propaganda was massively distributed by
States and the Soviet Union. The political figures inside of the United States
presence of the Soviet Union and the and the United Kingdom. While in the
communist ideology and economy started United States the Truman Doctrine1 and
to spray all over Europe. An inherent the Marshall Plan2 was out loud spoken
rivalry between these two superpowers and spread like fire, the strong
emerged as a result of mutual distrust and anti-communist point of view of Churchill
the American effort to exclude the Soviet was hardly missed. With his famous Iron
Union from the international community Curtain Speech, he marked the first
as their expansion was seen as a threat. instance of the intentions of the Soviet
This fear was not irrational. Union trying to divide Europe under
communist control. Nevertheless, this did
During the Potsdam Conference, held the
17th of July to the 2nd of August of 1945, 1
The Truman Doctrine was an US policy
the head of the USA, UK and USSR met under the Truman administration were
to discuss what would it be done with geopolitical, economic and military support
Germany and the rest of the territory would be given to countries opposed or not
set under a communist regime. This was seen
occupied during the Nazi regime. Not just
firstly seen during the Greek Civil War where
limited to the latter goal, the Potsdam the US supported with $400 million to the
Conference was intended to be the first non-communist bloc.
step towards rebuilding the political
2
The Marshall Plan was intended to attract
the interest of countries that were devastated
scenario in the modern world and to
during WWII with the promise by remaining
establish peace amongst the new capitalist. In return, the countries would be
superpowers. However, this failed given economic aid for the reconstruction of
their governmental infrastructure, armies, etc.
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not stop the Soviet Union to create the in the North Atlantic Treaty, or known as
Cominform on the 5th of October of 1947, the Washington Treaty, wherein 13
grouping all the communist political Articles the leaders of Belgium, Canada,
parties of Europe. Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway,
The European nations, fearing that a Portugal, United Kingdom, and the United
communist revolution would take over States to protect each other nation by
Europe by either military, economic or lending military aid if the state is
political manners. In that sense, Belgium, prejudice, but at the same time restrain
France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and from any unnecessary military activity.
the United Kingdom signed the Brussels The treaty is signed by the latter countries
Pact, founding the Western Union. The mentioned the 4th of April of 1949.
Soviet Union responded with the Berlin
Blockade, leaving no option towards the The Formation of the Warsaw Pact
creation of the Western Union Defence
Organization (WEDO). Nevertheless, this In 1954, after the death of Joseph Stalin
proved to be effortless as that same year, and the appointment of Nikita Khrushchev
through a coup d’etat organized by the the minister of Foreign affairs of the
communist party and supported by the Soviet Union commented in the creation
Soviet Union, took the government of of the NATO as an aggressive pact as it
Czechoslovakia, turning another was the only member of the anti-Hitler
European country into a communist coalition not included. He suggested that
satellite. Parallely, the Soviet Union the only manner to change this would be
Forces organized what it would be known to accept the inclusion of the Soviet
as the Berlin Blockade of 1948, blocking Union into NATO. The proposal would be
all roads, canals, and tracks directing to accepted under the two conditions that
the allied occupied Berlin. this would be the Soviet Union would have
brief as Joseph Stalin would lift the comprehensive control of its military
blockade the 12th of May of 1949. control and planning and to secure the
freedom and democracy amongst its
territory. However, in the end, the
proposal was rejected and categorized as
“completely unreal”. This is because for
any action taken by NATo needs to be
unanimous. seeing the behavior of the
Soviet Union in the UN Security Council,
vetoing any action towards the ongoing
Korean War.
Fig 2. Joseph Stalin with the newly assigned Prime
Minister of Czechoslovakia, Klement Gottwald in
Fearing that the NATO or other the
1946. European Defence Community would take
future actions against the Soviet Union,
Fearing another European country would the minister of Foreign Affairs of the
be struck by another communist coup USSR proposed the creation of the
d’etat, the European leaders met with European General Agreement with the
American military defense and politicians proposed inclusion of the United States.
in the Pentagon. The negotiation resulted However, this was perceived as an action
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against NATO with the purpose of its of 1946, the Paraguayan Civil War, the
liquidation. Again, this proposal would be Arab-Israeli conflict, etc.
rejected.
The Korean War
The 23rd of October of 1954, the Federal
Republic of Germany, or more known as As it was previously mentioned, between
West Germany was accepted formally the already formed NATO and the Soviet
into the NATO. This was the last straw for Union, it was necessary to have as many
the Soviet Union as, after several states supporting.
attempts, a recent country was accepted.
After the end of World War II, many of the
In this sense, with other 8 European
Japanese colonies were annexed. One of
countries, formed what will be known as
them being the Manchuria with the
the Warsaw Pact. This group would be
Korean Peninsula. While Manchuria has
most known for being confirmed by
been established as a puppet state by the
communists governments.
Japanese Empire, Korea has never had a
The Use of Proxy Wars in the Cold War true own government since 1910. From
the several internal conflicts, it emerged
With the creation of now International two leaders: Kim Il-Sung representing the
organization such as the NATO and the North of Korea under a communist
United Nations, maintaining the peace ideology heavily influenced by his
and order inside of the international education in the Soviet Union, and
political scenario was vital to prevent the Syngman Rhee representing an
birth of another pre-apocalyptic conflict. ultranationalist ideology in favor of a
capitalist democratic form of government.
Between the NATO, led by the United Up to this point, in 1950, the support from
States, and the Soviet Union with their the Soviet Union and China was
newly formed communist countries, it was increasing to the North as much the
a race between which bloc would support from the United Nation and the
maintain a more international presence by United States in South Korea.
having more members of more
prosperous economies. With this said, it
was needed in this case to secure either
an already established country or to turn a
country into a communist state.
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supporting the internal gross income. The Soviet Union, dishearten farmers as it
gap difference increased with West highly prioritized the industrial sector. This
Germany having 24.340 million workers led to one out of seven farmers in East
while the East having 8.235 million Germany to move to the West.
workers. Not just that but the Gross
National Product per capita had a By 1958, this ignited a massive
marginal difference from 1950 data immigration problem by many East
showing that the East had 1290 in DM3 Germans fleeing through the border to
while West had 1984 in DM. West Germany. Not because of the
precarious situation of East Germany but
Karl Roskamp, Professor of Economics at rather the excellent state of West
Wayne State University during 1962 and Germany. Nevertheless, this took a tall in
commented in the data mentioned above: the economy by the loss of labor and the
“...is reinforced that East Germany production decrease during those years.
performance was poorer than West
German. Because of a number of factors,
such as rigidity in planning, lack of
incentives, and absence of integration in a
world market, the East’s increase in
production, compared with those of the
West, required much greater effort and
sacrifice in terms of hours worked and
consumption forgone.”
Not just that but while the East Germany Fig. 5. Two Families fleeing through the border from
economy was mostly based in the Soviet East Germany to West Germany.
Union’s division of GDP sectors and
Emigration and Defection Crisis
economic plan, the West had the support
of the allies with the back of the Marshall One of the bases that held the Soviet
Plan, not just aiding in the reconstruction Union as a rising economic socialist
but in the modernization of business nation was its vast population and strong
procedures and changing the the labor force. As the state gave work to
methods of production, out-taking Britain everybody, the production would be
in comparative productivity levels during efficient and boosting the supply and
the 1950s. This led up to what it would be export good. However, when there is a
known as the Wirtschaftswunder or the lack of, it results in the own economy to
Miracle of the Rhine. The economic crumble. This was the case in East
miracle caused by the management and Germany in 1952. While this was fairly
the Marshall Plan led to a country that 5 common in Europe, the defection of
years ago, was in bankrupt and defeated citizens from a communist regime to a
morally was a leading economy in Europe. capitalist one, having a point of
This cannot be said about East Germany. comparison was what it was the most
The economic plan implemented by the humiliating in the eyes of the international
community. This was commonly referred
to as brain drain. This was because most
3
DM stands for discount margin which is the
average expected return earned plus to the
floating rate security.
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Many of the citizens of East Germany flee The Construction of the Berlin Wall
to West Germany to seek more
opportunities. However, there were many While the construction of a physical
cases that families escaped because of barrier between two different countries is
the military oppression and feared the a ridiculous and expensive idea, it was
secret police. more manageable to divide the city of
Berlin because it was the most frequent
But nevertheless, why did all the area were people defected because of the
defection cases occurred in Berlin? The loophole.
reason why is because Berlin was divided
exactly in half, still sharing a lot of its In the 15th of June of 1961, after
infrastructures such as rail system and suspicion of the creation of a physical
public transport easily open. Moreover, barrier to solve the defection problem,
the creation of a physical war would have Walter Ulbrich mentioned in an interview
prevented the creation of new railways that there was no intention to make a wall.
connecting the trade between West and
Walter Ulbrich with the funding from the
East Germany. The creation of this
Soviet Union and the authority of East
railways was necessary after the incidents
Germany, ordered the construction of a
caused during the Berlin Blockade of
wall separating both East and West Berlin
1948. This led the 26th of May of 1952 to
the 13rd of August of 1961. The cost of
Walter Ulbrich, First Secretary of the
production of the wall is estimated to be
Socialist Unity Party of Germany, making
between 7 and 9 billion US dollars. There
him the Chief of staff of East Germany’s
was opposition towards even the idea of
government, close the inner border
the wall as most of the money can be
between both Germanies with a severe
directed to other more needed services
penalization for defection with heavy fines
such as public transport, education,
and even 3 years of prison.
health services and more.
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Current Situation
Reignition of Khrushchev’s Berlin either the Warsaw Pact or any of their
Ultimatum allies. Having said that, depending on
either the rejection and the following
The 27th of November of 1958, just 3 actions between the NATO or the Warsaw
months later after the execution of the Pact would have as a middle ground
former Prime Minister of Hungary after a Germany. Either if it is political or military
secret trial conducted by the Communist intervention. In the meantime, the
Party of Hungary, Nikita Khrushchev, construction of the Wall of Berlin has
Premier of the Soviet Union, files an been schedule for the 13rd of August,
ultimatum to the Allied forces to retreat after being approved by Nikita
any military force inside of West Berlin. It Khrushchev and Walter Ulbrich.
is not clear what were the intentions
behind the ultimatum. One of them would
be a weak point inside of the Iron Curtain
and that the LIVE OAK4 would organize an
attack to East Berlin. Another reason
would be the tension between both the
NATO and the Warsaw Pact. After just
acquiring another member -Hungary-,
anything could react another belic
conflict. Because of this, he knew that the
proposal would be heard and would be
likely accepted. However, the leaders of
France, United States and Britain
postponed several summits to talk about
the ultimatum.
shut but rather respected, as well as its A meeting has been arrange for both the
trading lines. The ultimatum would be in a NATO as well as for the Warsaw Pact for
manner to ensure the security of East the 13rd of August of 1961 to discuss
Berlin rather to prejudice the West one. about the current political crisis that is
occuring in the heart of the Germanies.
As its stand by, the NATO forces need to
give an answer before the deadline before
4
The LIVE OAK were the combination of the
military forces of the United States, Britain
and France stationed in West Germany and in
West Berlin.
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Characters
The following list of character will be the delegates invited to the summit of the Warsaw
Pact held the 13rd of August of 1961. In the case of any incident prejudicing the invites not
to attend or continue the summit, others would be invited in their behalf.
Name Position Description
Born a 12 of September in 1894 in a small
town named Bremen under the German
Empire had since the beginning an interest
in socialism, joining the Socialist Workers’
Youth the 1910 and the Social Democratic
Party of Germany in 1913. In 1933, he was
sent to concentration camps for illegal
political activity for 8 months. However, he
was under constant police surveillance until
Friedrich the end of the Third Reich.
1st Lord Mayor of East Berlin
Ebert, Jr.
He became elected chairman of the SPD in
the province of Brandenburg. However, he
influenced the merge of the Communist
Party of Germany (KPD) and the SPD
forming the the Socialist Unity Party. After
the end of the allied collaboration, he
assumed the position of 1st Lord Mayor of
East Berlin the 30th November of 1948
where he currently holds the title.
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Bloc Positions
When taking decisions, writing directives would show the world the prevalence of
and secret actions delegates are the Warsaw Pact and solve the defection
encouraged to take into account broad problems as most of the transgression
characterizations of committee actors occurred in Berlin. Not just that but it
based on their political point of view. would improve the economy of East
Some factors to consider during the Germany as it depends heavily in the
committee are the relations between each workforce and in the innovation of the
character. The Warsaw Pact will introduce professionals towards the development of
major USSR representatives and related the country.
which will be discussing the action that
will be taken against the West Germany Nevertheless, by improving the stability of
and their leaders. East Germany would improve the stability
of the rest of the Warsaw Pact. The
The Cold War reason why is because of the of the
already established Comecon, it is mainly
Since the end of the World War II, the decided either what changes should other
United States and the Soviet Union have economies have but more into strength
been in a tense relations. This is mostly the stability and future actions of the
because of what they represented. While organization. Not just that but with a
the United States was the greatest stronger economy, there is room for
capitalist economy at the moment, the improvement in the military aspect.
Soviet Union was believed to be the Aspect that all of the Warsaw Pact
example of a working large scale member share.
communist economy. However, as the
Cold War was developing, it was not just It must be reminded that because if a
that anymore. It became a race in all military conflict is engage in Berlin, this
aspects. From the development of new would involve the participants of all the
weaponry and technology such as new member of the Warsaw Pact and the
ballistic missiles and their transportation NATO as it is stated clearly in the article 5
and launch from submarines to the space of the NATO and one of the basis
race. But its most drastic, and the one established in the signing of the Warsaw
that it will be seen in this committee is the Pact.
political and military one.
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Committee Objectives
1. What should it be our immediate reactions if the Berlin Ultimatum is accepted? What
should it be if they are rejected?
2. What approach should this committee deliver regarding the acceptance or rejection
of the Ultimatum? Should diplomacy reign over military intervention?
4. Should the construction of the Berlin Wall continue? Or would it be better to find an
alternative solution and deviate the budget to another cause?
5. If in the end, it results in a declaration of war between either West Germany and East
Germany, what involvement should other countries have in this conflict?
A position paper is a document that Any awards would not be based on the
outlines and states the position of a use of costumes. Nevertheless, it would
nation/delegate in the committee. The be recommended not to bring any prop
format that will be accepted is: that could be interpreted as something
offensive or close to that nature.
1. Font: Times New Roman
2. Size: 12 pt It is highly recommended to send and
3. Spacing between lines: 1.0 submit your position paper if the delegate
in that matter wants to be consider for an
It will be expected as well the name of the award.
Committee, Character, Delegate, Topic
and Educational Institute.
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