een capable nations to reach above and beyond its competitor's successes in astronautical progress. The United States planned to land a man on the moon by 1970. John F. Kennedy promised the American public that he would close the spaceship gap.
             After World War II, Berlin became a place that was occupied by Russia, the United States, France, and Great Britain. The territory that the land fell in was Russian according to agreements of the conquering nations, but since it was the capitol of Germany, it was jointly occupied by all of the nations. The Russians guaranteed access to the city from the Western zones, but only the air corridors were specifically mentioned in writing. The entire city was to be ruled by the Four-Power Control Commission with unanimous consent necessary for all decisions.
             The difficulties of governing under these conditions became apparent as eth Cold War intensified after 1945. The Russians wanted to incorporate Berlin into their zone, and in 1948 they blockaded the land approaches to the city in an effort to force out the Western powers. After nine months of a successful Allied airlift, the Russians lifted the blockade, but the Control Commission was not restored. The Eastern and Western sectors of the city were ruled separately, by unspoken agreement. The Western Allies agreed to allow a West German government in their zones, and the Federal Republic of German Democratic Republic under Walter Ulbricht. The Western Allies and the Russians, however, still maintained troops in their respective areas, including eth city of Berlin. By 1957, Khrushchev had established himself as leader in Russia after the power struggle after Stalin's death. In 1958, he delivered an ultimatum stating that if the German problems were not solved by mutual agreement within six months, he would turn over control of the city and its approaches to the East Germans. The West agreed to a conference, but this prod...