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Tense Half-Hour. Then, three busloads of sightseeing U.S. troops were sent across the Friedrichstrasse entry point in a deliberate showdown. Bluntly, a Vopo at the barrier demanded to see the drivers' identity cards. But the convoy's captain just as bluntly refused. The rules required, he said, that documents be shown only to Russians. "These buses are going through in 30 minutes," declared U.S. Provost Marshal Colonel Robert Sabolyk. "If they are held up, we know what to do about it." When the half-hour was up, no Russian was in sight. Grimly, the bus drivers started their engines and began their tour of East Berlin. This time, the East German guards made not a move to stop them.
Behind their new wall, the Communists were busy stamping out the unrest that had swept the nation ever since the Berlin crackdown. Dozens of East Germans went on trial for "insulting the state." Many panic-stricken East Germans who bought up groceries and clothing in fear of war were called on the carpet for hoarding. There was still a trickle of refugees sneaking out to the West. One mason who was at work on the wall itself leapfrogged over the cement blocks and fled into West Berlin when his day's labor was done. Less fortunate was the man who jumped into a Spree River inlet near the old Reichstag and tried to swim the 100 yards to safety; border guards riddled him with bullets before he got halfway across.
To West Berliners, this was evidence enough of the fate that waited for them if the Reds ever managed to take over the entire city. And the intention was clearly there. When West Berliners boycotted the East German-owned S-bahn (elevated railway), which runs partly through West Berlin, East German Railway Boss Otto Arndt hinted darkly of interruptions when supplies were shipped to West Berlin.
Test at Hand? Then came the most ominous threat yet. Moscow, taking on an outraged tone, sent harsh notes to Washington, London and Paris, accusing the West of violating the 1945 Berlin access agreement by allowing West German government officials to fly the Berlin air corridors along routes that for years have been used by Pan American, British European Airways and Air France, as well as by Allied military craft. "All kinds of revanchists (revenge seekers), extremists, saboteurs and spies are being transferred from the Federal Republic of Germany to West Berlin" by this means, Moscow growled.
The Allies were violating no agreements whatsoever with their civilian flights (see below), but the Moscow note was evidence enough to President John F. Kennedy that a test of the West's access routes was near at hand. Swiftly, he sent a strong reply (see THE NATION) that made clear that U.S. patience was nearing the breaking point.