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====How did Eisenhower react to the East German Uprising?====
[[File:Dwight_D._Eisenhower,_official_photo_portrait,_May_29,_1959.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|President Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
In response, the United States under the leadership of President Dwight D. Eisenhower showed its support for the uprising by establishing a large scale food relief program for East Germans, which was officially announced on July 10 and commenced on July 27. Under this program, the United States pledged to distribute $15 million worth of food from 35 distribution centers established in West Berlin, to which East Germans had access through East Berlin. The so-called “Eisenhower packages” contained lard, peas, flour, and pasteurized milk. The United States distributed over 5 million packages through these centers to over a million East Germans who were able to gain access to East Berlin. In response, the East German Government cut off rail and bus traffic to West Berlin, which further heightened tensions. The program put Ulbricht on the defensive and extended the atmosphere of crisis across East Germany.
In addition to achieving humanitarian objectives through this assistance program, the United States sought to destabilize East Germany and weaken Ulbricht’s regime. The Eisenhower administration also hoped to deter Soviet initiatives to start talks on German reunification. Washington believed that any movement toward unification on Soviet terms or even a lessening of the crisis would threaten the delicate process of Western European military integration and weaken an already tenuous French resolve to ratify the European Defense Community (EDC) treaty.
