The Berlin Wall Essay examples

The German Communist Party began restricting East German's ability to travel to the West in 1949 (Levy 13). Germany's Eastern government installed barbed wire and minefields fields along the border of East and West Germany. However, Eastern Germans' still found a way to escape to the western side of Germany. The most popular way of escape was known as the five-cent subway ride to freedom. There was a subway system in Berlin that linked it's Eastern and Western sides together. For five cents, eastern Germans' would take the train from East Germany to West Germany. Then that person would slip through the border or take a plane or bus out. According to Debbie Levy, during the first six months of 1961, 160,000 Germans had escaped from the East to the West. From 1949 to 1961, more than three million Germans had escaped from the East to the West. This upset the Soviet Officials in charge of Germany very much. Half of the people escaping East Germany were under 25, and three-quarters were under 45. The people escaping included: 16,000 engineers, 5,000 doctors, dentists, and veterinaries, 1,000 university professors and lecturers, and 15,000 high school and elementary teachers. The

German authorities began building the wall to permanently close off any access to the West. Half

     Even today Germans are seeing the effects of the wall. To Frank Schulz, a 35-year-old Berlin postman is a prime example of the effects. Six days a week, Schulz sets off to deliver 100 kilos of mail heaped into leather bags on his bright yellow Post Office bicycle in a Berlin neighborhood called Kopenik. Despite the arduous labor, Schulz is paid about $2,400 a year less than most other German mailmen. Schulz is an Ossi, the German

The reunification of Germany happened on October 3, 1990 when East Germany joined the Federal Republic. Guenter Schabowski announced the opening of the Berlin wall, putting an end to the 28 years of division. He announced this offhandedly during a press conference, by saying that the East was lifting the travel restrictions across the border to the West. He then looks down at his notes, stammering “As far as I know, this enters into force...this is immediately, without delay” (East German announces Berlin wall open). Upon hearing this, East Berliners stormed to the wall and demanded to be let through. Although border guards had not been given this order, they let people through after seeing the numbers. Soon after the opening of the walls, the Soviet Union fell apart. Representatives from eleven of the fifteen

of  the Berlin  Wall  on 13th  August 1961.  This was done in order  to  prevent  the  massive  emigration of East

After World War II, Germany and Berlin were controlled by four major powers, US, Britain, France and Russia. Many people fled from the east side, which Russia controlled, because they did not like being under the rule of the Soviet Union and communism. Over 2 million people fled over the course of the years 1949-1959. Russia did not like how people were leaving their side of Berlin, so they built a wall. This wall started out as a barbed wire fence that later was made into a 15 feet high and 4 feet wide wall made of concrete blocks.

On August 15, 1961, Communists began building a wall to keep Germans from escaping Communist-controlled East Berlin to West Democratic Berlin. There were guards, electric barbed wired fences, and of course the twelve foot concrete wall that prevented Germans from escaping. After the wall was built many Germans still tried to flee the west but not all were successful. The East Berlin Germans were now under total dictatorship of the Soviets. Many United States Presidents traveled to Berlin to share their views on democracy with the Communists, but the Communist weren’t persuaded. In 1987,

Following the fall of the Third Reich at the end of WWII Germany was split between east and west into two different countries. In the east the German Democratic Republic was under communist rule and was supported by the Soviet Union. The Federal German Republic was a democracy that was part of NATO. As part of the division of Germany following WWII, Berlin, the capital of Germany was divided evenly between the two nations. However, the entire city of Berlin was deep inside of the GDR, so the Western half of the city was democratic but it was surrounded by communist territory. This made West Berlin a place where many East Germans would try to escape to. As a result of this the German Democratic Republic built a wall surrounding West Berlin to stop its own people from escaping to freedom.

The end of World War II in 1945 had Germany Divided Four Allied occupation zones. The eastern part of the country went to the Soviet Union, and the western part goes to the United States, Great Britain and France. Each section was under the control of a different country. The United States, Britain, and France each joined their sections to form a democratic state on May 24,

The Berlin Wall, built in August of 1961, was s physical symbol of the political and emotional divisions of Germany. The Wall was built because of a long lasting suspicion between the Soviet Union on one side and Western Europe and the United States on the other. For 28 years the Berlin Wall separated friends, families, and a nation. After WWII was over Germany was divided into four parts. The United States, Great Britain, and France controlled the three divisions that were formed in the Western half and the Eastern half was controlled by the Soviet Republic. The Western sections eventually united to make a federal republic, while the Eastern half became communist.

These blockades later became the infamous “Berlin Wall”. The wall was infamous because it “stood as a grim symbol of totalitarian socialism” (“Berlin Wall” 2). “The soviets tried to control all of berlin by blockading the roads.”(“Berlin Wall 2). After the building of the wall the Westerners responded with the Berlin Airlift. The Airlift was was series of helicopter flights that supplied the country with food and supplies. The Airlift not only helped them in their food situation but also caused success for the economy in western Germany. The wall was later destroyed after the Eastern Cabinet resigned. On “November 7… hundreds of thousands of Berliners took to the streets, breaching the wall in frenzied celebration.” (“Berlin Wall” 3). This was a momentous day as the effect of the wall was essentially imprisonment for the people on the eastern side. The wall was armed with guards that were instructed to kill anyone who attempted to escape. The destruction of the wall was significant because it displayed how things can be accomplished without violence. Then 21 days later “West Germany outlined a proposal calling for the reunification of the nation” (“Berlin Wall” 3). All in one year the wall that stood as a sign of separation was destroyed and the two sides were

After the defeat of Hitler, Germany was in 4 sections.The U.S.A., United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union all had a portion of Germany.In 1961, Germany’s capital, Berlin, had a hard time.East Berlin’s government did not agree with the West side.That was when the Berlin Wall was built.The German Democratic Republic(GDR)was the reason for the separation of the city.The East side was bad and the West side was good or more free.To go to the other side, there were checkpoints you had to cross.”Checkpoint Charlie”, the most famous checkpoint, was one of them.

The Berlin wall was a wall that was up to 15 feet high, which separated East and West Berlin during the Cold War. It lasted 28 years from 1961 and 1989. Throughout this time period, many people living in East Germany left and fled to West Germany because they had a better economic system. Since their lost in WWII, East Germany built the wall to prevent access to West Berlin. Because of this separation that lasted 28 years, many families, friends and relatives were separated. The wall slowly progressed to become even more advanced so that it would be harder for people to get to the other side. About 5,000 people survived, 5,000 people got caught and 191 more were killed. People were willing to do anything at any means just to get over the wall

The world was shocked when it learned of the entrapment of of citizens of East Berlin. The wall was put up by Walter Ulbricht, forcing East Berliners to live under communist rule. Built in 1961, the Berlin Wall separated the communist nation from the rest of society. Friends and families were divided by the wall, prompting thousands of escape attempts that left at least a hundred people dead. Eventually, in 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down, two years after President Ronald Reagan demanded it. For twenty eight years the freedom of East Berliners was encircled by a wall that stretched for ninety one miles, limiting the encounters of East and West Berliners. Lack of exchanges between East Berlin and the rest of the world left many economic

In 1961 there was a wall build with barbed wire to separate the east and the west in Berlin. This resulted in a riot from the citizens who proceeded to attack offices, military officials, and threw rocks at military vehicles like tanks and cargo trucks. The people of Berlin were outraged, people were forced away from their friends and family and were not allowed to cross the border of the wall because Khrushchev wanted to gain control of the entirety of Germany.