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The Berlin Wall

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 among the Soviet Union on one side and Western Europe and the United States on the other. Once World War II was over, these Allies no longer had a common purpose to hold them together. Their differences became less hidden and more irreconcilable. The Western Allies quickly realized they couldn't "kick a dog when its already down", and that Germany was in desperate need of help." Therefore, the Allies' aim was to rebuild Germany's economy. The Soviet Union disagreed with this plan immensely, and instead they became busy with setting up Communist …show more content…

Families were separated, for the Wall had run through parks, public areas, and even buildings. The Wall did not hold them back from freedom. According to reports, official figures show that more than 400 people died trying to flee. Human-rights activists say that the true figure could be closer to 800. Many of these escape attempts were dramatic. People leapt form windows, tunneled and crept through sewers, rammed through the gates in steel-plated trucks, crawled through mud, and swam the icy waters of the city's rivers and canals. Even though the Wall created international crises, divided families, and spawned villains and gangsters, it also produced its heroes. Brave men and women who lived in the shadow of the Wall found ways to elude Communism. Escape soon became harder. The barbed wire was replaced with concrete slabs. Waterways were blocked by underground fences. Windows along the borders had bricks instead of glass. Getting across became increasingly difficult, and it required ingenuity as well as determination. In the first year alone, 14 attempts were made to breach the wall through driving into it.

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