Was It Necessary For The Berlin Wall To Be Built?. Elise

The Berlin Wall was erected on August 13, 1961. After World War II, Germany was divided into four Allied occupation zones; Berlin, the German capital, was also divided into occupation sectors, even though it was located deep within the Soviet zone (History.com). In post war Germany, Cold War tensions grew, from situations such as the Berlin Blockade and the US’ Berlin Airlift (History.com). Not only were Cold War tensions growing but East Germany was now under a communist system (History.com). West Germany was in better condition because, unlike in East Germany, it received financial aid from the Marshall Plan (Burkhardt, H). Another big problem was the two different currencies used; West German currency, which was also use in West Berlin,

The East German Government wanted to stop the incoming immigrants from crossing into Eastern Germany. The wall started as a thrown together as a block wall with barbed wire on the top. The temporary wall was replaced by a concert wall that was 4ft wide and 12 ft wall. Close to two hundred people lost their lives attempting to cross over. The wall was finally taken down in 1989.

When the wall was put up one thing lead to many other things. If a mother had gone to say the west side of berlin for a couple of days while her family was in east berlin where they live during the time period that the wall had been put up, the mother would have to maybe wait some time before she could go back to east berlin with her family. When the wall was put up many scenarios just like this had happened and many families actually were split apart. Families being split up could lead to the other family members trying to get into the side they are on which was now considered illegal and if they had been caught trying to cross the wall they could have been shot on site. People trying to cross from east to the west was very common as it was believed that west was the more favourable side. By 1961 around 3 million east Berliners had gone over to live in the west this impacted the people living in the east because many who had moved were skilled labourers such as doctors this meant that there were only limited doctors for the

Due to the Berlin wall families were divided, and no physical connection was able to be made from each side. Jobs from the East and West side of Berlin were cut off. The reason given to the East Berliners for putting the wall up was too, put off aggression from the West, even though the wall pointed inward to East German territory. During the wall's 30 year history, unstable and varying reports claim that either 192 or 239 people were killed trying to cross the wall. Interestingly enough, through the wall's 30 year history there were roughly 5000 successful escapes into West Berlin.

One reason as to why the Berlin Wall was built is that East Berliners were escaping to West Berlin. The conditions in the two halves of the city were very different: in the Communist East, wages were small, freedoms were limited and the overall quality of life was low when compared to its Western counterpart; in the Capitalist West, wages were high,

The eastern and western parts of the city were divided ideologically. Symbolizing the differences between the western democrats and the eastern communists and the way they thought Germany should be lead. It also meant the inner conflict of Germany and the division between “free” or democratic. Some historians believe that another reason the Berlin Wall was raised was in an attempt to foment relationships between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. The Berlin Wall’s fall enforced the ideology of the Western countries (capitalism) and symbolized the failure of what was supposed to be a government which brought equality for all.

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

For thirty years, an iron curtain lay across Germany. This iron curtain was called the Berlin Wall, and it represented the divide between East and West Germany. It also represented the loss of East Germany’s freedom and democracy. The Berlin Wall separated families and friends. This resulted in children growing up without a father and wives losing all communication with their husbands. The Berlin Wall poorly affected many people and businesses, and caused an ugly dent in Germany’s history.

On the night of August 13, 1961, the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic and volunteer construction workers of East Germany began to seal all points of entrance into West Berlin with miles of barbed wire, concrete, and stationed soldiers. “Antifaschistischer Schutzwall”, as they called it, or the “anti-fascist bulwark.” The purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western fascists from entering the socialist state of East Germany, and to prevent Easterners from pouring out of the USSR-occupied zone. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, many refugees fled from the east to reunite with family in the west, and to escape the oppressive government that had developed in East Germany after Germany’s defeat in the second World War. Soon, the wall was extended to divide all of Germany, spanning over 96 miles across the nation, dividing the Communist East from the Western Federal Republic of Germany. The Berlin Wall stood for 28 years. Finally, on November 9, 1989, the head of the East German Communist Party announced that members of the GDR could cross the border as they pleased. Celebrating citizens of Germany brought hammers and pickaxes, and began to chip away at the cement that had divided friends and families for nearly three decades. To this day, what’s left of the Berlin Wall remains one of the most powerful symbols from the Cold War.

The Berlin Wall had a major impact on humanity’s views on how society should be ruled. Berlin is the capital of Germany. After the ending of WWII, Berlin was split up into East Berlin, and West Berlin. East Berlin was communist, suffered from the repressions of the Communist Party. West Berlin had a better lifestyle, and had financial aid from the United States. From the years between nineteen forty-nine to nineteen sixty-one, approximately 2.5 million people from East Berlin escaped to West Berlin. This toll included skilled workers, professionals, and intellectuals. Because of the loss of these people, the economy in East Berlin was threatened. On August twelve-thirteen, nineteen sixty-one, the Berlin was built in order to stop the people of East Berlin from fleeing. The Berlin wall was a major point during the Cold War, and many opposed it. It gave another reason to detest communism.

The Berlin Wall symbolized many things for different people. For the Germans it served as their punishment from World War II, this punishment divided up their country and separated many people from their families who might have lived in different parts of Germany. Everyday things that were accessible to them like going to the grocery store or visiting family members were now made harder since in order to cross to the other side of the wall people would have to go through security checks. The Wall also represented death because if someone were to try to escape to the other side of the wall they would be shot dead. To other countries the Berlin Wall represented communism as well as division between two different forms of government. During

The Berlin Wall was built by East Germany in an effort to separate Soviet East Germany from non soviet West Germany. The Soviet Union had taken control of Germany, but not all of Berlin. They then built the Berlin Wall to separate their Community east Germany from the Republic west Germany. The wall was heavily fortified with many layers in depth and thickness. The wall was first built with just barbed wire, this was done overnight, and by the morning, families were separated. Within weeks the wire fence was fortified with concrete and a second fence was built in June 1962. Some people attempting to escape East Berlin were shot on sight in the area that became known as “The Death Strip.” The Death Strip was very well known to all of berlin because that was the wall that separated East Berlin from West Berlin. As time went on construction began on an even more secure wall, this was called the “Border Wall 75” in 1975. This took five years to finish. The wall had 45,000 sections of reinforced concrete. Each slab of concrete wall was 3.9 feet wide and 12 feet tall and weighed 3 tons each. In total the Berlin Wall included 79 miles of fencing, about 300 watchtowers, more than 250 guard dog runs, 20 bunkers, and 65 miles of anti-vehicle trenches.

Desperately trying to keep the population of East Germany alive, they decided to construct a wall which would prevent people trying to cross the border. On August 12th, 1961 workers and soldiers came to break up the east and west once and for all. They dug holes to put up concrete posts, cut all telephone lines going to West Berlin, and hung barbed wire

Along with the separate and much longer inner German border, the Berlin Wall became to symbolize a physical marker of the Iron Curtain that separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. The Berlin Wall was the guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was communist, and it cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin, who wasn't communist. They started building the wall on 13th of August 1961. The barrier was a large concrete wall with guard towers along it.

The Berlin Wall is a historical symbol of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall is a symbol of the end of the Cold War. And also, the Berlin Wall played a great role in the life of millions of people and defined the fate of German people, which put them apart by the Wall for a long period of time. Sixteen years after the end of World War II, the communist government of East Germany began building a wall on (August 13, 1961), that would divide the city of Berlin into East Berlin and West Berlin. The purpose was to keep fascists from entering East Germany, but mostly to keep West German citizens, primarily people of valuable professions such as doctors, teachers and engineers, from Changing side to the West. People of Berlin Called the wall Schandmaur, which actually means " The wall of shame". Over the years of the wall being constructed it took at least 3x times to rebuild it, but each time bigger than the last one.