1. German News Center<br />August 15, 1961<br />Germany Split into Two Separate Countries by the Berlin Wall<br />6772275108585By Ayano Masuda<br />Berlin, Germany In 1961, the Berlin Wall, a 155 km heavily guarded by the barbed wire and twelve foot high electrified fencing, was erected on the border of the East Berlin and the West Berlin by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to stop the Eastern exiles coming into West (“The Berlin Wall”).<br />Under the leader of the GDR, Erich Honecker, the top secret erection was executed by the military and police. No more than 20 top advisers knew this plan and the word “wall” was never spoken. He aimed to build the wall to stop the mass departures of GDR citizens to the West Berlin (Rodden).<br />When the Berlin Wall was completed, the Berliners remembered how their life became. “This fenced-in playground that was my home,” the writer Christoph Hein recalled (Rodden).<br />A third of the GDR’s population of 16 million were overseen by the GDR’s secret police and information about their love affairs, marriage, finances, beliefs, even their favorite drinks was held in files. Telephones were prohibited and letters were opened and copied. Erich Mielke, the leader of East Germany’s secret police stated the aim was “to know everything, everyone” (“Obituary of Erich”). <br />The Wall mainly curbed the flow of East Germans to the West and also it divides the Allies and the Axis countries (“German Unification Case”).<br />588 people, especially skilled workers died running away from the GDR to the West Berlin. Almost 300 million fled East because they wanted to get rid of being under close guard, and the living standard in the West was the much better than in the East (“Why the Berlin”). <br />After World War II, Berlin, Germany was divided into two areas; West Berlin and the East Berlin. The west was controlled by French, U.S. and Britain, and the east was supported by Soviet Union. The Western three countries and Soviet Union opposed to each other because the West was the area in capitalism bloc, and the East was the area in the communist bloc (Rodden). <br />2755901133475<br />This figure shows the strict guard of the GDR’s secret police. Legend: 1. Concrete segment wall (front barrier element). 2. Control Area. 3. Light masts. 4. Trench to block the way for vehicles. 5. Concrete road. 5. Watch tower. 6. Area patrolled by dogs. 7. Signal construction with trip wires. 8. Border signal fence. 9. Turnpike (bounds of protection area) (“German Unification Case”).<br />Poor East Germany Robbed of Everything by West Germany<br />By Ayano Masuda<br />West Germany deprived the East’s population and East Germany got into economy collapse. East Germany gave about one thousand superior skilled workers to the West every day, so the East Germany had to bear to erect the Berlin Wall with all large amount of cost. The East Germany’s selection of construction of the Berlin Wall has not provoked the West and has not made a trigger of the risk of World War III (Rodden).<br />The East’s sudden building of the wall is a bold and unbelievable idea even now, but the East surely could reduce exiled citizens to keep their economy. Their choice to build it is should be admired because they prevented at least their country’s collapse from the unkind West Germany (“Obituary of Erich”). <br />Moreover, the large number of people fleeing from the East is very high, but, in contrast, the number of the fatality is low (Rodden). The East’s movement suggests that the East acts with discretion to avoid violent actions with the same German race in one country. <br />East Germany’s Berlin Wall has become a famous symbol of the fight between communism and democracy. In the background of the West Germany and the East Germany, a very unfriendly relationship between Allies and the Axis went on (“The Berlin Wall”). Therefore, the East Germany’s the Berlin wall must be seen as a great achievement because it performs an important role not to repeat a savage and hopeless war such as World War II. <br />Works Cited<br />“Obituary of Erich Mielke Head of the Stasi who ran a vast army of informants and kept files on a third of East Germany's population” May 27 2000. Record Number: 0E4CFC4B27B4BD55. News Bank School Library Collection. International School Bangkok Main Library, Bangkok, Thailand. Newsbank. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb>.<br />Rodden, John. “Barbed Wire Sunday.” Commonweal Foundation. 17 Aug. 2000. Record Number: 0EF60CC53A7EA67E. News Bank School Library Collection. International School Bangkok Main Library, Bangkok, Thailand. Newsbank. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb>.<br />“The Berlin Wall Goes Up.” 14 May 2008. C.T. Evans. 22 Mar. 2009 <http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/HIS135/Events/Berlinwall61.htm>.<br />“Why the Berlin Wall was built up.” Berlin Wall Online. 31 Mar. 2009 <http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/why-the-berlinwall-was-built.htm>.<br />