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The Berlin Wall Caroline Mathew

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<ul><li>The Communists in East Berlin were making it increasingly difficult for transportation between East Berlin and West Berlin. </li></ul>At the end of World War II, Berlin, was divided into four quarters , each controlled by the Allies and the Soviet Union. Condition in East Berlin during the 50s They feared that too many skilled workmen were moving to parts of West Germany.

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Why Was it Built? Millions of East Berlin citizens escaped the harsh Communist regime, and fled to West Germany.

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<ul><li>The purpose was to cut off West Berlin from the rest of East Germany. </li></ul><ul><li>Many people in East Berlin saw that life in West Berlin was much better and that people in West Berlin had much more freedom . </li></ul><ul><li>From 1949 to 1961, as many as 2.6 million people escaped to West Germany or West Berlin. </li></ul><ul><li>To prevent more people from fleeing Communist control into West Germany, East Germany erected the Berlin Wall, completely encircling West Berlin. </li></ul>Purpose of the Wall

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The Inner German Border (IGB) was the frontier between East Germany and West Germany. It was established in 1945, and remained in force until 1990.

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<ul><li>The border was a physical representation of Winston Churchill’s metaphor of an Iron Curtain, separating Eastern and Western Germany during the Cold War. It marked the boundary between the two ideologies – Communism and Democracy </li></ul>What Did It Represent?

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What Were the Impacts of the Wall? <ul><li>The wall separated families. Once the wall was erected no one was allowed to cross it. This meant that if families lived in different districts of Germany, they could no longer see each other. </li></ul><ul><li>The Communists felt that the Wall was a protective shell around East Berlin. </li></ul><ul><li>However, some felt that it was more like a prison wall. </li></ul><ul><li>The West reaction was different. They were relieved. </li></ul>It’s not a very nice solution, but a wall is a whole lot better than a war!

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Many people in East Germany tried to escape into West Germany. However, there were guards at the Wall at all times. Thousands of people were arrested or even shot down for attempting to cross the Wall

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The Fall of the Berlin Wall In June 1987, in a speech at the Brandenburg Gate commemorating the 750 th anniversary of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, to tear down the Berlin Wall.

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Two years later, in September 1989, a string of protest demonstrations broke out all over East Germany. This was the start of what the East Germans call the “Peaceful Revolution”.

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By November, 1989, protests had increased significantly. Soon enough, the East Germans were forced to open a number of new border crossings. From then on, Germans were allowed to cross from the East to the West without a visa.

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Gradually, the guards of the Wall became more lax, tolerating increasing demolitions and illegal border crossings through holes in the wall.

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On June 13 th , 1990, the East Germans officially started dismantling the Wall at Bernauer Straße. The Fall of the Berlin Wall was the first step to the reunification of Germany, which was concluded on October 3 rd, 1990. The dismantling continued until November 1991. Only a few sections and towers were left standing as memorials.

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What Significance Did the Fall of the Berlin Wall Have? When the Berlin Wall fell, it heralded the end of the Cold War, which ended a couple of years later, in 1991. The Fall of the Berlin Wall also symbolized the end and dismantling of the Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe, namely Germany. When the Wall fell it meant that the city of Berlin could reunite. This also reunited many families which may have been separated when the Wall was erected. Germany was once again a united nation.

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The End