About the Construction of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall symbolized the divide between the free world and communist Europe during its existence from 1961 to 1989. Almost from the moment of its construction, East Berliners attempted to go over or under the wall and escape to the West. On November 9, 1989, the government of East Germany more or less conceded defeat and opened the border that separated East and West Berlin.
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History
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As World War II ground to a close in Europe, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta in the Crimea to talk about the post-war world, including the disposition of occupied Europe. Germany was carved into four zones of occupation, to be controlled by Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States. Berlin sat in the Soviet zone and was occupied in a similar manner. As post-war tensions increased between the communist East and the more democratic West, Nikita Krushchev threatened to limit access to West Berlin. President Kennedy called up the National Guard, and the Soviets responded with the wall.
Features
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The original Berlin Wall went up over the weekend of August 13, 1961. Within weeks, East German troops augmented that barbed-wire structure with concrete.The government continued to add "improvements" to the wall until its final manifestation, completed in 1975. The new and improved wall included a tube structure at the top, intended to deter people from going over the top.
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Significance
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The Berlin Wall was a constant reminder of the Cold War that began soon after the conclusion of World War II. It was a solid symbol of the philosophical and ideological divisions between the Soviet Union and free Europe and the United States. The wall divided families, friends and countrymen. Many people lost their lives attempting to escape to the West from behind the wall.
Effects
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Checkpoint Charlie, a border crossing established by the U.S. military, was the only place that western visitors and diplomats could legally cross between West Berlin and East Berlin. The Allies maintained a guardhouse in Friedrichstrasse on their side of the wall and the East German government maintained a watch tower on its side. On October 27 and 28, 1961, U.S. and Soviet tanks faced each other at Checkpoint Charlie in a dispute over access to East Berlin.
Time Frame
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The Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of hostility and division for nearly three decades. When Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power in the Soviet Union in 1985, tensions between East and West began to ease. Dissidents in many communist societies began to express their dissatisfaction with their governments. The culminating event in the long series of protests was the East German government's decision to let people move between East and West Berlin in November 1989.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Berlin-Wall.org
