Why did they build the Berlin Wall?

The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep so-called Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West.

What caused the Berlin Wall to be built?

The Berlin Wall was built by the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War to prevent its population from escaping Soviet-controlled East Berlin to West Berlin, which was controlled by the major Western Allies.

When was the Berlin Wall built and why?

To halt the exodus to the West, Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev recommended to East Germany that it close off access between East and West Berlin. On the night of August 12-13, 1961, East German soldiers laid down more than 30 miles of barbed wire barrier through the heart of Berlin.

Why did Berlin get divided?

The City of Berlin, located 200 miles inside East Germany, was also divided. Half of the city—West Berlin—was actually part of West Germany. Many East Germans did not want to live in a communist country and crossed into West Berlin, where they could either settle or find transportation to West Germany and beyond.

Why was Germany divided into East and West?

After Germany's defeat in World War II, the Allies each wanted to have some measure of control over the country, so it was split into four zones. These eventually merged and became known as West Germany and East Germany, which were separated by the Berlin Wall.

Why Was The Berlin Wall Built? | History Documentary | Reel Truth History

Who ordered the Berlin Wall to be torn down?

The announcement of the regulations which brought down the Wall took place at an hour-long press conference led by Günter Schabowski, the party leader in East Berlin and the top government spokesman, beginning at 18:00 CET on 9 November and broadcast live on East German television and radio.

Why did West Germany become Germany?

West Germany, from 1949 to 1990, a republic consisting of the western two-thirds of what is now Germany. West Germany was created in 1949 when the United States, Great Britain, and France consolidated those zones, or portions, of Germany that they had occupied at the end of World War II.

How much of the Berlin Wall is left?

Today, almost nothing is left of it. In many places, metal plates in the ground remind us where the Wall once stood. For more than 28 years, the Wall divided East and West Berlin.

How many people were killed trying to cross the Wall?

Between 1961 and 1989, at least 140 people were killed or died at the Wall in connection with the GDR border regime: 101 people who tried to flee through the border fortifications were shot, died by accident, or committed suicide.

Who was allowed to cross the Berlin Wall?

Only foreigners were allowed to cross through it.

Even more important was that it was the only gateway where East Germany allowed Allied diplomats, military personnel and foreign tourists to pass into Berlin's Soviet sector.

What are 3 facts about the Berlin Wall?

What did Russia have to do with the Berlin Wall?

After increasing tensions between the Soviets and the Western powers during the first 15 years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union decided to build a physical barrier between East and West Berlin, thereby creating a real counterpoint to the symbolic “Iron Curtain” that had divided East and West since 1945.

What did the Berlin Wall prevent?

The Berlin Wall would prevent the West from having further influence on the East, stop the flow of migrants out of the communist sector, and ultimately become the most iconic image of the Cold War in Europe. The United States quickly condemned the wall, which divided families and limited freedom of movement.

What would have happened if the Berlin Wall didn't fall?

I think for the wall not to have fallen, it would have, first of all, meant that we would have experienced a different Eastern Bloc than the one we had in the 1980s. They would have had to stop the reforms, Gorbachev particularly, and if that had taken place it would mean that the Cold War would have continued.

Why did West Berlin exist?

West Berlin was formally controlled by the Western Allies and entirely surrounded by Soviet-controlled East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great symbolic significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners an "island of freedom".

What were the consequences of the fall of the Berlin Wall?

Its fall on November 9, 1989, paved the way for the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, and the liberation of Central and Eastern European countries previously bound under the Warsaw Pact defense alliance with the Soviet Union.

How did the Germans react to the Berlin Wall?

The East German government claimed the wall was an 'anti-fascist protection barrier' (antifaschistischer Schutzwall) intended to dissuade aggression from the West, despite the fact that all the wall's defences pointed inward to East German territory. This view was viewed with scepticism even in East Germany.

Did anyone survive crossing the Berlin Wall?

A total of 229 people – just 4.6% of attempted escapees, representing less than one in twenty – made it across the border fence. Of these, the largest number (129, or 55% of successful escapees) succeeded in making it across the fence in unmined sectors.

How quickly did the Berlin Wall go up?

In just two weeks, the East German army, police force and volunteer construction workers had completed a makeshift barbed wire and concrete block wall–the Berlin Wall–that divided one side of the city from the other.

Can you still visit the Berlin Wall?

Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse is open every day except Mondays 9:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. from April to October and 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. from November to March. The East Side Gallery and is located in an open public space and is accessible at any time.

How many years did it take for the Berlin Wall to fall?

Although changes in the GDR leadership and encouraging speeches by Gorbachev about nonintervention in Eastern Europe boded well for reunification, the world was taken by surprise when, during the night of November 9, 1989, crowds of Germans began dismantling the Berlin Wall—a barrier that for almost 30 years had ...

Can you still see the Berlin Wall today?

Today, all across the city you can find traces of the Wall, its remains and memorial sites – the East Side Gallery, the Berlin Wall Memorial in Bernauer Strasse, the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, a former Stasi remand prison, and the green Mauerpark.

How did West Germany get so rich?

At the time West Germany had a large pool of skilled labour, partly as a result of the deportations and migrations which involved up to 16.5 million Germans. This helped West Germany to more than double the value of its exports during and shortly after the war.

Why is Germany allowed to have an army but not Japan?

Reason 1 : After WW II, Japan's new constitution was made and enacted under the Allied occupation. Japan cannot keep a standing army, although it keeps a small armed force called the Self Defense Forces, to deal with internal disorders.

Do East and West Germany still exist?

The GDR ceased to exist when its five states ("Länder") joined the Federal Republic of Germany under Article 23 of the Basic Law and its East Berlin was also united with West Berlin into a single city of the FRG, on 3 October 1990.