THE BERLIN WALL
HISTORY
capital, was divided amongst the Allies who won
the war. The eastern half of Berlin was
controlled by the Soviet Union and was
communist. The United States and other
allies controlled the western half of the city
as a democracy. Despite the split, life slowly
began to return to normal for the people of
Berlin. They started going to work, the movies,
dancing, and visiting friends and family again.
Originally, the dividing line in Berlin did not make life difficult for the people of
Berlin. People often crossed back and forth over the parts of Berlin to visit
family and friends, work, watch entertainment, and shop. Many of the
residents of East Germany started to move to West Germany permanently
to find better lives. These people were known as defectors.
EAST VS. WEST BERLIN
East and West Berlin were very different. With aid from the United States,
West Berlin started to prosper. New buildings, shops, and theaters were
built and good jobs were created. From 1949 to 1959, over two million people
left East Germany. As many as 2,000 people were leaving East Germany
each week by 1961. Berlin was the only part of the border between East and
West Germany not closed, so people were able to walk or ride across the
line easily. East Berlin was unhappy about this exodus of people from their
city because they were losing much needed citizens.
BUILDING A WALL
In order to stop people from leaving East Berlin, leaders there built a wall
secretly on a night in August of 1961. At first, the wall was barbed wire,
but changed over time. The people of Berlin were shocked to
awake to a wall dividing their city in half. People were
unable to cross over to visit, shop, work, or see
relatives only a few miles away.
THE WALL
The Berlin Wall was built to be stronger and higher
over the next couple of months. It grew to 12 feet
high and four feet thick with an area beyond the wall known
©Teaching to the Middle
-lit and guards patrolled the area
for any refugees. Guards were ordered to immediately shoot anyone in this
zone without warning. Trenches were built to stop vehicles from trying to
get through the area. Three hundred watchtowers were built along the wall
for guards to keep watch twenty-four hours a day. More than 100 people
were shot and killed while trying to escape East Berlin over the wall.
LIFESTYLE
For the people of Berlin, life changed dramatically because they were now
forced to live under the economic system of communism and were unable
to find good jobs like they had in West Berlin. The economy of East Berlin
worsened and supplies became scarce. The people of West Berlin referred to
covered in graffiti, but the eastern side was not. Westerners also threw
their trash over the wall.
FALL
The Berlin Wall stood until 1989 when the wall was torn
down. Communism started to collapse and many
East Germans had already left their country
through Hungary, no longer under communist
rule. The leaders of East Germany held a press
conference in November of 1989, stating travel
restrictions from East Berlin were being lifted
REACTION
The streets of Berlin became filled with people singing and cheering. Citizens
of Germany were thrilled and celebrated with flags and fireworks. People
sat on the tops of buildings and in trees to get a better view of the events.
A shout spread throughout the crowd to the guard in a watchtower to
open the gate. Some people did not wait for the gate to open, but brought
out hammers, chisels, and drills to tear down the wall. The wall gave way in
places and allowed citizens to see through Berlin again. People started to go
through and over the Berlin Wall.
RESULTS
The celebration in Berlin lasted for days and citizens from other European
countries came to join them. The city became packed with people. Some big
parts of the wall were salvaged to display in museums and some other
places. Smaller parts of the wall eventually just crumbled away. Most
German citizens were thrilled to see the wall disappear. On October 30th,
1990 Germany became a single unified country again. ©Teaching to the Middle
