1
Cory Babineau
U.S. American History- E
10/19/14
The Berlin’s Wall’s impact on Germany On August 13, 1961, the city of Berlin and the country of Germany would be changed forever. On this date in August, the Berlin Wall was built. The Berlin Wall symbolized the division of Germany and the world between the communist and the capitalist alliances. The rise of the Berlin Wall was a powerful symbol of the Cold War, and the wall split a city, friends, and a world apart forever. The rise of the Berlin Wall was a powerful symbol of the Cold War. At the end of World War II, the main Allied powers—the United States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union—divided Germany into two zones. Berlin, the capital city of Germany, was also divided into …show more content…
The Berlin Wall stretched for over one hundred miles. It not only ran through Berlin’s center, but also wrapped around West Berlin, which entirely cut West Berlin off from the rest of East Germany. The Berlin Wall was erected in the dead of the night and for 28 years kept most East Germans from fleeing to the West. The wall itself went through four major transformations during its 28 year history, each version being more deadly than the next. The first version of the wall consisted of just a barbed-wire fence with concrete posts. Just a few days after the wall was implemented the second version was installed. The second form contained a sturdier, more permanent wall made out of concrete blocks, which was then topped with barbed wire. The third version was created in 1965. This adaptation included a concrete wall, supported by steel girders. The third style of the wall also had a “No Man’s Land,” which was an open field between the wall border and city. This land was heavily guarded by the East Berlin soldiers, and the field contained underground mines, or explosives that were triggered by movements above them. The fourth and final edition of the wall was created from 1975 to 1980. The style of the new wall was the most complicate and by far the most deadly one yet. The fourth version consisted of concrete slabs that reached close to 12-feet high and 4-feet wide. This style …show more content…
These openings, also known as checkpoints, were mainly for the use of officials and others with special permission with a signed pass to cross the border. The most famous of these openings was Checkpoint Charlie. Charlie was located on the border between West and East Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie was the key access point for West Berliners and Allied personnel to cross the border. Soon after the Berlin Wall was created, Checkpoint Charlie was frequently featured in movies and books set during this time period, and became an icon of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall did prevent the majority of East Germans from migrating to West Berlin, but not all were stopped. During the early stages of the wall, when there was just a fence and barbed wire, people would throw a rope over the wall, climb it and take off. There were also no guards patrolling the wall in its very early months. Guards would shortly be needed due to all of the successful escape attempts. Some of these early attempts were simple, but as the wall became more complex, so did the escape attempts. One of the more famous escape attempts happened in early 1963 as East German acrobat Horst Klein made one of the most daring escapes in the wall’s history. Klein used his acrobatic skill to turn a high-tension cable that stretched over the wall as his route. He moved
Cory Babineau
U.S. American History- E
10/19/14
The Berlin’s Wall’s impact on Germany On August 13, 1961, the city of Berlin and the country of Germany would be changed forever. On this date in August, the Berlin Wall was built. The Berlin Wall symbolized the division of Germany and the world between the communist and the capitalist alliances. The rise of the Berlin Wall was a powerful symbol of the Cold War, and the wall split a city, friends, and a world apart forever. The rise of the Berlin Wall was a powerful symbol of the Cold War. At the end of World War II, the main Allied powers—the United States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union—divided Germany into two zones. Berlin, the capital city of Germany, was also divided into …show more content…
The Berlin Wall stretched for over one hundred miles. It not only ran through Berlin’s center, but also wrapped around West Berlin, which entirely cut West Berlin off from the rest of East Germany. The Berlin Wall was erected in the dead of the night and for 28 years kept most East Germans from fleeing to the West. The wall itself went through four major transformations during its 28 year history, each version being more deadly than the next. The first version of the wall consisted of just a barbed-wire fence with concrete posts. Just a few days after the wall was implemented the second version was installed. The second form contained a sturdier, more permanent wall made out of concrete blocks, which was then topped with barbed wire. The third version was created in 1965. This adaptation included a concrete wall, supported by steel girders. The third style of the wall also had a “No Man’s Land,” which was an open field between the wall border and city. This land was heavily guarded by the East Berlin soldiers, and the field contained underground mines, or explosives that were triggered by movements above them. The fourth and final edition of the wall was created from 1975 to 1980. The style of the new wall was the most complicate and by far the most deadly one yet. The fourth version consisted of concrete slabs that reached close to 12-feet high and 4-feet wide. This style …show more content…
These openings, also known as checkpoints, were mainly for the use of officials and others with special permission with a signed pass to cross the border. The most famous of these openings was Checkpoint Charlie. Charlie was located on the border between West and East Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie was the key access point for West Berliners and Allied personnel to cross the border. Soon after the Berlin Wall was created, Checkpoint Charlie was frequently featured in movies and books set during this time period, and became an icon of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall did prevent the majority of East Germans from migrating to West Berlin, but not all were stopped. During the early stages of the wall, when there was just a fence and barbed wire, people would throw a rope over the wall, climb it and take off. There were also no guards patrolling the wall in its very early months. Guards would shortly be needed due to all of the successful escape attempts. Some of these early attempts were simple, but as the wall became more complex, so did the escape attempts. One of the more famous escape attempts happened in early 1963 as East German acrobat Horst Klein made one of the most daring escapes in the wall’s history. Klein used his acrobatic skill to turn a high-tension cable that stretched over the wall as his route. He moved