The Berlin Wall was built to try and contain over 17 million East Berliners, and stop them from fleeing to West Berlin. Before the Wall was built there were over three million people that had fled to Western Berlin in search of jobs and a better life. The Russian government knew they would have to do something in order to stop people from moving across the border. The solution was to build a wall that would cover over 90 miles of land in attempt to surround the city. The building of the Berlin Wall took place on August 13, 1961 when a wall of barbwire fences and guard towers were erected overnight. The first concrete portion of the wall was built on August 17 along with mine fields and other obstacles to prevent anybody from crossing over to West Berlin. In attempt to improve the security of the Berlin wall, Russian President Gorbachev demanded there be a 100 meter area leading up to the wall. This open area was called The Death Strip because it was impossible to get through undetected. The wall was getting improved on constantly; between 1975-1980 a fourth generation of the wall was built and other features were built such as electrified fences antivehicle devices and bunkers. Guards that patrolled the wall were ordered to shoot people trying to escape.
Reasons for escaping to East Berlin
People tried getting to West Berlin because life was much easier than trying to live under a Communist government. The West had financial aid from the United States to help rebuild after WWII while the East was forced to live under harsch communist conditions. Since over 3 million people had fled to West Berlin it was difficult for the East to keep up with technology. The West had lost some of its best workers and engineers and the Eastern Berliners became over 30 years behind in technology and living standards than the West. Another reason for fleeing East Berlin was because of the currency differences. West Berliners were getting four times as much money as the East. West Berliners would cross the border because they could purchase food for a much lower price than they could in West Berlin.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1867.html
How People Tried Escaping the Wall
A year after WWII the Soviets started to force people into buying 30 day interzone passes to travel to and from East and West Berlin. Even though people needed these to travel back and fourth, some refused to buy them and would resort to other ill ways of getting through. A few examples of this would be, escaping by tunnels, climbing over the wall, or by escaping by flight.
Tunnels were very successful for people trying to escape. They were known to be dug in grave yards and people's homes. In one case, people had went to a grave yard and pretended to have a funeral, then when they would lower the body down into the pit, the "dead" person would get out of the coffin and drawl down the tunnel to the other side.
Climbing over the wall seemed like it would be a lot more risky for a person to be caught, it wasn't nearly as sneaky as digging a tunnel where nobody could see you. Most people would wait until night when it was more difficult to see what was going on. One successful story of climbing over the wall involved a chair lift and a rope attached to a hammer. The family that did this crawled onto the roof of a nearby building. They then tied one end of the rope to the building they were on, and the other end to the hammer. The next step would be to throw the hammer across the wall and hook it onto another building. Once that was done they ysed the chair lift to glide across the rope with.
One of the most well-known escape stories was actually an ascape by flight. Two families had come up with and idea that they should make a hot air balloon to float over the wall with. They would construct a metal endlosure to use as a basket for standing in, and install railings to keep from falling out. Attached to that was a variety of fabrics stitched together. Those were used as a balloon that would be inflated by some gas burners from their home. The first effort at trying to get the balloon airbourne failed due to forceful winds, but the second attempt was a success. They reached a surprising height of 2,400 meters, at that height it was probably hard or close to impossible for guards to spot them.
Over 5000 people escaped the wall without being caught, and around 3,200 were arrested, so you'd think there would be a pretty good amount of deaths. In fact, 160 people were killed and around 120 were injured trying to escape.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
People tried getting to West Berlin because life was much easier than trying to live under a Communist government. The West had financial aid from the United States to help rebuild after WWII while the East was forced to live under harsch communist conditions. Since over 3 million people had fled to West Berlin it was difficult for the East to keep up with technology. The West had lost some of its best workers and engineers and the Eastern Berliners became over 30 years behind in technology and living standards than the West. Another reason for fleeing East Berlin was because of the currency differences. West Berliners were getting four times as much money as the East. West Berliners would cross the border because they could purchase food for a much lower price than they could in West Berlin.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1867.html
How People Tried Escaping the Wall
A year after WWII the Soviets started to force people into buying 30 day interzone passes to travel to and from East and West Berlin. Even though people needed these to travel back and fourth, some refused to buy them and would resort to other ill ways of getting through. A few examples of this would be, escaping by tunnels, climbing over the wall, or by escaping by flight.
Tunnels were very successful for people trying to escape. They were known to be dug in grave yards and people's homes. In one case, people had went to a grave yard and pretended to have a funeral, then when they would lower the body down into the pit, the "dead" person would get out of the coffin and drawl down the tunnel to the other side.
Climbing over the wall seemed like it would be a lot more risky for a person to be caught, it wasn't nearly as sneaky as digging a tunnel where nobody could see you. Most people would wait until night when it was more difficult to see what was going on. One successful story of climbing over the wall involved a chair lift and a rope attached to a hammer. The family that did this crawled onto the roof of a nearby building. They then tied one end of the rope to the building they were on, and the other end to the hammer. The next step would be to throw the hammer across the wall and hook it onto another building. Once that was done they ysed the chair lift to glide across the rope with.
One of the most well-known escape stories was actually an ascape by flight. Two families had come up with and idea that they should make a hot air balloon to float over the wall with. They would construct a metal endlosure to use as a basket for standing in, and install railings to keep from falling out. Attached to that was a variety of fabrics stitched together. Those were used as a balloon that would be inflated by some gas burners from their home. The first effort at trying to get the balloon airbourne failed due to forceful winds, but the second attempt was a success. They reached a surprising height of 2,400 meters, at that height it was probably hard or close to impossible for guards to spot them.
Over 5000 people escaped the wall without being caught, and around 3,200 were arrested, so you'd think there would be a pretty good amount of deaths. In fact, 160 people were killed and around 120 were injured trying to escape.
The Berlin Wall officially fell on November 9, 1989 when thousands of people crowded around the wall demanding that the border crossings be opened. People began cheering as the borders were opened and the bulldozers started dismantling the wall. East Berlin citizens were finally allowed to cross the border but they had a strict visa that would limit the time spent in West Berlin. West Berliners also had strict visas in order to cross into East Berlin territory. The Demolition of the wall was officially ended on October 3, 1990. The destroying of the wall was the beginning steps in the reunification of Germany.
No comments:
Post a Comment