This article will consider the Berlin Wall. The history of the creation and destruction of this complex illustrates the confrontation between the superpowers and is the embodiment of the Cold War.
You will learn not only the reasons for the appearance of this multi-kilometer monster, but also get acquainted with interesting facts related to the existence and fall of the Anti-Fascist Defensive Wall.
Germany after World War II
Before figuring out who built the Berlin Wall, we should talk about the current situation in the state at that time.
After the defeat in the Second World War, Germany was under the occupation of four states. Its western part was occupied by the troops of Great Britain, the USA and France, and the five eastern lands were controlled by the Soviet Union.
Next, we will talk about how the situation gradually heated up during the Cold War. We will also discuss why the development of the two states based in the western and eastern zones of influence followed completely different paths.
GDR
As we will see later, the history of the Berlin Wall shows not only the place where the countries of the socialistblock and Western states, but also the gradual separation of parts of one power.
In October 1949, the German Democratic Republic was established. It was formed almost six months after the formation of Germany.
The GDR occupied the territory of five lands that were under Soviet occupation. These included Saxony-Anh alt, Thuringia, Brandenburg, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Subsequently, the history of the Berlin Wall will illustrate the gulf that can form between two warring camps. According to contemporaries, West Berlin differed from East Berlin in the same way that London of that time differed from Tehran or Seoul from Pyongyang.
Germany
In May 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was formed. The Berlin Wall will separate it from its eastern neighbor in twelve years. In the meantime, the state is rapidly recovering with the help of countries whose troops were on its territory.
So, the former French, American and British occupation zones are turning into Germany four years after the end of World War II. Since the division between the two parts of Germany passed through Berlin, Bonn became the capital of the new state.
However, later this country becomes the subject of a dispute between the socialist bloc and the capitalist West. In 1952, Joseph Stalin proposes the demilitarization of the FRG and its subsequent existence as a weak but unified state.
US rejects project and with planMarshall turns West Germany into a rapidly developing power. In the fifteen years since 1950, there has been a powerful boom, which in historiography is called the "economic miracle".
But the confrontation between the blocs continues.
1961 Berlin Crisis
After a certain "thaw" in the Cold War, the confrontation begins again. Another reason was an American reconnaissance aircraft shot down over the territory of the Soviet Union.
Another conflict unleashed, the result of which was the Berlin Wall. The year of erection of this monument to perseverance and stupidity is 1961, but in fact it has existed for a long time, even if not in its material incarnation.
So, the Stalin period led to a massive arms race, which was temporarily stopped with the mutual invention of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Now, in case of war, no superpower had nuclear superiority.
Since the Korean conflict, the tension is rising again. The peak moments were the Berlin and Caribbean crises. In the framework of the article, we are interested in the first one. It took place in August 1961 and resulted in the creation of the Berlin Wall.
After the Second World War, as we have already mentioned, Germany was divided into two states - capitalist and socialist. During a period of particular heat of passion, in 1961, Khrushchev transferred control of the occupied sector of Berlin to the GDR. Part of the city, which belonged to the FRG, was in the blockade of the United States and theirallies.
Nikita Sergeevich's ultimatum concerned West Berlin. The leader of the Soviet people demanded its demilitarization. Western opponents of the socialist bloc responded with disagreement.
The situation has been in limbo for several years. Khrushchev's visit to the United States, it seemed, was supposed to defuse the situation. However, the incident with the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft put an end to the possibility of mitigating the confrontation.
The result was 1,500 additional American troops in West Berlin and the construction of a wall stretching across the city and even beyond from the GDR.
The date of construction of the Anti-Fascist Defensive Wall is August 13, 1961.
Building a wall
So, the Berlin Wall was built on the border of the two states. The history of the creation and destruction of this monument to stubbornness will be discussed further.
In 1961, in two days (from August 13 to 15), barbed wire was stretched, suddenly dividing not only the country, but also the families and destinies of ordinary people. This was followed by a lengthy construction, which ended only in 1975.
In total, this shaft lasted twenty-eight years. At the final stage (in 1989), the complex included a concrete wall about three and a half meters high and over a hundred kilometers long. In addition, it included sixty-six kilometers of metal mesh, over one hundred and twenty kilometers of electrical signal fencing, and one hundred and five kilometers of ditches.
Also, the structure was equipped with anti-tank fortifications, border buildings, including three hundred towers, as well as a control and trail strip, the sand of which was constantly leveled.
Thus, the maximum length of the Berlin Wall, according to historians, was more than one hundred and fifty-five kilometers.
It has been reconstructed several times. The most extensive work was carried out in 1975. Notably, the only gaps were at checkpoints and rivers. At first, they were often used by the most daring and desperate emigrants "to the capitalist world."
Crossing the border
In the morning, the Berlin Wall was opened to the eyes of the unsuspecting civilians of the capital of the GDR. The history of the creation and destruction of this complex clearly shows the real face of the warring states. Millions of families were separated overnight.
However, the construction of the rampart did not prevent further emigration from East Germany. People made their way through the rivers and dug. On average (before the construction of the fence), about half a million people traveled daily from the GDR to the FRG for various reasons. And in the twenty-eight years since the wall was built, only 5,075 successful illegal crossings have been made.
For this, waterways, tunnels (145 meters underground), balloons and hang gliders, rams in the form of cars and bulldozers were used, they even moved along a rope between buildings.
The next feature was interesting. People got free education in the socialist part of Germany,and they started working in Germany, because there were higher salaries.
Thus, the length of the Berlin Wall allowed young people to trace its deserted areas and make escapes. For pensioners, there were no obstacles in crossing checkpoints.
Another opportunity to get to the western part of the city was cooperation with the German lawyer Vogel. Between 1964 and 1989, he signed contracts totaling $2.7 billion, buying a quarter of a million East Germans and political prisoners from the GDR government.
The sad fact is that when trying to escape, people were not only arrested, but also shot. Officially, 125 victims have been counted, unofficially this number is increasing significantly.
Statements by American Presidents
After the Caribbean crisis, the intensity of passions gradually decreases and the crazy arms race stops. Since that time, some American presidents are beginning to make attempts to call the Soviet leadership for negotiations and come to a settlement.
In this way they tried to point out to those who built the Berlin Wall their erroneous behavior. The first of these speeches was the speech of John F. Kennedy in June 1963. The American President spoke before a large gathering near the Schöneberg City Hall.
From this speech, there is still a famous phrase: "I am one of the Berliners." Distorting the translation, today American comedians often interpret it as saying by mistake: "I am a Berlin donut." On thein fact, every word of the speech was verified and learned, and the joke is based only on the ignorance of the intricacies of the German language by audiences in other countries.
Thus, John F. Kennedy expressed support for the people of West Berlin.
Ronald Reagan became the second president to openly touch on the subject of the ill-fated fence. And his virtual opponent was Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Berlin Wall was the vestige of an unpleasant and outdated conflict.
Reagan told the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU that if the latter is looking for liberalization of relations and a happy future for the socialist countries, he should come to Berlin and open the gates. "Tear down the wall, Mr. Gorbachev!"
Wall falling
Shortly after this speech, as a result of the procession of "perestroika and glasnost" through the countries of the socialist bloc, the Berlin Wall began to fall. The history of the creation and destruction of this fortification is considered in this article. Earlier, we recalled its construction and unpleasant consequences.
Now we will talk about the elimination of the monument to stupidity. After Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall became a stumbling block. Previously, in 1961, this city was the cause of the conflict on the path of socialism to the West, but now the rampart prevented the strengthening of friendship between the once warring blocs.
The first country to destroy its section of the wall was Hungary. In August 1989, near the town of Sopron, on the border of this state with Austria, there was a "European picnic". The foreign ministers of the two countries laid the foundationelimination of fortifications.
Further, the process could no longer be stopped. Initially, the government of the German Democratic Republic refused to support this idea. However, after fifteen thousand East Germans crossed through the territory of Hungary to Germany in three days, the fortification became completely superfluous.
The Berlin Wall on the map runs from north to south, crossing the city of the same name. On the night of October 9-10, 1989, the border between the western and eastern parts of the German capital officially opens.
Wall of culture
In two years, starting from 2010, the Berlin Wall memorial complex was built. On the map, it occupies about four hectares. Twenty-eight million euros were invested to create the memorial.
The monument consists of a "Window of Remembrance" (in honor of the Germans who crashed while jumping from East German windows onto the pavement of Bernauer Straße, which was already in the Federal Republic of Germany). In addition, the complex includes the Chapel of Reconciliation.
But the Berlin Wall is not only famous for this in culture. The photo clearly illustrates what is probably the largest open-air graffiti gallery in history. If it was impossible to approach the fortification from the east, then the western side is all decorated with highly artistic drawings of street craftsmen.
Besides this, the theme of the "valve of dictatorship" can be traced in many songs, literary works, films and computer games. For example,The mood of the night of October 9, 1989 is dedicated to the song "Wind of Change" by the Scorpions, the film "Goodbye, Lenin!" Wolfgang Becker. And one of the maps in the game Call of Duty: Black Ops was created in memory of the events at Checkpoint Charlie.
Facts
The significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall cannot be overestimated. This fencing of the totalitarian regime was perceived by the civilian population as unambiguously hostile, although over time the majority came to terms with the existing situation.
Interestingly, in the early years, the most frequent defectors were East German soldiers guarding the wall. And there were no less than eleven thousand of them.
The Berlin Wall was especially beautiful on the twenty-fifth anniversary of its liquidation. The photo illustrates a view of the illumination from a height. The two Bauder brothers sponsored the project, which consisted of creating a continuous strip of luminous lanterns along the entire length of the former wall.
Judging by the polls, more residents of the GDR than the FRG were satisfied with the fall of the rampart. Although in the early years there was a huge flow in both directions. East Germans abandoned their apartments and went to a richer and more socially protected Germany. And enterprising people from the FRG were striving for the cheap GDR, especially since a lot of housing was abandoned there.
During the years of the Berlin Wall, a mark was worth six times less in the east than in the west.
Each box of the World in Conflict (Collector's Edition) video game contained a piece of the wall with a certificate of authenticity.
So, in this article weyou got acquainted with the manifestation of the economic, political and ideological division of the world in the second half of the twentieth century.
Good luck, dear readers!
