How the Berlin Wall Affected Germany

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Germany is one country now, but many people fail to recognize that Germany was once split into two, East and West. Berlin was the dividing line and they called the concrete structure that separated the two the Berlin Wall. 1961 was the day that the Berlin Wall started to be created and the new laws enforced. The Eastern Germans were tortured and starved. The Westerns had a decent life and many Eastern Germans attempted to flee to Western Germany. The wall was erected to prevent this mass escape from happening. The question asked now is “How did the Berlin Wall affect Germany?”
The wall was approximately twelve feet tall and it was ninety-six miles long. Featured in the wall was “an elaborate system of fortifications with a back wall, a minefield, a jeep road, guard dogs, watchtowers, and searchlights” . Many people had to “build tunnels, break through with trucks, fly across in balloons, or forge passports”1. Over one hundred and twenty-five people died attempting to escape Eastern Germany. One man compared Eastern and Western Germany from a first hand experience stating
I have lived in two different worlds, one of deprivation and oppression, the other of abundance and choice. In moving from the former to the latter, I have come to fully comprehend the value of freedom.
This shows the stark contrasts between Eastern and Western Germany. Eastern Germany is comparable to a large scale ghetto while Western Germany is comparable to a paradise when in perspective of all of Germany.
The Berlin Wall oppressed people and literally trapped them in Eastern Germany with little to no freedoms. Many people risked their lives trying to escape Eastern Germany in a multitude of ways. Berlin was a main access point for people attempting to cr...

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...cle Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/gfc.2002.2.4.83
Darity, Jr. , William A.. "Berlin Wall." Gale Virtual Reference Library. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3045300183&v=2.1&u=tlc129098379&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=838ea61d084469515afe70f52a8854fa (accessed April 22, 2014).
Spatial Impacts of German Unification Trevor Wild and Philip N. Jones The Geographical Journal, Vol. 160, No. 1 (Mar., 1994), pp. 1-16 Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) Article DOI: 10.2307/3060137 Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3060137
Taylor, Frederick. "The Berlin Wall: A Secret History." History Today, February 1, 2007. http://www.historytoday.com/frederick-taylor/berlin-wall-secret-history
World History: The Modern Era, s.v. "Berlin Wall," accessed April 22, 2014. http://worldhistory.abc-clio.com/.

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