the Berlin wall

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The Berlin wall was built in 1961 and it did not come down until 1989, twenty–eight years later. Walter Ulbricht built the wall in order to prevent people from escaping communism for a better life style under capitalism. The wall separated West Berlin from East Berlin, which was controlled by the Russian communist.
Dauer Erin says that, at the end of World War II, the Allied powers divided Germany into four zones, each occupied by the United States, Great Britain, France, or the Soviet Union (as agreed at the Potsdam Conference). The same was done with Germany's capital city, Berlin.
By the end of 1948 the two parts of the city had their own policy, government and currency. Even though the city was divided; they were still able to travel east to west and west to east. During this era, many people were able to escape from East Germany into West Berlin and get away from communism. This was one of the reasons that the communists had for putting the wall up.
According to Dauer Erin, The Berlin wall was originally built overnight using concrete posts and barbed wire for fencing. It went through three different versions after they finally set it up the final structure. The second revision was barbed wire and concrete blocks. The third version of the wall happened in 1959 consisting of concrete wall supported by steel girders. The final version of the wall started in 1975 and took until 1980. It was the most complicated version using concrete slabs and a smooth pipe. The slabs were 12 feet high by 4 feet wide. The smooth pipe was there to help keep people from climbing the wall. The lines of communication were cut on both sides of the wall. For most of the population this basically meant that whatever side of the ...

... middle of paper ...

...lly on October 3rd, 1990 the flag of the federal republic of Germany is raised in East Germany, Berlin and all Germany are now united.

Works Cited

Dauer, Erin “The rise and fall of the Berlin wall”. Guided History Boston University stridence
2009. 5 march 2014.
Hildebrandt. Rainer. It happened at the wall. 2004. print
Holzner, Lutz. The Berlin Wall .Yale: Yale. University Press, 1997. Print.
Reagan, Ronald. “Remarks on East-West Relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin.”
Chnm.gmu.edu Web Site. February 2008. Web. 5 March 2014.

Staff of History.com. Berlin Wall. History Web Site. 2009. Web. 5 March 2014.

Walsh, Ben. “GCSE Modern World History 2nd Edition.” Cambridge: Cambridge. University Press, 1998. Print.

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