berlin wall research by samantha santoro g.a.p. 2006-2007

Berlin Wall

Research by

Samantha Santoro

G.A.P. 2006-2007

Why I chose this Building

• Saw a documentary about it

• Interesting

• Know people who saw it

Name Origin and Meaning

• Located in Berlin, called Berlin Wall

• In German Berlin Wall is Berlin Mauer (Mauer meaning wall)

Location

• Continent - Europe• Country – Germany

(formerly East Germany)

• City - Berlin

Map of Berlin Wall

Important Facts• Was begun in 1961

• No longer standing

• East Germany and West Germany were separated by different governments

• East Germany = poor & communist

• West Germany = successful & free

Important Facts Con’d

• The Allies supported West Germany which was democratic

• The Soviet Union (Now Russia) controlled East Germany, which was communist

Functions• To try to stop people from moving from

East Berlin/Germany to West Berlin/Germany (2.6 million people moved)

• To try to stop “Brain Drain” from East Germany (Lost intelligent and young people)

• From 1954 to 1961, 3,100 doctors had left-1/5 of doctors in East Germany

Considerations for Construction

• Escaping Berliners• Political Issues• Dividing

City/buildings/ churches

The Berlin Wall Divides a City

Walter Ulbricht

• East German leader in 1961

• Title was Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic or GDR (Staatsratsvorsitzender in German)

• Presenter of the idea of “temporary” barbed wire fence

Erich Honecker• Member of East

German Central Committee & supporter of Ulbricht

• Man in charge of building Berlin Wall

Nikita Krushchev

• Title was Premier Krushchev

• The leader of the Soviet Union

• Gave permission for Ulbricht’s proposal & said, “Put up the barbed wire. If they don’t react, put up a wall.”

Warsaw pact Members

• Soviet union (most powerful)• East Germany• Czechoslovakia• Bulgaria• Hungary• Poland• Albania (left in 1962)

Size, Shape and Form

• 96 miles - border length around West Berlin

• 11.8 ft high, 66 miles long - Concrete segment wall

• Each section weighed about 2.5 tons

• 41 miles - wire mesh fencing

Size, Shape & Form Con’d

• 65 miles - anti-vehicle trenches

• 79 miles - contact or signal fence

• 7.33 yd. wide, 77 miles - column track

Phase 1• Barbed wire

(August 13, 1961)

Phase 2• Concrete objects

(August 15, 1961)

Phase 3• Concrete slabs

between steel girders and concrete posts (Beginning 1965)

Phase 4• Concrete segments• Bunkers• Watch & Viewing Towers• Guard dogs• Directing/control towers• Anti-vehicle trenches

Phase 4 Con’d

• Tarmac roads

• Electric fences

• Armed guards

• Flood lights

• Automatic guns

• East wall whitewashed (to show people climbing wall easily)

Details of Wall Construction

Materials

• Cement slabs

• Concrete blocks

• Barbed wire

• Metal pipes

• Stalin’s grass

• Wire mesh fence

Materials Con’d• Wire entanglements• Softsand • Tarmac

Human Interest Stories

• West Berlin family tried to learn about sick relative in East Berlin by talking through fence

• Couple lifted new twin babies over wall so grandparents could see them

• East German guard saw scenes which made him jump over the fence

Escape Attempts• Man strapped meat to himself to

protect him• People went through sewers• People went through tunnels• People jumped out windows• People went up in hot-air balloons• People hid in cars

Tunnel Construction• Usually measured 3 ft. by 3 ft.• Wooden floors and ceilings• Roof held up by wooden beams• Lit as light as a living room• Compressed air was pumped in to the

people building the tunnel

Monument Sites

• Hinterland Wall at the Bornholmer StraBe

• Bernaur StraBe

• Wall segments along the “Ulbricht-Kurve”

• From the Death Strip to the Wall Park in Prenzlauer Berg

Monument Sites Con’d• Around the Nordbahnhof• The Invalid Cemetery in

Berlin-Mitte• Hinterland Wall at the

Leipziger Platz• The Wall at

NiederkirchnerstraBe• Watchtower at the Kieler

Eck• The Watchtower in the

Erna-Berger-StraBe

Monument Sites Con’d 2• Directing Tower

Schlesischer Busch• The Hinterland Wall

at the Rudow Heights

• And der Schillingbrucke

• The East Side Gallery

Comparing & Contrasting to Others

• Proposal of fence on US/Mexican Border-

1. Not to keep American people in

2. To keep illegal immigrants out

3. Proposal is fence and vehicle barriers

Comparing & Contrasting to Others Con’d

• Israel’s Security Fence

1. Temporary

2. To keep terrorists from harming Israeli citizens

3. Made of fencing and alarm systems

Comparing & Contrasting to Others Con’d 2

• The Great Wall of China

1. Made of BRICK and GRANITE

2. 3,948 miles long

3. To protect people from nomadic tribes

4. Ran through entire country of China

Bibliography

• Internet• “Berlin Wall Wall-Monuments.” Senate Department of Urban

Development. December 12, 2006 http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/en/berliner_mauer/mauer_denkmale.shtml

• “Bermauer StraBe.” Berlin Wall. December, 13, 2006 <http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/en/berliner_mauer/>

• “The Berlin Wall.” The Berlin Wall A look back at the fall of Communism• and Soviet influence. December 4, 2006• <http://factmonster.com/spot/berlinwall.html>• “Episode 9: The Wall.” CNN Perspectives Series Cold War. December

12,• 2006 http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/• Reber, Nichole. “Berlin Wall a powerful influence for intern’s architect’s• perspective.” Herald Tribune.com. December 4, 2006• <http://www.heraldtribune.com>

Bibliography Con’d “The Berlin Wall as a building structure.” Berlin Wall. December

13,2006 <http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/en/berliner_mauer/>

“The system of the Berlin Wall.” History of the Berlin Wall. December 13,2006

http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/facts_03.htm “The Wall From East to West.” Concrete Curtain Tenth Anniversary Opening of the Wall. December 12, 2006 http://www.msnbc.com/news/wld/graphics/berlinwall_dw.htm Trager, Eric. “Security Fences Make Good Neighbors.” Israel–at-a-

Glance. December 13,2006 <http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hireveiw/content.php?type=article&

issue=spring04/&name> “Trying to Escape.” Newseum: Berlin Wall. December 13,2006

http://www.newseum.org/cybernewseum/exhibits/berlin_wall/

Bibliography Con’d 2 “Wage Terrorists Lurking South of the Border.” December, 13,2006

http://statastic.com/category/Israel/ Books

Blashfeild, Jean F. Germany. New York: Children’s Press, 2003. Epler, Doris M. The Berlin Wall How It Rose and Why It Fell Brookfield,

Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, 1992. Nickles, Greg and Niki Walker. Germany. New York: Raintree Steck-

Vaughn Publishers, 2001. Wyden, Peter. Wall The Inside Story of Divided Berlin. New York: Simon

and Schuster, 1989.Interview/ Letter

Muck, Jack. (702) 227-7212. December19, 2006. Muck, Peggy. (702) 227-7212. December 19,2006. Santoro, Susan. Home. December 19,2006.

Thank You Thank you for listening!!!!!!!!!!