The The Berlin Berlin WallWallEmily SniderEmily Snider

11stst/Crowder/Crowder

Timeline

♥ May 8, 1945: World War II is over and Berlin is divided into four sectors; the American, British, French in the West, and Soviet in the East.

♥ October 29, 1946: A 30 day valid Interzonenpass is required to travel between the sectors in Germany.

June 24, 1948: Begin of the Berlin blockade.♥ June 25, 1948: Berlin airlift begins.♥ May 12, 1949: End of the Berlin blockade♥ May 24, 1949: Federal Republic of Germany is founded.♥ September 30, 1949: End of Berlin Airlift♥ October 7, 1949: German democratic republic is founded♥ May 26, 1952: Border between East and West Germany

and between East Germany and West Berlin is closed. Only

the border between East and West Berlin is still open.

Timeline continued

• June 17, 1953: Uprising of East Berlin building workers against the imposition of increased working norms, suppression by Red Army tanks.

• November 14, 1953: The Western Powers waive the Interzonenpass, the Soviet Union follows but East German citizen need a permission to travel to the West.

• December 11, 1957: Leaving East Germany without permission is forbidden and violations are

prosecuted with prison up to three years. • August 13, 1961: The Berlin sectorial border between East

and West Berlin is closed, barriers are built.• August 26, 1961: All crossing points are closed for West

Berlin citizens.• June 26, 1963: President J. F. Kennedy visits Berlin and

says “I am a Berliner”.• December 17, 1963: West Berliner citizen may visit East Berlin

the first time after more than two years.

Timeline continued

• June 12, 1987: President Ronald Reagan visits Berlin and urges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

• November 9, 1989: Berlin Wall is opened• December 22, 1989: Brandenburg Gate is opened• October 3, 1990: Germany is reunited

In the beginning

♥ After World War II was over Germany was

divided into four parts. The United States, Great Britain, and

France controlled the three divisions that formed the Western half; and the Soviets formed the Eastern

half.

Berlin Blockade

♥ It was agreed that Germany and Berlin would eventually be reconstituted and become a single self-governing nation. But because of the growing mistrust between Western Allies and the Soviet

Union, this was prevented from happening. Finally, relations between these nations broke and the

Soviets announced, on June 24, 1948, a blockade of all road, water, and rail traffic in and out of West

Berlin. Since Berlin was located in the Soviet zone of Germany, the 2.1 million inhabitants of West

Berlin were left isolated and helpless. This blockade was intended to starve out Western interests.

Continued…

♥ Unwilling to give up West Berlin to the Soviet Union and unwilling to fight the soviet army,

President Truman decided to launch the Berlin airlift. Starting in August of 1948, the United

States sent two million tons of supplies to West Berlin on cargo planes. The planes had to land and take off 24 hours a day. The Berlin Airlift lasted for nearly eleven months. Eventually,

Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader, realized that the blockade was a failure. On May 4, 1949 the

Soviets announced that effective May 12 the Soviet Union would lift all restrictions on access to

Berlin. As a precaution, however, the airlift continued until September.

Berlin Airlift

♥The Berlin Wall, for twenty-eight years separated friends, families, and a nation. The wall was a highly visible symbol of the Cold

War. At the end of WWII Berlin was completely surrounded by territory occupied by Soviet forces. This territory officially became the

country of East Germany in 1949. The city of Berlin itself was divided into East Berlin and

West Berlin. Between 1949 when East Germany was established and the middle of 1961, at

least 2.7 million people fled to East Germany.

Before the wall goes up…

The Berlin Wall

♥ In 1949 the two German states were founded : The

Federal Republic of Germany ( West Germany)

and The German Democratic Republic ( East Germany), East Berlin was chosen as the capital for East Germany. On August 13, 1961 East Germany

sealed the border between east and west and

commenced building the wall.Construction of the

wall

Wall continued…

♥ The Berlin wall, 15 feet high and built of solid

concrete stretches across the city, blocking streets, transversing the river and

separating buildings. It was manned by armed East

German soldiers in watch towers with shoot-to-kill

orders from anyone attempting to scale the

wall and enter West Berlin.

Guards watching over Berlin.

Map of Berlin

Escaping East Germany

♥ Traveling between all sectors of Germany was restricted and an “Interzonenpass” was required to travel from one sector to another. Despite the security, escape attempts were very common. Examples of escapes were: climbing, swimming

the river, riding in hot air balloons, digging tunnels, and jumping from surrounding buildings. Some attempts were successful, but usually they

were caught. One hundred and seventy-one people were killed or died attempting to escape at the Berlin Wall between August 13, 1961 and

November 9, 1989.

People Involved

♥John F. Kennedy:

♥ Ronald Reagan

♥ Mikhail Gorbachev

John F. Kennedy

♥ President Kennedy visited Berlin in the summer of

1963. The people greeted him with joy and

enthusiasm. In the Rudolph Wilde Platz, Kennedy gave

the memorable speech (now known as the “I am a

Berliner” speech) to the ecstatic crowds. He was

showing the support of the United States for

democratic West Germany Shortly after the Berlin wall

was erected.

Ronald Reagan

• On June 12, 1987, the United States president, Ronald Reagan, gave a famous speech in front of the

Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall. He challenged the

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the

Berlin Wall. This speech was a symbol of his desire for

increasing freedom in the Eastern Block. Reagan will always be remembered for

bringing down the Berlin Wall.

Mikhail Gorbachev

• Mikhail Gorbachev is a Russian politician. He was head of state of the USSR, serving from 1985 until its

collapse in 1991. His conferences with United States president, Ronald

Reagan, contributed to the end of the Cold War. He was awarded the Nobel

Peace Prize in 1990 and is currently the leader of the

Union of Social- Democrats.

The Fall of the Wall

• On November 9, 1989, Gunter Schabowski, the East German Minister of Propaganda, announced that East Berliners were

allowed to cross the border. Tens of thousands of East Berliners heard this live and crowded the checkpoints in the Wall

demanding entry into West Berlin. The guards at the wall were not informed of what was going on. They were so overwhelmed by the large crowd and they knew there was no way they could hold back

the eager German citizens. They finally stopped trying and let them through the checkpoints without checking identity. The East

Berliners were excitedly greeted by the West Berliners on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. November 9 is now

considered the day the wall fell. The following days and weeks that followed, people came to the wall with sledgehammers an order to chip off souvenirs. The fall of the wall was the first step toward German reunification, which was formally concluded on

October 3, 1990.

Primary Source

-A newspaper article from

November 1989

Effects of the Wall• The two Germanys reunited quickly after the fall of the

Berlin Wall. But the country still had a lot of obstacles ahead. The first challenge: raise money to help East Germany's standard of living. Funds were needed for education, housing and health care. Gradually, East

Berlin recovered. The Berlin Wall is now commemorated by a few remaining sections and by a museum and shop

near the site of the most famous crossing point, Checkpoint Charlie. In the last fifty years the German Democratic Republic has been a nonstop changing

country. In Germany, the terms “East” and “West” do not just represent geographically regions, and there is

still a large gap in the way of life, and political and social conditions of the whole country.

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