The history of the Wall begins with the end of World War II in 1945. Germany is divided into zones by the four Allied powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union. Berlin is also divided into four sectors. Four years later, on May 23, 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany is founded from the three western occupation zones of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. It emerged as a sovereign state from the Parliamentary Council under the supervision of these Western powers. In the eastern zone, administered by the Soviet Union, the GDR, the German Democratic Republic, was founded on October 7, 1949. Berlin was divided into East Berlin and West Berlin.
Overview
The Mass Migration from the GDR
In the East Bloc, a communist state modeled on the Soviet Union is established. Walter Ulbricht, Chairman of the State Council of the GDR, enacts a series of measures aimed at “building socialism.” As a result, the standard of living for the population deteriorates rapidly, leading to a supply crisis and, subsequently, the workers’ uprising of June 17, 1953, which is brutally suppressed.
Between 1945 and 1961, three and a half million people left the Soviet occupation zone and what would later become the GDR, as the country proved to be a totalitarian state. As the mass exodus continued, Ulbricht ordered the border with West Germany to be sealed off. Only in Berlin was there still a “loophole” through which almost everyone was now fleeing to the West. Ulbricht wanted to close this last border crossing as well, but to do so he needed the support of the Soviet occupying power.
The Berlin Ultimatum of
Berlin becomes a source of contention among the major powers. In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev issues his famous Berlin ultimatum to the Western powers: he demands that Berlin be declared a free city and demilitarized. The Western powers reject the demand. U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev meet in Vienna in early June and negotiate a compromise: The city of Berlin, an island in the Eastern Bloc, is also to be divided into an eastern and a western half by a wall. Kennedy believes that a wall is not a good solution, but it would be better than a war.
The Construction of the Berlin Wall in
“No one has any intention of building a wall,” Walter Ulbricht declared on June 15, 1961, at a press conference in Berlin. Yet, acting on his orders, Erich Honecker, the operation’s chief of staff, had already made all the necessary preparations for the construction of the Wall. On the night of August 13, 1961, thousands of tons of barbed wire and concrete posts were secretly transported to the border, and border fences were erected throughout the city. All sector crossings are sealed off, through traffic on the S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines is halted, and thirteen U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations are closed to East Berliners. By dawn, the GDR is sealed off and all of West Berlin is surrounded by a wall.
West Berliners can now only leave the city via transit routes, by train, or by plane. East Berliners can no longer go to the western part of the city to visit their friends and families or to go to work.
The Wall Becomes a Bulwark
Over the course of its 28 years, 2 months, and 27 days of existence, the Wall underwent constant changes. In June 1962, a second wall was erected, known as the “Hinterland Wall.” A “death strip” was created between the two walls, complete with watchtowers and searchlights.
In 1963, the hollow-block stone wall was replaced by a concrete wall. Starting in 1965, bunkers were added.
In 1974, the third generation of the Wall was constructed. It consisted of reinforced concrete slabs 3.60 meters high and 1.20 meters wide. The 100-meter-wide death strip was expanded to include eleven obstacle zones. These included: alarm grids, trip wires that triggered flares, steel spikes embedded in concrete, dog runs, tank ditches, vehicle traps, and asphalt roads for patrol vehicles. Berlin’s sewer system was crisscrossed with barrier grids. Steel underwater mats studded with nails and barrier buoys were installed in the border waters.
Escape Over the
The Berlin Wall becomes the most heavily guarded border in the world. Nevertheless, many attempt to leave the GDR with the courage born of desperation. Some have escape helpers in the West; others undertake risky escape attempts on their own. They dig tunnels, build gliders and hot-air balloons, and construct submarines and train-towing devices. Over 5,000 people manage to escape to the West this way. 142 people lose their lives during the escape. About 75,000 GDR citizens are captured and put on trial for “fleeing the republic.”
The Fall of the Berlin Wall in
For more than a quarter of a century, people in the East had been separated from the West by the Wall. Most of them refused to accept this. One Monday in September 1989, people in the East began a peaceful march toward the Wall. Their numbers grew from Monday to Monday, and by early November, hundreds of thousands were on the move. Those in power could do nothing to stop them. The Wall falls on November 9, 1989, without any violence or bloodshed. The old rulers disappear, and families and friends in the East and West are reunited. Since then, November 9 has been inextricably linked to German reunification. It commemorates the successful peaceful resistance of the citizens of the GDR and their courage to stand up against injustice.
