Berlin Wall

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Berlin Wall
Cadet Gabbard
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To prevent getting out
 Contrary to the claim of East German propaganda,
the Wall was not an " antifascist wall of
protection " intended to avoid aggression from
the West. It was entirely for domestic use, being
designed not to stop people getting in but to
prevent them getting out. In this way, on 21st
June 1963, the East German Defence Minister
issued a decree setting up a 30 to 100 metre wide
border zone around West Berlin where residents
were subjected to strict controls. This zone was
placed under close surveillance and anyone
entering it required a special authorization or
face a heavy penalty.
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• Also, the automatic firing systems were on the
  eastern side as well they were dismantled in
  1984, in exchange for two substantial loans
  granted to East Germany by the federal
  government.
• As time passed, the Wall was gradually perfected
  and became more and more impassible. Altogether
  it was overhauled four times over. To begin with,
  it was made up of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi.) of
  concrete slabs and 137 kilometres (86 mi.) of
  barbed wire, covered from 116 watch towers,
  including 32 along the East-West Berlin border.
  After October 1964, it was gradually
  strengthened, doubled up and transformed into a
  " modern border " which took on its final
  appearance from around 1979-1980.
• The Wall cut through 192 streets (97 between East
  and West Berlin and 95 between West Berlin and
  East Germany), 32 railway lines, 8 S-Bahn and 4
  underground lines, 3 autobahns and several rivers
  and lakes. On the waterways, the Wall consisted
  of submerged railings under constant surveillance
  from patrol boats.
• The Wall was an anomaly that gave rise to a
  number of peculiarities.

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The Berlin Wall

• Brandenburg Gate is the most famous place to
  visit for the tourists, because it is a symbol of
  the division of Berlin and the unity since
  November 1989.

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Berlin Wall, 196189, a barrier first erected in
Aug., 1961, by the East German government along
the border between East and West Berlin, and
later extended along the entire border between
East Germany and West Germany. It was built to
halt large numbers of defections and to prevent
E. Berliners commuting to the West. Erected at a
time of growing tension between East and West,
the barbed wire was eventually replaced by
concrete topped with wire. In 1989, after
hundreds of thousands of East Germans had fled
westward via Hungary and Czechoslovakia, on Nov.
9, the beleaguered East German regime lifted
travel restrictions, and days later dismantling
of the wall began. Built to keep people in, the
wall was dismantled in a failed gamble by the
Communists to keep power. By Jan., 1990, the
regime was selling large slabs of the wall for
hard currency, and had set December for its total
demolition. In Oct., 1990, however, East Germany
was formally reabsorbed into the Federal Republic
of Germany and only short sections of the wall
remained standing, as memorials
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A Place Visited

• Potsdam Square is also a place everybody visits.
  In the 30's it was the busiest square in Germany
  for tram and car traffic.

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Watch Tower

• A watch tower stands behind the Wall where two
  East German guards stay at all times. Windows of
  the building on the left are closed up so that no
  one can escape.

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Watched by Germans

• Looking into the "no-man's-land" behind the Wall
  which is strictly watched over by East German
  guards. On the backside of the Wall some
  apartment buildings can be seen.

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Warning Sign

• This is a warning sign on the border written in
  English, Russian, French and German with smaller
  letters.

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Berlin Church

• Michael Church in East Berlin can be seen over
  the Wall.

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Potsdam Square

• School kids take pictures in Potsdam Square. It's
  no wonder that they know only a little about the
  history of the Wall, because through the 80s it
  was just a natural thing that there was a Wall.

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Timeline of Berlin Wall

•   

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Major anti-Communist riots broke out in East
Berlin in June 1953 and, on Aug. 13, 1961, the
Soviet Sector was sealed off by a Communist-built
wall, 261/2 mi (43 km) long, running through the
city. It was built to stem the flood of refugees
seeking freedom in the West, 200,000 having fled
in 1961 before the wall was erected
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The End