The Berlin Wall

1
The Berlin Wall

• Samantha Wong

2
Timeline1948 - 1990
48
90
49
62
52
61
89
68
87
3
What Happened

• At Yalta Conference in 1945, the four countries,
  France, Britain, the USSR and the US agreed that
  Germany and the city of Berlin should be split.
  In 1948 France, Britain and the US merged their
  zones to form one unit. Stalin decided it would
  be safer and chose to keep his part separate.

A map of the division of Germany (A Concrete
Curtain)
4

• Life in West Berlin and West Germany was of a
  much better standard as they were financially
  helped by the US through the Marshall Plan. In
  East Berlin, Stalin set up his communist system
  and the people were faced with repressions.
  Russians were embarrassed at the poverty and
  poorness compared to West Germany and from 1949
  to1961 millions of Germans were escaping to West
  Germany.

Above Germans fleeing from Berlin, 1961.
(Huning) Left The building is right in between
the border. The doors are locked up but escape is
still possible through the windows. (Huning)
5

• In 1952 the border between East and West Germany
  was closed, so the citizens instead fled to West
  Berlin, where they could then escape to West
  Germany.
• On August 13, 1961 Walter Ulbricht the leader of
  the East German Communist Party signed the papers
  to build the wall, preventing citizens to leave.

(A Concrete Curtain)
6

• East Germany was losing many of its skilled
  workers and built the wall to stop the
  immigration to West Berlin.
• Once the wall was up, the only way to get into
  West Berlin was through checkpoints, the most
  famous being Checkpoint Charlie.

A photo of Checkpoint Charlie, 1987 (Rose)
7

• Gunter Schabowski announced that East Germans
  were allowed to travel into West Germany and was
  to go into effect immediately.
• The East Germans gathered to crossing points in
  the wall, and the guards, not knowing what to do
  and not given instructions, let the Germans
  through.

Breaking down the Wall. (A Concrete Curtain)
Bornholmer Strasse crossing point where the first
East Berliners came over the Wall on November
9th. (A Concrete Curtain)
8

• The Berlin Wall illustrates the mistrust between
  the USSR and the US.
• The Russians believed that the US was trying to
  make Germany dependant on the US.
• East Germany wanted to stop the hostile
  activities of the revanchist and militaristic
  forces of West Germany." (Retracing)
• Khrushchev wanted West Berlin to turn into a
  demilitarized free city.
• They built the wall not only to stop people from
  leaving, but because they felt East Germans were
  being exploited by the West.

The picture shows a money changer, cigarette
store and movie theater. Without the people of
East Germany to exploit, these places in West
Germany have gone bankrupt. (German Propaganda)
9

• A major problem was the differences in currency
  in Germany. The exchange rate was 41 and so West
  Germans could buy things more cheaply in East
  Germany.

(Bytwerk)
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Key People

• Walter Ulbricht
• The leader of the East German Communist Party
• Signed the command to build the Berlin Wall

(A Concrete Curtain)
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Key People

• Nikita Khrushchev
• Leader after Stalins death
• Became premier in 1958
• Wanted US out of Berlin
• Approved closing the borders between East and
  West Germany and the Wall

Kennedy and Khrushchev June 1961. (United)
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Key People

• John F. Kennedy
• Sent in airlifts to bring food and supplies
• Conflict with Khrushchev about Berlin
• Gave his captivating speech Ich bin ein
  Berliner

(Hunning)
13
Key People

• Ronald Reagan
• 1987, appealed to Soviet premier Mikhail
  Gorbachev to the tear down the Wall

Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev talking in the White
House, December 1987. (Becoming Free)
14
Quiz

• 1. Why did East Germany build the Berlin Wall?
• 2. Name two important people that contributed to
  the Berlin Wall and what they did.

15
Works Cited
A Concrete Curtain. Dutch History Museum Berlin.
20 Sept. 1999. 16 May 2004. lthttp//www.wall-berli
n.org/gb/mur.htmgt Andreas. The Origins and
Politics of the Berlin Wall. 28 March 2004. 16
May 2004. lthttp//www.andreas.com/berlin- more.htm
lgt Becoming Free. Freedom a History of US. PBS.
2004. 16 May 2004. lt http//www.pbs.org/wnet/histo
ryofus/web16/gt Burkhardt, Heiko. Berlin Wall
Online. Daily Soft. 2004. 16 May 2004.
lthttp//www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/photographs/
berlinwall-1961.htmgt Bytwerk, Randall. German
Propaganda Archive. Calvin College. 16 May 2004.
lthttp//www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/eule61.ht
mgt Cold War. CNN. 1998. 16 May 2004.
lthttp//www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/timeli
ne/gt Huning, Philipp and Antje Stephan. Berline
1945. John F. Kennedy. 16 May 16, 2004.
lthttp//homepages.uni- tuebingen.de/student/philip
p.huning/overview.htmlgt Retracing the Berlin
Wall. 16 May 2004. lthttp//www.die-berliner-mauer.
de/en/61.htmlgt Rose, Brian. The Lost Border. 16
May 2004. lthttp//www.brianrose.com/lostborder.htm
gt The Berlin Wall. MSNBC. 1998. 16 May 2004.
lthttp//www.msnbc.com/OnAir/msnbc/TimeandAgain/ar
chive/berlin/wall.asp?cp11gt United States
History. McMaster University. 16 May 2004.
lthttp//www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/ushistory/fore
ign/berlin.htmlgt Walsh, Ben. Modern World
History. John Murray Publishers. London. 1996.