Download Berlin Wall Notesx

Jennifer Pham
History
10/23/13
Period:4
Berlin Wall Notes
Before the Wall:
Nazis surrendered in 1945 (Berlin)
● Four zones divided US, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union
● Germany and Berlin was also divided into four zones.
● US, British and French zones became capitalist and democratic.
● Soviet zone became a communist dictatorship.
● In (1948) Allies, communist, and Soviet Union argued over the govern Berlin.
● Soviet and Berlin was part of Germany, an island surrounded by capitalism.
● (April 1, 1948) Soviet Union had blockaded routes of East Germany and about 2 million
West Berliner were trapped.
● Allies led to the Berlin Airlift and the Soviets lifted the blockade in (1949) Western and
Eastern Germany also formed separate governments in (1949).
● In 1950s More than 3 million people left East Germany for a better life in the West.
Building the wall:
● No one was allowed to enter the zones.
● Walls were built around castles in the middle Ages.
● (Aug. 13, 1961) barbed-wire barrier was strung between East and West Berlin. It divided
the city in half. Moscow called the wall a barrier to Western imperialism.
● West Germans called it Schandmaul, (aka the "wall of shame")
● Three times they had to make it bigger, stronger, and more suppressive.
● East German government seen the Berlin Wall as a symbol for “technology”.
● Communist propaganda suggests that they need to build a shield East Berliners from
capitalist philosophies. Berlin Wall had an unfair rule that separates families, friends, and
people from getting to their jobs.
Trying to Escape:
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Berlin Wall didn't stop East Germans. About (10,000) of them tried to escape to the
West. Estimated about 5,000 who have made it.
There was one woman who hid under the hood of a car and two families floated over the
border in a hot-air balloon.
Other escapes were from hard work. Even soldiers escaped. In (1964) there was one
group that took about six months digging a 145-yard tunnel from the cellar of a West
Berlin bakery on eastern side. East German soldiers sprayed the tunnel with machine-gun
fire to escape.
On (Aug. 15, 1961) East German People's Army leaped to freedom. About 2,000
soldiers fled to the West. About 246 people died at the wall.
More than 100 people escaped through a sewer from the East German.
Living the Wall:
● West Germans painted scenes and slogans on the wall. Others staged political rallies.
East Germans learned about the West by listening to newscasts, from Radio British
Broadcasting, and West German stations.
● News broadcasts created (aka iron curtain). They were signs that Soviet government that
wasn't working for East Germany.
● The Berlin Wall had some information that scaled the wall TV and radio broadcasts.
● Western billboards proclaimed messages of hope and news.
Fighting the Wall:
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In the (1980s) communism was bankrupt. East Germany wages were low.
Homes were bombed during World War II.
Citizens lived in poverty. Communist leaders lived in rich places.
East German leader (Erich Honaker) said “it will still exist in 50 and in 100 years, unless
the reasons for its existence are eliminated."
The Soviet Union couldn’t afford the Cold War.
Decades of military, political, and economic rivalry with the US.
2 US. Presidents visited the wall and supported the West Berlin and democracy.
In the early (1980s) Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced policies of glasnost and
perestroika.
Eastern Europeans began to try out new freedoms, for the press and freedom to travel.
On (Nov. 9, 1989) people won and the East German government opened its borders to
allow citizens to visit the West.
Timeline of Events:
● 1945 World War II ends in Europe and Germany surrenders.
● The Potsdam Conference divides Germany and Berlin to 4 occupation zones: British,
French, American, and Soviet.
● 1948 East and West Berlin governments got separated.
● 1949 The US ,Canada, and Western European countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) The US, Britain, and France created the Federal Republic of
Germany (aka as a democratic West Germany).
● The Soviet Union creates the German Democratic Republic, (a communist East
Germany).
● 1950 - 1960 Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union still continues to go on. East
Germans had more than 3 million that fled to the West.
● 1961 President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev hold a message in
Vienna. Khrushchev threatens for nuclear war.
● On (Aug. 13), East German troops close the border between East and West Berlin with
barbed wire.
● 1970s-1980s East and West Germans live with the Berlin Wall, thousands had try to
escaped.
● 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev takes power in the Soviet Union.
● 1989 The Hungarian government opens its border with Austria in May. Many East
Germans use that route to escape to the West.
Iron Curtain:
● Winston Churchill was a British prime minister from 1940-1945. The Berlin Wall wasn’t
built until 1961. Other people believed that the Berlin Wall is enduring a symbol of the
“Iron Curtain”.
● Joseph Stalin is a Soviet Communist Party leader from 1929-1953.
● The Soviet Union's loss many lives [during World War II] greater than Britain and the
United States of America.
● Stalin spoke about people being "loyal" to the Soviet Union. There are 2 different
viewpoints, Britain and US. They were among the countries that were being held by the
Soviet Union. Another reason is Soviet Union said its citizens were safer because of more
secure borders.
Two sides of the Wall:
● The West Berlin side of the wall is covered with graffiti and drawings showing how
residents feel about their divided city.
● East Berliners were not allowed near the wall; for fear that they might escape.
● Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union from (1929 to 1953). (Nikita Khrushchev was the
leader during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.)
● The Soviets manipulated photographs for political reasons. Others were manipulated to
alter historical events. Generations of Russians had learned false versions of history.
Beyond the fall:
● On (Nov. 9, 1989) the Berlin Wall had Germany that undergone changes leading to the
reunification of East and West Germany.
● East and West Germany reunite into a single nation. Berlin declared the country's capital.
● In (1990) free elections are held in East Germany and non-communists gain control of the
government.
● In (1993) new government buildings are built in Berlin.
● The east and western parts of the city meet again.
● 2 Germanys reunited quickly after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
● Raising money helps East Germany's standard of living. Included education, housing and
health care.