Berlin Wall Essay -- History

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall, for twenty-eight years, separated friends, families, and a nation. A lot of suffering began for Germany when World War II commenced, but by the end of the war Germany was in the mists of a disaster waiting to happen. After WWII was over Germany was divided into four parts. The United States, Great Britain, and France controlled the three divisions that were formed in the Western half; and the Eastern half was controlled by the Soviet Republic. The Western divisions eventually united to make a federal republic, while the Eastern divisions became communist. Even though Berlin lay deep within the Soviet sector, the Allies thought it best to divide this capital. Therefore Berlin was also divided into four parts. The Soviet Union was in control of the eastern half of Germany. The Soviet Union made East Berlin the capital of East Germany. The other three counties were each in control of a small part of what was to be West Germany. These three countries decided that they would come together to form one country out of their three divided parts. Those three divided parts formed West Germany. After all the land was divided the Soviet Union controlled East Germany. Just like the Soviet Union, the economy in East Germany was struggling to get back on its feet after the war. While West Berlin became a lively urban area like many American cities, East Berlin became what many thought of as a ‘Mini-Moscow’. In East Germany there was literary almost nothing. The shelves in the stores were practically bare, and what was there was not in very good quality. At first, the divisions between East and West Berlin were uncertain. There was nothing that divided the city. For more than ten years after the official split of the city, East Berlin saw a major emigration of East Germans, unhappy with the communist system. Emigration was easy. With nothing physical to separate East and West Berlin, migration from totalitarianism to democracy was as easy for East Berliners as changing houses. The Soviet Union went against their promises to the people of East Germany, and made East Germany a Communist country. This decision by the Soviet Union separated East Germany even more from the rest of Europe. East Germany was now all by itself, and by the summer of 1952 the border between East and West Germany was closed; only in Berlin was the border... ...ts_01_p.htm Tusa, Ann; The Last Division: A History of Berlin, 1945-1989; Great Britain, 1997; Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. Grathwol, Robert P. and Moorhus, Dontia M.; American Forces in Berlin: 1945-1994 Cold War Outpost; Washington D.C.: Dept. of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, 1994 Berlin Wall Facts; http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/facts_01_p.htm Knorr, Marco; citizen of West Germany; current roommate; interviewed on 11/17/99. Berlin Wall Facts; http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/facts_01_p.htm Bowman, Stephan; â€Å"Crisis in Berlin†, VFW, November 1998; 34-38. â€Å"The Division and Unification of Germany: The Fall of the Berlin Wall†; http://members.tripod.com/~Nevermore/wall.html, 1-5. â€Å"The Division and Unification of Germany: The Fall of the Berlin Wall†; http://members.tripod.com/~Nevermore/wall.html; 1-5. Ramous, Andreas; â€Å"A Personal Account of the Fall of The Berlin Wall: The 11th and 12th of November, 1989†; http://www.andreas.com/berlin.html; 1-6. Berlin Wall Timeline; http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/time.htm. Cooper, Belinda; â€Å"The Changing Faces of Berlin†, World Policy Institute; 57-68.