Fall of the Berlin Wall
Summary, Definition and dates:
The Fall of the Berlin Wall was inadvertently sparked by the reform policies of
Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. November 9, 1989 is recognized as the date of
the Fall of the Berlin Wall, although the official demolition of wall started
on June 13, 1990. Much of the Berlin Wall was torn down by people as they
celebrated the end to a divided Germany. Between November 9, 1989 - June 13,
1989 border controls still existed but were less strict than they had been
previously. All border controls ended on July 1, 1990 and Germany was
officially reunified into a single country from October 3, 1990.
Fast, fun facts and Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ's) about the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
When was the Berlin Wall
built? The Berlin Wall was built during the Cold War under the instructions
of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in August 1961, during the presidency of
John F. Kennedy
Why was the Berlin Wall built?
The reason the Berlin Wall was built was to block movement between the Soviet
sector and the western sector of Berlin.
What date was the Fall of the
Berlin Wall? The date of the Fall of the Berlin Wall was on November 9,
1989, during the Soviet leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev and the presidency of
George H Bush.
What did the Fall of the
Berlin Wall symbolize? The Berlin Wall stood as a visible symbol of the
Cold War division of East from West Germany and of eastern from western Europe.
The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolized the fall of communism and the birth of
democracy in the Iron Curtain countries.
What caused the Fall of the
Berlin Wall?
The economic policies and the
military power of the United States and NATO countries during the Cold War
effectively bankrupted the countries behind the Iron Curtain and forced the
Soviets to back down. The reform policies of Mikhail Gorbachev to stimulate the
Soviet economy inadvertently led to the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
● The policy of Glasnost allowed
citizens of the Soviet bloc a greater opportunity to voice discontent with
their government.
● The so-called 'Sinatra
Doctrine', alluding to the song "My Way", that allowed the Eastern
Bloc governments to make their own decisions.
● The churches of East Germany
began to hold protests against Soviet rule and the Neues Forum (New Forum)
group organized mass protest marches in East Berlin demanding democratic
reforms within East Germany.
● Eastern Bloc nations such as
Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia were opposing Soviet rule and many of their
people were escaping to the west.
Fast Facts about the Berlin
Wall
The following fast facts about
the Berlin Wall provides background information as to why the fall of the
Berlin Wall was so important.
● Following WW2 the city of
Berlin was divided into eastern and western sectors. The city was located 100
miles (160 km) inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany
● The Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev wanted to stop the flood of Germans streaming out of Communist East
Germany into West Berlin. From 1949 to 1961, about 2.5 million East Germans had
fled from East to West Germany
● The United States, Great
Britain and France refused Khrushchev's demands to withdraw from Berlin and he
ordered the building of the Berlin Wall.
● The barrier was first erected
on the night of August 12 - 13, 1961, as the result of a decree passed on
August 12 by the East German legislature, or parliament, called the People's
Chamber (Volkskammer)
● The barrier, that would become
known as the Berlin Wall, was literally thrown up overnight, consisting of
barbed wire and cinder blocks.
● The makeshift barrier was
replaced by a series of concrete walls with wire mesh fences up to 15 feet (5
metres) high that stretched for 28 miles (45 km), splitting the city in two.
● The Berlin Wall was topped with
barbed wire and guarded with watchtowers, gun emplacements, dog patrols,
anti-vehicle trenches, floodlights, electrified fences and mines. There were a
total of 302 watchtowers, 259 dog runs and 20 bunkers
● The barrier was built with an
estimated two million tons of concrete and
700,000 tons of steel.
● Buildings close to the barriers
had their windows bricked up so that people could not jump from them or were
demolished. The open area between became known as the "death strip,"
or "no man's land" from which guards in observation towers could shoot
anyone trying to escape.
● There were 8 border crossings,
the most famous was given the nickname of Checkpoint Charlie.
● There were many thousands of
attempts to cross the Berlin Wall of which 6,000 East Germans managed to cross
the Berlin Wall safely. At least 5,000
people were captured by East German authorities making the attempt, and 191
people were killed during the actual crossing of the Berlin Wall.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts
for kids
(Berlin with the Wall and Without)
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
1: The location of the divided city of Berlin, in the center of Soviet
controlled East Germany, led to many controversies, incidents and events
leading up to its fall in 1989. The Berlin Wall completely surrounded West
Berlin, which was bordered by East German territory on all sides.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
2: The Cold War, between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, was the terrifying
period of "non-hostile belligerency" in which several events nearly
brought the world to the brink of a nuclear war. The city of Berlin found
itself in the center of some of these incidents.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
3: West Germany was founded in 1948 and Josef Stalin mounted the Berlin
blockade in an attempt to starve the Western allies out of the capital and
abandon the city.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
4: The US and the British responded to the blockade by supplying the western
part of the city by air, in what became known as the Berlin Airlift (1 April
1948 – 12 May 1949), supplying vital necessities to keep West Berlin alive and
functioning.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
5: The Berlin Wall was built under the instructions of the Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev in August 1961, during the presidency of John F. Kennedy who
attempted to diffuse the situation in his famous quote "A wall is a hell
of a lot better than a war.”
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
6: The Checkpoint Charlie incident in the city involved a standoff between U.S.
and Soviet tanks (October 22, 1961 - October 28, 1961) but ended peacefully as
both sides agreed to withdraw their tanks.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
7: In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin to reassure the people
that the United States would not abandon them in what became known as the 'Ich
bin ein Berliner' speech.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
8: In the 1970's 'rapprochement' saw the re-establishment of more cordial
relations between the powers.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
9: In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev took control of the Soviet Union. The Soviet
policy of 'Glasnost' followed in the 1980's which encompassed Soviet reforms
implemented by Mikhail Gorbachev that encouraged open debate and allowed a greater opportunity
to voice discontent with the government.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
10: 12 June, 1987 President Ronald Reagan made his "tear down this
wall" speech, speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
11: Bruce Springsteen played a concert on 19 July, 1988 in East Berlin, 16
months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Springsteen concert was allowed
in a desperate attempt to pacify East German youth who were increasingly
alienated by restrictions imposed by the Communists.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
12: On April 3, 1989 the East German border guards are instructed to "stop
using firearms to prevent border violations."
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
13: The "Sinatra Doctrine" was another policy adopted by the Soviet
government of Mikhail Gorbachev. The name "Sinatra Doctrine",
alluding to the song "My Way", was used jokingly to describe its
policy of allowing Warsaw Pact countries to determine their own internal
affairs, to go their own way. Mikhail Gorbachev had not realized that his
change in policies would have such a dramatic effect.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
14: Nations of the Warsaw pact (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,
Hungary, Poland, Romania and Albania) had maintained a closed border with its
western neighbors. But the new Soviet policies allowed them to make radical
changes.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
15: Hungary began to allow people free passage to Austria allowing them to
escape to the West. Thousands of East Germans began to cross the border every
day.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
16: Opposition to Soviet rule began to grow in other Eastern Bloc countries,
especially in Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
17: Opposition to the Soviets also grew in the churches and cities of East
Germany. What started with small groups ended with peaceful protests and
demonstrations by thousands of people who demanded democratic reforms
including freedom of the press, freedom
of speech and opinion and freedom of assembly.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
18: A group of students and intellectuals in East Berlin formed a group called
New Forum (Neues Forum) demanded democratic reforms within East Germany but
Erich Honecker, the unpopular, hard-line communist leader, refused to consider
reform as an option.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
19: October 18, 1989 Erich Honecker was replaced by a more liberal communist
Egon Krenz, but he was unsuccessful in his attempt to retain the communist
regime's grip on power.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
20: Protest marches in East Berlin increased and a pro-freedom rally in East
Berlin on November 1, 1989, numbering 500,000 strong, demanded free elections
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
21: Egon Krenz responds to the protest by announcing sweeping political and
economic reforms and passed a preliminary law giving all citizens travel and
emigration rights.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
22: On November 7, 1989, the East German cabinet resigns and nearly all of the
members of the Politburo are removed and replaced the following day.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
23: On November 9, 1989 East Germany lifted its travel restrictions to the
West. Guenter Schabowski, a member of the Politburo, announced that East German
citizens can "leave the country through East German border crossing
points," effective immediately.
Fall of the Berlin Wall Facts -
24: On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall fell. Crowds of jubilant Germans begin
to tear down the hated wall piece by piece. Young people scaled the wall and
danced on it. Families that had been separated for years ran to embrace each
other and the jubilant sounds of laughter and singing filled the city.
http://www.american-historama.org/1945-1989-cold-war-era/fall-of-the-berlin-wall.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.