The Berlin Wall
By Advisor. Filed in Florida |
Creation began on The Berlin Wall early in the day of Sunday, August 13, 1961. It was a frantic yet effective effort by the GDR (German Democratic Republic) to bring to a close East Berliners evading the Soviet-controlled East German state into the West of the city, which was then occupied by the Americans, British and French. You should go to Berlin yourself to check this out and stay in one of the many Berlin apartments
Berlin’s rare situation as a city half-controlled by Western forces, in the heart of the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany, made it a main end for tensions between the Allies and the Soviets and a place where disagreeing ideologies were forced side-by-side. However, as more and more people in the Soviet-controlled East grew disenchanted with communism and the progressively more domineering economic and political circumstances, an escalating number began defecting to the West. By 1961 an estimated 1,500 people a day were fleeing to the West, damaging both the credibility and – more importantly – the workforce of the GDR. Soon rumours began to spread about a wall, and it wasn’t long after that those rumours were made a solid reality.
In a masterfully-planned maneuver, spanning just 24 hours, the streets of Berlin were torn up, barricades of paving stones were erected, tanks were gathered at fundamental places and subways and local railway services were disturbed, so that within a day the West of Berlin was completely sealed off from the East. As of that same day inhabitants of East Berlin and the GDR were no longer allowed to enter the West of the city (including the 60,000 who had been commuters). In response to international criticism that such radical measures inevitably drew, the GDR claimed that the wall had been raised as an ‘anti-fascist protection wall’, and that they had moved to stop a third world war.
The version of the ‘Wall’ that started life in 1961, was in fact not a wall but a 96 miles barbed wire fence. However, subsequent to this incarnation proved too simple to scale, work started in 1962 on a second fence, equivalent to the first but up to 100 yards further in. The region in between the two fences was demolished to make an vacant space, which became extensively known as “death strip” as it was here that many would-be escapers met their doom. The strip was roofed with raked gravel, making it easy to spot footprints, it offered no cover, was mined and booby-trapped with tripwires and, most prominently, it offered a clear field of fire to the armed guards – who were orderded to shoot on sight.
Later on even these events were deemed insufficient and a concrete wall was added in 1965, which served until 1975 when the infamous ‘St
