This article will be considered by the Berlin Wall.History of the creation and destruction of the complex shows the confrontation between the superpowers and is the epitome of the "cold war."
You will learn not only the causes of this monster many kilometers, but also get to know interesting facts related to the existence and fall of the "anti-fascist defensive wall."
Germany after the Second World
Before understand who built the Berlin Wall should talk about the current situation at the time in the state.
After the defeat in World War II, Germany was occupied by four states.Its troops occupied the western part of the United Kingdom, the United States and France, and the five eastern lands controlled by the Soviet Union.
Next we'll talk about how the situation is gradually heated during the "Cold War."Also, discuss why the development of the two states, based in the western and eastern zones of influence, went quite different ways.
GDR
As we shall see further, the history of the Berlin Wall, shows not only a place of collision of the socialist bloc and the Western states, but also the gradual separation of parts of one nation.
In October 1949, was created by the German Democratic Republic.It was formed nearly six months after the formation of West Germany.
GDR occupied territory five lands that were under Soviet occupation.These included Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Brandenburg, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
later history of the Berlin Wall will illustrate the gulf that can be formed between the two warring camps.According to the memoirs of contemporaries, West Berlin was different from the East as London at the time of Tehran and Seoul from Pyongyang.
Germany
In May 1949, was formed the Federal Republic of Germany.Berlin Wall twelve years separating it from its eastern neighbor.In the meantime, the state is quickly restored with the help of the countries whose troops were in its territory.
So the former French, American and British occupation zones in four years after the finale of the Second World War turned into Germany.Since the section between the two parts of Germany took place in Berlin, the capital of the new state became Bonn.
Subsequently, however, the country is becoming a subject of dispute between the socialist bloc and the capitalist West.In 1952, Josef Stalin proposes the demilitarization of Germany and its subsequent existence as a weak, but a single state.
US rejects the project and with the help of the Marshall Plan to West Germany makes a rapidly growing state.For fifteen years, since 1950, there is a strong boom that in the historiography called "economic miracle".
But the confrontation between blocs continues.
Berlin Crisis of 1961
Upon the occurrence of a "thaw" in the Cold War, the confrontation begins again.Another reason was shot down over the Soviet Union of a US spy plane.
to unleash another conflict, which led to the Berlin Wall.Year of construction of this monument is the stubbornness and stupidity - 1961 minutes, but in fact it has existed for a long time, even if not in material incarnation.
So Stalin period led to large-scale arms race, which is temporarily stopped with a mutual invention of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Now, in case of war, nuclear superiority was not at a single superpower.
since the Korean conflict, tension builds again.Peak torque steel Berlin and Caribbean crises.As part of the article we are interested in the first.It happened in August 1961, as a result of it was the creation of the Berlin Wall.
After World War II, as we have already mentioned, Germany was divided into two states - capitalist and socialist.During the special passions, in 1961, Khrushchev passes control to the occupied sector of Berlin GDR.Part of the city, which belonged to the Federal Republic of Germany, have called the blockade the United States and its allies.
Ultimatum Nikita concerned West Berlin.The leader of the Soviet people demanding its demilitarization.Western opponents of the socialist bloc said disagreement.
situation was several years in limbo.Khrushchev's visit to the United States, it seemed, was to defuse the situation.However, the incident with the spy plane U-2's put bold cross on the possibility of easing the confrontation.
result was a half thousand additional US troops in West Berlin and the construction of the wall, which stretches through the city and even beyond it, on the part of the GDR.
date of construction of the "anti-fascist rampart" is considered to be August 13, 1961.
The Wall
So, on the border of the two states had built the Berlin Wall.History of the creation and destruction of the monument will be considered further stubbornness.
In 1961, two days (from 13 to 15 August) was barbed wire, suddenly section is not only the country but also the family and the fate of ordinary people.This was followed by a long building, which ended only in 1975.
Total this shaft lasted twenty-eight years.At the final stage (in 1989) complex included a concrete wall height of about three and a half meters long and more than a hundred kilometers.In addition, it includes sixty-six kilometers of metal mesh, more than one hundred and twenty kilometers of the signal electric fence and one hundred and five kilometers of ditches.
design was also equipped with anti-tank fortifications, frontier buildings, including three hundred towers, as well as control strips, which are constantly leveled sand.
Thus, the maximum length of the Berlin Wall, According to historians, was more than a hundred and fifty-five kilometers.
It was reconstructed several times.The most extensive work was carried out in 1975.It is noteworthy that the only spaces were checkpoints on the rivers.They often initially used the most daring and desperate immigrants "in the capitalist world."
Crossing the border
morning gaze does not expect a peace inhabitants of the capital of the GDR opened the Berlin Wall.History of the creation and destruction of the complex clearly shows the real face of the warring states.Overnight, millions of families were separated.
However, the construction of the shaft did not stop further emigration from the territory of East Germany.People making their way across the river and was undermining.On average (before the construction of the fence) daily from the GDR to the FRG drove for various reasons, about half a million people.And for twenty-eight years since the construction of the wall was made only 5075 successful illegal crossings.
For this purpose, waterways, saps (145 meters underground), balloons and hang gliders, as captains of vehicles and bulldozers, moved even the rope between the buildings.
interesting was the next feature.People received free education in the socialist part of Germany, and began to work in Germany as there are higher salaries.
Thus, the length of the Berlin Wall has allowed young people to keep track of it uninhabited areas and escapes.For pensioners the same no obstacles in crossing checkpoints had.
Another possibility to get to the western part of the city is working with the German lawyer Vogel.From 1964 to 1989, he signed a contract for a total of $ 2.7 billion by buying government GDR quarter of a million East Germans and political prisoners.
sad fact is that people are trying to escape not only arrested, but were shot.Officially estimated 125 victims, unofficially the number is increasing significantly.
Statements American presidents
After the Cuban missile crisis gradually reduced the passions and the crazy arms race stops.Since that time, some American presidents begin to make attempts to call the Soviet leadership to negotiate and come to a settlement of relations.
In this way they tried to indicate to those who built the Berlin Wall on their erroneous behavior.The first of these speeches was the speech of John F. Kennedy in June 1963.The US president spoke before a large-scale meeting hall near Shenebergskoy.
From this speech still remained famous phrase: "I - one of the Berliners."Distorting translation, today American comedian often interpret it as said by mistake, "I - Berlin donut."In fact, every word of the speech were verified and learned, as a joke based on ignorance of the intricacies of German audiences in other countries.
Thus John Kennedy expressed his support for the people of West Berlin.
second president, affecting the subject openly hapless guards became Ronald Reagan.And his virtual opponent was Mikhail Gorbachev.
Berlin Wall was a vestige of old and unpleasant conflict.
Reagan declared the General Secretary of the CPSU, that if the latter seeks liberalization of the relationship and a happy future for the socialist countries, he should come to Berlin, and open the gate."Destroy the wall, Mr. Gorbachev!ยป
Fall of the Wall
Shortly after the speech, as a result of the march of "perestroika and glasnost" in the countries of the socialist bloc, began to fall of the Berlin Wall.History of the creation and destruction of this fortification is considered in this article.Earlier we reminded of its construction and unpleasant consequences.
Now we will focus on the elimination of the monument to stupidity.Once in power in the Soviet Union, Gorbachev came, the Berlin Wall has become a stumbling block.Earlier, in 1961, this city was the cause of the conflict on the path of socialism in the West, but now the shaft prevented the strengthening of friendship between the once warring blocs.
first country to destroy its own section of the walls, began to Hungary.In August 1989, near the town of Sopron, on the border with Austria that state, there was a "Pan-European Picnic".The foreign ministers of the two countries laid the foundation for the elimination of strengthening.
The process could no longer be stopped.Initially, the government of the German Democratic Republic has refused to support this idea.However, once through Hungary to West Germany went over three days fifteen thousand East Germans strengthening was completely superfluous.
Berlin Wall on the map runs from north to south, crossing the same city.On the night of the ninth on October 10, 1989 officially opened the border between the western and eastern parts of the German capital.
Wall culture
For two years, starting from 2010, was built a memorial complex "Berlin Wall."On the map it takes about four hectares.To create a memorial was invested twenty-eight million euros.
monument consists of "Windows Memory" (in honor of the Germans, crashed while jumping from windows onto the street East German Bernauer Strasse, which is already in the Federal Republic of Germany).In addition, the complex includes the Chapel of Reconciliation.
But not only in the culture of this famous Berlin Wall.Photo illustrates, probably the largest in the history of graffiti gallery in the open air.If the East to strengthen the approach was not possible, the whole west side decked highly artistic drawings of street artists.
In addition, the theme of "the dictatorship of the shaft" can be traced in many songs, literary works, films and computer games.For example, the mood of the night ninth in October 1989 is dedicated to the song "Wind of Change" group Scorpions, the film "Good Bye, Lenin!" Wolfgang Becker.And one of the cards in the game Call of Duty: Black Ops was created in memory of the events at the checkpoint "Charlie."
Facts
value fall of the Berlin Wall can not be overstated.This fence totalitarian regime was seen clearly hostile civilians, although with time most reconciled with the existing situation.
Interestingly, in the early years of the most frequent defectors were vostochnonemetskie soldiers guarding the wall.And there were no more nor less - eleven thousand staff.
is especially lovely in the twenty-fifth day of its liquidation was the Berlin Wall.Photo shows a view of the illumination from above.Two brothers Bauder made by the authors of the project, which was to create a continuous strip of glowing lanterns along the entire length of the former wall.
Judging by the polls, the drop shaft more people were satisfied with the GDR than Germany.While in the early years there was an enormous flow in both directions.East Germans threw the apartment and went to a richer and social security Germany.And enterprising people of the Federal Republic of Germany sought in the GDR cheap, especially since there was the mass of abandoned housing.
In the years of the Berlin Wall in the East mark was worth six times less than in the west.
in each box with the video game World in Conflict (Collector's Edition) lay a piece of the wall with a certificate of authenticity.
So, in this article we examined the manifestation of economic, political and ideological division of the world in the second half of the twentieth century.
Good luck to you, dear readers!
