The Berlin Wall: A History from Beginning to End; by Hourly History.

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The Berlin Wall: A History from Beginning to End

Hourly History

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"“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”

"—Winston Churchill"

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One recalls a colleague remarking that the East German premier wasn't happy about the prospect of unification of Germany. "Of course not!", one recalls saying - "he's going to lose a job!"

That was shortly before one was in that situation oneself, and proceeded to attempt finding another. That had then involved loss of an address as well, but that was not merely of course - lived as one for years had, depending on where work takes one ,and by then fairly used to it, hence not as afraid as one would have been if one had an inkling of immediate future - but much more.

But just then, all that had palled before the enormity of having lost raison d'etre.

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"For 28 years, the Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of separation and oppression. It symbolized the separation of the Eastern Bloc from Western democracy, and it further symbolized the cruel oppression of an authoritarian regime. In 1961, the wall was erected literally overnight, and through the years, many of those who tried to escape its confinement paid with their lives.

"This 12-foot tall wall served to separate not only a country but two different political ideologies as well—communism and capitalism. It worked well to keep East Germans from fleeing the increasingly oppressive Soviet-backed regime that was installed in East Germany post-World War II. Only the most trusted East Germans were allowed to travel to the West, and even then, only one family member could go at a time, and they were restricted in the amount of money they could take with them.

"The waves of emigrating East Germans that had been an embarrassment to the Soviet officials who controlled the sector prior to the wall’s construction were stopped from continuing their flight. But, during the years after the wall was erected, the desperate attempts at defection continued to highlight the truth—the people wanted freedom, and they would do anything to get it. Over 5,000 East Germans successfully crossed the wall, despite construction reinforcements that included a death strip cleared of any possible cover so that guards could more easily shoot would-be defectors.

The situation is only slightly different across borders within what was India until 1947 - major difference being, those stealing into India across border North-West aren't stopped or shot by their masters, but given weapons, ammunition and training at perpetrating terror, killing, and generally raising mayhem.

Those stealing across borders of East Bengal are doing it, for most part, on a slightly subtle and long term basis.

Unless they are Hindus, fleeing persecution of Islamic culture that seeks to wipe out that of their beloved homeland.

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Table of Contents

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Introduction

Post-War Germany

The Berlin Blockade

The Start of the Cold War

The Building of the Berlin Wall

The Effects of Building the Wall

Traveling Across the Border

Defection Attempts

The Winds of Change

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Aftermath

Conclusion

Bibliography

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REVIEW

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Introduction

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"There is perhaps no greater symbol of oppression in the modern era than the Berlin Wall, which divided East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It was erected by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) as a means of preventing “Western fascists” from entering East Germany. The official line was that these fascists would undermine the communist state that had taken hold in East Germany after World War II. The real objective, however, was to stem the flow of defections from East Germany to the West.

"The erection of the wall not only separated the city but also separated families from one another. The wall itself was 12 feet high (3.6 meters) and almost 100 miles long (155 kilometers), and it became the symbol of division between communism and capitalism. The wall was designed to keep East Germans in, and because it was heavily guarded, it worked well for 28 years.

"Initially, no one was allowed to cross the border between East and West Berlin, but starting in late 1963, negotiations commenced to allow some visits across the border. Only the most trusted East Germans were allowed to travel to the West, and if permission were granted—a decision which was made arbitrarily—only one family member could go at a time. Eventually, those who reached retirement age were allowed to emigrate to the West, possibly so that the East German government didn’t have to provide for their pensions.

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"Through the years, numerous East German citizens would attempt to escape from the East to find freedom in the West. Between 1961 and 1989, more than 5,000 East Germans—including some 600 border guards—would successfully cross the wall using a number of innovative methods, including homemade hot air balloons and tunnels. Sadly, at least 140 people would be killed trying to cross the wall.

"The Berlin Wall was the most recognizable symbol of the Cold War, so when it finally came down in 1989, it was a widely televised event. Songs were written about its fall, and the world celebrated the collapse of this enduring symbol of human oppression."

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September 17, 2022 - September 17, 2022.

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Post-War Germany

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" ... Following Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945, the Potsdam Conference was held between July 17 and August 2. It was at this conference that the Allied Powers divided Germany into four military occupation zones. France occupied the southwest, Britain the northwest, the United States the south, and the Soviet Union the east. The four zones now comprised “Germany as a whole.”

"Though Berlin was within the sector under the control of the Soviet Union, as the capital city, it was also divided into four sectors with each sector under the control of one of the Allies. It was nominally agreed that, at some point in the future, there would be a transfer of lands to Poland and the Soviet Union, but until there was a final peace treaty, East Germany would be placed under Polish and Soviet administration. That peace treaty would not be formalized for another 45 years, in 1990.

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"Additionally, the Allies’ Berlin Declaration invalidated any Nazi land expansion that had occurred between 1938 and 1945. That resulted in the annexation or return of those territories to Poland, the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. As of 1944, there were some 12.4 million ethnic Germans living in those occupied territories, and once the war ended, the expulsion of the Germans from these territories began. The sanctioned expulsions put the burden on the occupying authorities to ensure that such expulsions were done humanely. The Potsdam Agreement asserted that the expelled ethnic Germans should be equitably divided into the various zones of occupation."

What about Rheinland, Austria, Hungary, et al?

"Despite these efforts, many Germans, consisting mostly of women and children, were severely mistreated prior to being deported back to Germany. In fact, thousands died in forced labor camps, and others starved to death, died of disease, or froze to death during the expulsion process. By the time the expulsions were complete, approximately eight million Germans had settled in West Germany (in the three zones occupied by the Allies), and some three million had settled in East Germany (occupied by the Soviet Union)."

Considering they'd been only too happy to benefit from nazi occupation of homelands of others, it'd be surprising if they'd any sympathy from erstwhile non-German neighbours.

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"As the Allied forces began the process of reconstruction, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union had agreed to a broad decentralization program that would treat Germany as a single economic unit with some central administrative departments, but these plans never materialized. France blocked the establishment of any central administrative or political structures, and both France and the Soviet Union wanted to extract as much material benefit as possible from their occupation zones. They wanted that material benefit to pay for the unspeakable destruction caused by the German Wehrmacht (war machine) during the war."

That last description fits WWI more than it foes WWII, when the devastation and loot, by nazis supervising the German military authorities, completely planned and intentional.

"This was not the only dispute among the Allied forces with regard to how post-war Germany should be managed. In fact, about the only thing they agreed upon was that the leading members of the Nazi regime should be captured and put on trial for their crimes against humanity.

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"For their part, the Soviet authorities in East Germany forcibly unified the Communist Party of Germany and the Social Democratic Party. The new union was dubbed the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

"This new party called for the establishment of what they termed an anti-fascist, democratic regime, which they referred to as a parliamentary democratic republic. The Soviet Military Administration supported the SED by actively suppressing all other political activities. The goal, as revealed to German communist leaders by Joseph Stalin in June of 1945, was to undermine the British position in their occupation zone and wait for the eventual withdrawal of the United States from their zone, so that all of Germany could be unified under communist control."

Russians thought little of French, then?

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"One of the problems with the post-war agreements was that, while there was agreement on the division of the occupation zones, there was never a formal agreement guaranteeing rail and road access to Berlin, which was located inside the Soviet sector. The other Allies had simply relied on Soviet goodwill to provide them that access for moving necessary goods into Berlin. The Soviets had initially allowed them one rail line that was limited to ten trains per day and three air corridors for moving cargo into the city. The Western Allies had assumed that would be expanded, but the Soviets consistently refused expansion. This was an important factor that would lead to the Berlin Blockade in 1948."

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September 17, 2022 - September 17, 2022.

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The Berlin Blockade

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"With the political differences becoming more apparent between the Allied forces occupying Germany after World War II, Berlin became a focal point for both the United States and the Soviet Union. The population of Berlin had plummeted from a pre-war high of 4.3 million people to only 2.8 million following the war. With the expulsions of Germans from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, the population of West Germany increased by some eight million people while that of East Germany increased by three million. The eight million in West Germany formed a formidable voting bloc, and they were pushing for the reunification of Germany.

"The United States, for its part, had secretly decided that a unified Germany was undesirable. In fact, Ambassador Walter Bedell Smith had told General Eisenhower that even if the Soviets seemed to agree to U.S. requirements for reunification, the U.S. didn’t want or intend to accept that.

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"As the Western Allies began managing their zones, they created zonal advisory boards that included representatives of the states, central offices, political parties, trade unions, and consumer organizations. The U.S. zonal advisory board was created in October of 1945, and it was created as an autonomous body of German self-rule. The British zonal advisory board was established in March of 1946, and it co-operated with the Control Commission for Germany – British Element, which retained control of legislative decisions.

"In their zone, the Soviets had their own problems. The Germans—many of whom had endured harsh treatment, forced emigration, and political oppression in addition to a brutal winter in 1945/1946—were hostile to the Soviet plans for East Germany. In 1946, the local elections resulted in a massive anti-communist protest vote, and this was particularly evident in East Berlin, whose citizens overwhelmingly elected non-communist members to the city government.

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"It was at this time, in 1946, that the Soviets stopped delivering agricultural goods from East Germany. This resulted in the United States halting shipments of dismantled industries from Germany to the Soviet Union. That, in turn, caused the Soviets to mount a public relations campaign against American policy, and they also began to obstruct the administrative work of the four zones of occupation.

"In response, the Allies sought to coordinate their efforts, and subsequently, they created a Bizone in 1947 that merged the efforts of the zones controlled by Britain and the United States. This later became a Trizone in June of 1948 when France joined the United States and Britain.

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"Thus, it was in the context of mounting tensions that the Western Allies announced a meeting in London in January of 1948, known as the London Six-Power Conference. Representatives of Britain, France, and the United States met twice in the first half of 1948 to discuss Germany’s future. The Soviet Union notably did not attend these meetings and threatened to ignore any decisions resulting from them. At this point, the Soviets also began stopping British and American trains headed to Berlin in order to check passenger identities."

"Six-Power"?

"As a result of the Allied meetings, the Marshall Plan—or the European Recovery Program—was enacted in March of 1948. The Western Allies also finalized the economic merger of their three zones and agreed to establish a federal system of government for those zones. These developments alarmed Stalin, and privately, he decided to tighten his control over Berlin in order to gain some leverage in future negotiations.

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"From this point on, the relationship between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union deteriorated quickly. On March 20, the four parties met for a final time to try and work out their differences, but the meeting ended when the entire Soviet delegation walked out. U.S. President Truman would later note that this act not only formalized the fact that the four-power control model had become unworkable but, more importantly, for Berlin, this indicated “a major crisis.”

"The Soviets didn’t waste any time responding to these latest developments. On March 25, they issued orders restricting military and passenger traffic between the Western Allies’ occupation zones and Berlin. They instituted these changes on April 1, and they also announced that no cargo could leave Berlin by rail without the express permission of the Soviet commander. That meant that every train and truck would have to be searched by Soviet authorities. On April 2, the Americans promptly decided that all military trains should be halted and that the supplies would be transported by air from now on.

"In what was dubbed the “Little Lift,” the U.S. started airlifting supplies with cargo planes to Berlin. To build up supplies in case of future Soviet actions, some 20 flights per day delivered major food types to the Western Allies’ zones in Berlin. By the time the blockade began, they had accumulated at least 18 days’ worth of supplies for all major food types and, in some cases, more. While this was going on, Soviet military aircraft began to conduct fly-bys on flights in and out of West Berlin as a means of harassing them. The collision of a Soviet fighter plane with a British airliner on April 5 sparked an international incident, exacerbating tensions further between the Soviets and the other Allied powers."

Not mentioned often, is that? Wonder why that is.

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"Three days later, Soviet officials demanded the withdrawal of American military personnel who were maintaining communication equipment in the Eastern zone. That prevented the use of navigation beacons to chart air routes. On April 20, the Soviets began requiring all barges to obtain clearance before entering the Eastern zone.

"Added to these tensions was a currency crisis. The Soviets had debased the German Reichsmark with excessive printing, but they opposed plans for reform, saying that the only currency they would allow to circulate was currency they issued themselves. When the British and Americans proposed, in February of 1948, that there should be a new currency created to replace the Reichsmark, the Soviets refused to accept the proposal. Instead, the Soviets directed the military to introduce its own new currency, and that was the only currency they would permit in their sector of Berlin.

"Nevertheless, in June of 1948, the Western Allies announced that the new currency, the Deutsche Mark, would be introduced, and they transported 250,000,000 Deutsche Marks into the city of Berlin. It quickly became the standard currency in all of Berlin despite Soviet insistence that it would not be permitted in their sector. This infuriated Stalin and caused him to attempt to force the Western nations to abandon Berlin.

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"On June 19, the day after the Deutsche Mark was announced, Soviet guards halted all passenger trains and all traffic on the autobahn (motorway) to Berlin. They delayed all Western and German freight shipments, and they also required that all water transport should first receive special Soviet permission. The Deutsche Mark was then formally introduced on June 21, and on the same day, the Soviets halted a U.S. military supply train to Berlin. The following day, the Soviets announced that they would introduce their own new currency in their zone.

"The Soviets also launched a propaganda campaign condemning the Western Allies while at the same time conducting military maneuvers outside Berlin. On June 24, the Soviets cut off all land and water connections between non-Soviet zones and Berlin. They also halted all rail and barge traffic out of the city. The Western Allies responded by halting all rail traffic into East Germany from British and American zones. The following day, the Soviets stopped all food supplies to the civilian population in the non-Soviet zones of Berlin and also cut off the electricity and restricted motor traffic to the Western zones of the city, claiming that a bridge was being repaired.

"By this point in time, the Western part of Berlin had 36 days’ worth of food and 45 days’ worth of coal. Now, the Western Allies had to decide how they should respond."

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September 17, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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The Start of the Cold War

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"“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”

"—Winston Churchill"

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" ... Both the U.S. and Britain had drawn down their military forces following the end of World War II, and as a result, both were greatly outnumbered by the Soviet forces. Thus, while military action was considered, it soon became obvious that it wasn’t the best response.

"Luckily, while the Western Allies had neglected to negotiate for rail and road access to Berlin, they had negotiated for air corridors. Given that, the decision was made to implement an airlift of supplies. They had three air corridors providing free access to Berlin, and the Soviets would not be able to claim that cargo planes constituted a military threat. They would be faced with the decision of either shooting down an unarmed aircraft—thereby breaking their own agreements—or backing down.

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"When the U.S. decided that the only reasonable response to the blockade was an airlift, Air Force commanders contacted their counterparts in the British Royal Air Force. They learned that the RAF was already running an airlift in support of their troops in Berlin. And, British Air Commodore Reginald Waite had already calculated the resources that would be needed to support the two million people living in Berlin thanks to the Little Lift done in April."

" ... The grand total was 1,534 tons to sustain the Western part of Berlin. Additionally, 3,475 daily tons of coal and petrol would be required for heat and power.

"With this information in hand, the Western Allies began the Berlin Airlift on June 24, 1948. After working out some initial kinks in the system with traffic control and weather problems, the airlift began flying daily operations of more than 1,500 flights per day, delivering more than 4,500 tons of cargo, which was raised to 5,000 tons daily in January of 1949. While some of the efforts were hampered by Soviet harassment, the airlift was a tremendous success. The flights were easily able to sustain the Western Allied population of Berlin, and attempts by the Soviets to frighten the population into believing they would be abandoned failed miserably.

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"In December of 1948, elections held throughout Berlin effectively separated the city into the communist East and the capitalist West. The East was a communist system supervised by house, street, and block wardens. In the Western sector of the city, meanwhile, the newly elected parliament replaced the provisional constitution for all of Berlin with one that was restricted to the Western sectors only. Thus, the city had effectively divided itself, foreshadowing the divisions eventually created by the Berlin Wall.

"By April of 1949, the Soviet news agency, TASS, was reporting a willingness to lift the blockade. This prompted the four powers to begin negotiations that eventually resulted in an agreement reached on Western terms. On May 4, the Allies announced that an agreement had been reached to end the blockade in eight days, and at one minute after midnight on May 12, the Soviets lifted the Berlin Blockade. Enormous crowds celebrated the event, and General Lucius Clay was given a parade in New York City as well as a medal from President Truman for the instrumental part he played in the airlift.

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"Airlifts continued for some time after the blockade was lifted to rebuild a comfortable surplus should it be necessary to resume the airlift in the future. When three months’ worth of supplies were amassed, the Berlin Airlift officially ended on September 30, 1949. In total, over 2 million tons of supplies had been delivered in 15 months. The C-47 and C-54 cargo planes flew a combined 92 million miles (148 million kilometers) in 278,000 flights, which is almost the distance from the Earth to the sun. During the height of the airlift, one plane was reaching Berlin every 32 seconds, flown by pilots from the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. There were 101 fatalities during the operation, including 40 Brits and 31 Americans. Most of these were due to non-flying accidents. The total cost of the operation is estimated at up to 500 million dollars or the equivalent of more than 5 billion dollars today.

"While the Berlin Blockade had failed, it did serve to harden the divisions between East and West Germany and usher in the Cold War. Tensions remained high even after the blockade ended. The Allied counter-blockade stopped all traffic into East Germany from the Allied zones, and that dried up the coal and steel supply to the region. This hampered the industrial development for the East, which caused the Soviets to become worried about a political backlash.

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"In fact, many of those living in the Eastern Bloc wanted the Soviets to leave. They aspired to independence, and as a result, they began to take advantage of the zonal border between East and West Germany. That may also be a part of the reason why, on October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was declared as the official East German government as the Soviet military government formally handed over power to the East German authorities. The Soviets would still retain legal control over the GDR until 1955, however, and that included control over the regional governments. They also continued to exert considerable influence over the administrative and legislative activities throughout East Germany. Their influence was backed up by the large Soviet military presence that remained in the country, and that may have contributed to the continued flight of many East German citizens to the West.

"By 1950, some 187,000 people had relocated to West Germany. In 1951, the number was 165,000; in 1952, it was 182,000; and in 1953, it was a whopping 331,000. That sharp increase was due to fears that the Soviets were going to implement further restrictions given the erratic actions of Joseph Stalin in late 1952. People were so alarmed that 226,000 fled in just the first six months of 1953.

"At this time, the Soviets began to restrict emigration, and their actions were emulated by the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Up until 1952, the lines between East and West Germany could be easily crossed, but on April 1 of that year, Stalin’s foreign minister proposed a system of passes required for West Berliners to visit the East. Stalin also advised the East Germans to build up the border defenses. He indicated that the division between the two zones should be considered a border—and a dangerous one at that. He warned that the Germans should guard that border with their lives. That is what prompted the massive emigration in 1953.

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"By 1955, what was now called the inner German border had been closed, and the East Germans had erected a barbed-wire fence. Travel between East and West Berlin was still open, but there were some restrictions. Because the city was still open, though, it was a magnet for East Germans desperate to escape to the West. That made it a flashpoint for tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. When large numbers of East Germans came to Berlin in order toOn December 11, 1957, the authorities in East Germany introduced a new passport law which had the effect of reducing the overall number of refugees who could leave East Germany. However, that had the unintended effect of increasing the percentage of those who were able to emigrate to the West through Berlin. In fact, it rose from 60% to over 90% in 1958. That resulted in the East German authorities increasing the penalty for those East Berliners caught trying to leave. But, since there was no physical barrier that prevented them from doing so and, in fact, there was even subway train access to West Berlin, the penalties had little effect. Essentially the Berlin sector border was a loophole through which Eastern Bloc citizens could still escape. By 1961, some 3.5 million East Germans had left for the West, which was approximately 20% of the entire East German population at that time. defect to the West, the East German government responded by restricting virtually all travel in 1956.

"What’s more, the East Germans who were emigrating to the West tended to be young and well-educated—the loss was disproportionally high among engineers, physicians, teachers, and lawyers. In fact, Yuri Andropov, the Director of Relations for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, wrote a letter in 1958 decrying the significant increase in the number of intellectuals leaving for the West. He noted that the number had risen by some 50%. He also reported that the refugees had indicated they were leaving because of political differences rather than economic reasons, contradicting what had been previously reported by the East German leadership.

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"By 1960, East Germany was left with only a fraction of its previous workforce. The cost of this loss of manpower was estimated at almost 10 billion dollars, which prompted the East German leader, Walter Ulbricht, to demand compensation from the West for both reparations and the loss of manpower. This exodus of young professionals was so damaging to both the credibility and viability of East Germany that it became crucial to secure the border between the East and the West.

"Part of the reason that the East Germans had not closed the Berlin border earlier was that if they constructed a barrier, it would cut off a great deal of the railway traffic in East Germany. They had begun constructing a railway that bypassed West Berlin in 1951—known as the Berlin Outer Ring—but it wasn’t until its completion in 1961 that closing the Berlin border became a viable option."

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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The Building of the Berlin Wall

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"The construction of the Berlin Wall began on Sunday, August 13, 1961—a day which became known as Stacheldrahtsonntag, or “Barbed-Wire Sunday.” Two months earlier, the East German leader Walter Ulbricht had expressly denied that East German authorities had any intention of building a wall. By early August, however, a transcript of a telephone call between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and Ulbricht suggests that Khrushchev might have been the one who proposed building a border barrier. Khrushchev was certain that the U.S. would not respond as President John F. Kennedy had admitted to Khrushchev in a meeting that the U.S. wouldn’t actively oppose the building of a border barrier. Kennedy later admitted that was an error on his part.

"So it was that on August 12, 1961, several leaders of East Germany attended a party at a government house just to the north of East Berlin. It was there that Ulbricht signed an order to close the border and erect a wall. The border was then closed overnight. The troops and workers accomplished this by tearing up the streets to make them impassable to vehicles and installing barbed wire fences along the 100 miles (160 kilometers) that divided East and West Germany. That included the 27 miles (43 kilometers) of border that divided East and West Berlin.

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"The world watched in astonishment as this massive project—which many had dismissed as impossible—was finished. Those who opposed the construction were powerless to stop it since the East German authorities were careful to build the barrier inside East Berlin and East German territory. In fact, at some locations, it was a fair distance from the legal border so that there could be no claim that it encroached on the Western sectors. Inside East Germany, any protestors were quickly silenced by the secret police.

"Within a week, the East German authorities began placing the first concrete elements of the wall. Soon, the simple barbed wire fence had morphed into a heavily fortified and booby-trapped cement wall manned by guards with orders to kill anyone who tried to cross. In front of the wall was a huge area of “no man’s land,” which was jampacked with mines, alarms, and self-activating searchlights and which provided the guards with a clear line of sight for shooting defectors.

"When it was finished, the concrete wall was more than 87 miles (140 kilometers) long. It was supported by a second, parallel fence that was called the inner wall and was located some 110 yards (100 meters) further into East German territory. This area between the inner and outer wall became known as the death strip. It was covered with raked sand in order to make footprints more noticeable, and it had absolutely no cover so that guards had a clear line of fire. Anyone who tried to climb the inner wall was considered a criminal and could be fired upon without warning. Even if they did manage to climb the inner wall without being shot, the defectors still had to make it through an additional barbed wire fence, touch-activated alarms and floodlights, anti-personnel devices (such as metal spikes and traps), and trained attack dogs. This was all before the final, massive 12-feet-high (3.6 meters) concrete wall, with its smooth, rounded top, which made climbing it next to impossible.

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"Through the years, there were various renovations to the wall. The wire inner fence and concrete block wall were constructed in 1961, the wire fence was improved in 1965, and the concrete wall was improved between 1965 and 1975. The final version of the wall was only completed in 1980. The reinforcements were added to prevent people from driving their cars through the barricades, which happened in the early years of the wall; however, there were some strategic points at which the barrier was weaker to allow Soviet armored vehicles to break through should it be necessary in the event of war.

"There was also an unfortified strip of area on the outside of the wall that was there so workers could paint over graffiti or maintain the wall. These workers accessed the outer strip through hidden doors in the wall.

"The border was monitored by hundreds of watchtowers, which were regularly spaced along its length. By 1989, there were 529 watchtowers made of concrete along the inner border. All of them had electricity, telephones, and powerful 1,000-watt searchlights on the roof. Windows were built into the watchtowers so that guards could shoot refugees without leaving the tower. There were also a number of observation platforms built in trees, though these were less frequently used."

They give details of watch towers, bunkers and patrol dogs.

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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The Effects of Building the Wall

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"West Berliners began to demonstrate against the wall, and their mayor, Willy Brandt, criticized the U.S. for their failure to respond. The truth was that the Allied intelligence agencies had discussed the possible use of a wall to stop the flood of refugees that were coming from the East. And, the U.S. and U.K. had long expected the Soviets to seal off their sector. In fact, they were surprised it had taken so long. They also believed that the wall actually decreased the possibility of an attempted Soviet capture of the whole city of Berlin, or even the capture of the whole of Germany."

"Following the closure of the border, Kennedy made sure to test their access to West Berlin by sending Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and the then-retired General Lucius D. Clay to the city on August 19. The following day, on Sunday morning, U.S. troops marched from West Germany through East Germany to West Berlin. East German police watched as the U.S. troops traversed the autobahn but did nothing to deter them. During the next three and a half years, many battalions would rotate into West Berlin using the autobahn to do so, thereby reaffirming the Allied rights to the city."

"On June 26, 1963, President Kennedy first visited West Berlin after the erection of the wall and, in what is now considered the best-known speech of the Cold War, uttered the famous phrase, “Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a Berliner).” His goal with this speech was to underline American support for West Germany, and it was aimed both at the West Berliners who lived in constant fear of occupation and at the Soviets.

"For the East German authorities, the erection of the wall meant they were able to stop the flight of their citizens to the West. In addition, they were able to reassert control over East Germany. That helped to eliminate many of the economic problems which had been caused by the two competing German currencies. But, while the economy in East Germany began to grow, the wall proved to be a public relations disaster. It was constantly portrayed in media as a symbol of communist tyranny, and that was poignantly evident every time the border guards shot and killed East Germans attempting to defect to the West."

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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Traveling Across the Border

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"The construction of the Berlin Wall had an immediate effect on the lives of Germans—both East and West. Nowhere was this more evident than in Berlin. Out of necessity, there had to be provisions given the shared status of the city. Initially, West Berliners were not allowed to visit East Berlin at all, but in 1963, negotiations resulted in limited visits during the Christmas season, and that continued through 1966. Then, in 1971, agreements allowed West Berliners to visit regularly, although the East German authorities retained the right to refuse entry without stating a reason.

"Between East and West Berlin, there were nine border crossings that allowed for people with permits to enter East Berlin. Each of the crossings was restricted by nationality. The best known of these crossings was a vehicle and pedestrian checkpoint known as Checkpoint Charlie, located at the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse. This checkpoint was restricted to Allied personnel and foreigners—i.e., non-German Westerners. Both the Eastern and Western public transport networks linked up at Friedrichstrasse, which is why Checkpoint Charlie became such a major crossing point.

"The public transportation system of Berlin was also affected by the border closure. Several rail lines were divided, even cut in half, and many stations were closed as a result. Three Western lines continued to travel briefly into East German territory, bypassing closed, so-called “ghost stations” without stopping.

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"For travel between West Berlin and the rest of West Germany, the autobahn was normally used. In some cases, it was also possible to travel by train or by boat via canals. These routes were heavily guarded by high walls running parallel to them before they entered Berlin, which prevented potential escapees from hitching a ride on a train, car, or boat. Each vehicle was also carefully searched, oftentimes using dogs.

"Regardless of the method of travel, a visa was required to enter East Germany. Citizens desiring to visit areas outside of East Berlin would need to apply for a visa several weeks in advance, but if they were just visiting East Berlin, it was possible to get a permit for a day trip at the border checkpoint. The East German authorities could refuse visas without stating a reason, however, and there were plenty of risks associated with traveling to East Germany even if a visa was granted. Visitors were not allowed to take photographs, nor could they stray from the pre-approved route. They were in constant danger of being accused of breaching the visa rules, and plenty of visitors were arrested and imprisoned while in East Germany. Some of these prisoners were not even found until after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

................................................................................................

"East Berliners, on the other hand, were generally not permitted to travel to West Berlin or West Germany until after the wall fell, but, over the years, there were some exceptions to the rule. These exceptions included elderly pensioners, who were allowed to start visiting the West in November of 1964. The West interpreted this decision as a way for East Germany to unburden themselves of their senior citizens and stop paying their pensions. Whether this was the case or not, only a small number of pensioners chose to stay in the West; most returned home after their visit. The reasons for staying were diverse. Some apparently stayed because they felt safer in the East; others had begun to feel alienated from their Western relatives. Some complained that they could not stand being patronized or feeling like they were a burden.

"Those East Berliners who did visit the West could only exchange a very small amount of money, which would limit their financial resources while in the West. In response to that, West Germany began granting a small amount of Deutsche Marks, referred to as welcome money, to East German citizens who were visiting. That helped to alleviate the financial problem for visitors from the East.

"Another exception was made for people who traveled on official business. This included people employed by the government but also athletes, artists, scientists, and engineers, amongst others. For example, an artist might be permitted to visit West Germany for a book launch or film premiere.

................................................................................................

"Although people were only very rarely permitted to leave East Germany for anything other than business trips, they were sometimes allowed to travel to other countries within the Eastern Bloc. Czechoslovakia was the most common destination, but Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union also received a fair amount of visitors from East Germany during the years of the Berlin Wall. These visits were still heavily restricted because of the risk of defection. In Bulgaria, for example, groups of secret police patrolled the Black Sea resorts to deter people from escaping across the border to Turkey.

"For military personnel, the situation was different. Allied military personnel and civilian officials of Allied forces, and Soviet military patrols could bypass passport controls as well as the visa and money exchange requirements when entering or exiting West Berlin.

"Despite all these provisions for border crossings, the attempt to keep the East Germans hostage in their own land would not be able to stop the determined from attempting to cross into freedom."

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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Defection Attempts

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"Throughout the 28 years that the Berlin Wall was in place, approximately 5,000 people were successfully able to cross the wall and defect to the West. Additionally, there were at least 140 others who tried but never made it. Some estimates put the number of people killed while attempting to defect at well over 200. Regardless of the actual number killed, there is no doubt that the East German government issued shooting orders to border guards when dealing with defectors. One order, issued in 1973, instructed guards that those people attempting to cross the wall were criminals and needed to be shot. Specifically, the order said, “Do not hesitate to use your firearm, not even when the border is breached in the company of women and children, which is a tactic the traitors have often used.”

"Early on, after the wall was first erected, people were able to cross by simply jumping the barbed wire barrier or even leaping out of apartment windows adjacent to the border. Bernauer Strasse, in particular, quickly became a popular escape route since, on this street, the house-fronts marked the border. People simply climbed out of the windows of apartments belonging to the Eastern sector of the city and dropped down onto the street below, which belonged to the West.

"The first officially recognized person to escape by jumping the Berlin Wall was Konrad Schumann on August 15, 1961, two days after the wall was first erected. Schumann was 19 years old and stationed as a border guard when he decided to jump over the barbed wire fence and defect to West Germany. These types of escapes were not possible, however, after the wall was fortified. Additionally, the East German officials stopped allowing the apartments near the wall to be occupied. In fact, any building near the wall had its windows boarded—and later bricked—up.

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"The first officially recognized casualty of the Berlin Wall was Ida Siekmann, a 58-year-old nurse who died after jumping out of her third-floor apartment at Bernauer Strasse on August 22, 1961. By this time, the East German authorities had already barred the windows and entrances on the lower levels, but nevertheless, Ida was determined to escape. She had help in the form of the West Berlin fire department, who were waiting below her window to catch her with a jumping sheet. However, before they could properly open the sheet, Ida threw her dearest possessions down onto the street and jumped. Sadly, she was severely injured and died on her way to the hospital.

"The first person to be fatally shot trying to cross the border was 24-year-old Günter Litfin. He was killed as he attempted to swim across the River Spree on August 24, 1961. That was the same day that the East German police first received shoot-to-kill orders to prevent defections. Just a few days later, on August 29, another young East Berliner was shot and killed while trying to swim to West Berlin, this time across the Teltow Canal.

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"There were several dramatic defection attempts through the years. On April 17, 1963, Wolfgang Engels, a 19-year-old car mechanic, stole a Soviet armored personnel carrier and tried to drive it through the wall. It didn’t fully penetrate the wall, however, and got stuck halfway on the fortified border. Border guards shot Engels twice as he exited the vehicle and might have killed him had it not been for a West German policeman who intervened and fired at the border guards. Meanwhile, a group of West Berliners was able to pull Engels, who had become entangled in barbed wire, to safety.

"In another case, up to four people escaped in a sports car they had modified to allow the roof and windscreen to come away when the car made contact with a metal beam placed at checkpoints to prevent this kind of defection. They simply ducked and kept driving forward.

"Other dramatic and successful defections involved digging tunnels under the wall, using hot air balloons to fly over it, sliding along aerial wires, and flying ultralights (a type of small hang gliding airplane) across the border. One man even successfully escaped in a homemade mini-submarine. Another man modified a car to look like a Soviet vehicle and, after matching the vehicle with three mannequins wearing Soviet uniforms, bluffed his way through a checkpoint.

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"After the sports car escape, the East Germans built zig-zagging roads at the checkpoints so that drivers couldn’t gain the speed they would need to bust through the barrier. Still, that didn’t deter the attempts. Some people escaped through the sewers, and at least 70 tunnels were dug under the wall, allowing some 400 people to escape. One of the first tunnels was dug in a cemetery in Pankow. Using this, twenty people disguised as mourners made their escape under the wall.

"Perhaps the most famous tunnel digger was Harry Seidel, a professional racing cyclist who made it his mission to help people cross the border. Thanks to his great athleticism, he first escaped to the West by simply vaulting the wall in August of 1961. He repeated this feat several times as he returned to rescue his wife, child, and other family and friends. One day, after nearly being caught on the border, he decided to start digging tunnels instead. Seidel was finally arrested on one of these rescue missions in November 1962, after which he was sentenced to life in prison.

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"After this, the East Germans resorted to seismographic and acoustic equipment as well as undercover agents and counter-tunneling to thwart further subterranean escape attempts. They had even planned to use explosives to destroy one tunnel, but the attempt was unexpectedly sabotaged by a member of the Soviet secret police.

"Airborne escapes were also attempted from time to time. In July of 1987, Thomas Krüger successfully escaped and landed a Zin Z 42M light aircraft at a British military airbase in southwestern Berlin. The Royal Air Force dismantled the aircraft and sent it back to the East Germans afterward, but only after painting several humorous slogans on the pieces. One such slogan said, “Wish you were here,” while another implored, “Come back soon.”

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"While Westerners occasionally intervened and aided in escape attempts, they were usually unable to help if a fugitive was wounded and lying on the death strip. The fear was that it could trigger the East Berlin border guards to open fire on them. Initially, the border guards would frequently allow wounded defectors to bleed to death in the death strip. In one notorious case, on August 17, 1962, 18-year-old Peter Fechter was shot trying to climb the wall. He fell back onto the death strip on the East German side and slowly bled to death in front of hundreds of Western onlookers, including journalists. Despite his screams, Fechter received no medical attention apart from a few bandages which were thrown to him by a West Berlin police officer but which he could not reach. He died after about an hour. The resulting negative worldwide publicity caused the East Berlin leaders to restrict shooting in public places and to provide medical care for wounded defectors. Additionally, after the wall fell, the border guards who had shot Fechter were convicted of manslaughter.

"The last person to be shot to death at the Berlin Wall was 20-year-old Chris Gueffroy. He mistakenly believed that the “shoot to kill” order had been lifted and so attempted to climb the wall on February 6, 1989. He died after being shot twice in the chest. Gueffroy is sometimes wrongly cited as the last person to die in an attempt to cross the wall, but that person was, in fact, 32-year-old Winfried Freudenberg. He was killed when he fell from a homemade gas balloon on March 8, 1989."

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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The Winds of Change

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"The eventual fall of the Berlin Wall was the product of two processes that had been gathering momentum throughout the second half of 1989. One involved a number of peaceful demonstrations and marches made by several newly constituted East German civil rights organizations. The other involved the defection of an increasing number of East German citizens through other Eastern Bloc nations. Most of this was occurring through Hungary, which had opened its border with Austria in May of the same year. Many East Germans on holiday in Hungary at the time took advantage of the opportunity to defect to the West.

"Eventually, when Hungary stopped more East Germans from crossing the border with Austria and returned them to Budapest, the East Germans flooded the West German embassy there and refused to be returned to East Germany. The East German government then stopped any further travel to Hungary, but that only triggered similar events in Czechoslovakia, and this time, the East German authorities allowed people to leave if they would agree to do so by train through East Germany. Before long, the trickle of defections had become a flood—some estimates put the numbers of daily defections in the thousands by the week the wall finally came down.

................................................................................................

"Another factor in the fall of the wall was evidence for manipulated elections in East Berlin. Opposition groups had managed to smuggle clear evidence of election fraud to media outlets in West Germany, and that news was then broadcast back into East Germany. As a result, something astonishing happened—a few dozen East Germans gathered to protest the election results. Though those initial demonstrations were quickly dismissed by East German authorities, who arrested more than 100 demonstrators, it didn’t take long until those initial, tentative protests grew into massive demonstrations that would eventually bring down the wall. That pressure from within was compounded by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of perestroika, or reconstruction, which resulted in the gradual opening of borders in other communist countries in the Eastern Bloc.

"Still, it was the internal demonstrations that played the largest role in bringing about change. By October of 1989, there were regular marches through several East German cities as the opposition gained courage and momentum. Only a few days before the fall of the wall, approximately half a million protestors gathered in Alexanderplatz in East Berlin for the famous Alexanderplatz Demonstration, during which they demanded democratic reform of East Germany. It was the first privately organized demonstration permitted to take place in East German history."

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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The Fall of the Berlin Wall

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"By early November of 1989, there were waves of refugees leaving East Germany through Hungary via Czechoslovakia or the West German Embassy in Prague. The new leader, Egon Krenz, who had replaced Erich Honecker on October 18, tolerated the flight of the refugees. However, the number of people seeking to leave via Czechoslovakia soon became so high that it was difficult for both countries to manage. For that reason, Krenz decided on November 9, 1989 to open the border checkpoints between East and West Germany, including those between East and West Berlin. The new regulations were to go into effect the following day.

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"Krenz tasked Günter Schabowski, the spokesperson for the East German government, with announcing the new regulations to the media. However, Schabowski had not been involved in the discussions that led to the new regulations, nor was he aware that the regulations were to be announced and go into effect the following day, on November 10, to allow time for the border guards to be informed. Thus, Schabowski mistakenly read out the new regulations at the end of his daily press conference on November 9. When a reporter asked when the regulations would take effect, he replied after a few seconds of hesitation, “As far as I know… it takes effect immediately… without delay.”

"Schabowski’s press conference was the lead story on West Germany’s two main news programs that evening, and the news was also broadcasted throughout East Germany. Anchorman Hanns Joachim Friedrichs famously proclaimed, “This 9 November is a historic day. The GDR has announced that, starting immediately, its borders are open to everyone. The gates in the wall stand open wide.”

"Upon hearing the news, East Germans began gathering at the wall at the six checkpoints in Berlin, and they demanded that the guards open the gates. The guards, having received no prior warning, didn’t know what to do, and they were soon overwhelmed by the thousands who gathered at the checkpoints. The East German authorities would not issue orders to use lethal force, and thus, the guards had no way to hold back the massive crowds. By 10:30 pm, a group of East Berliners had swarmed the checkpoint area at Bornholmer Strasse, threatening the border guards who were struggling to maintain control of the crowd. Finally, fifteen minutes later, the checkpoint commander, Harald Jäger, ordered his men to open the border and allow people to pass freely. By midnight, all border checkpoints had been forced open in a similar fashion.

................................................................................................

"The East Germans were greeted with open arms and champagne as both sides rejoiced in their newfound freedom. Wild celebration ensued with West Berliners jumping on top of the wall and tearing down sections with hammers and chisels. Those celebrations continued into the next days and weeks as East Germans flooded into the West for the first time in 28 long years.

"There would be hard work ahead for the reunification of Germany, but for one moment in time, people stood united. The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of those rare moments in history that resonated on a global level.

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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Aftermath

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" ... The euphoria of the night of November 9, 1989 was felt throughout both Germanies. Berlin partied through the night, overwhelmed by the historic enormity of what was taking place. ... "

"Within the next six weeks, over 2.5 million East Germans visited the West. Having lived in an oppressive state with limited choices, they were amazed by the broad range of items they saw on supermarket shelves, and they were excited to try McDonald’s and “real” chocolate for the first time. Once the initial excitement subsided, however, the East Germans faced some serious decisions about their future.

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"In March of 1990, East Germany held its first free elections in 40 years, and the citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of reunification with West Germany. Still, reunifying the two Germanies would prove tremendously challenging as their existing social, political, and economic systems were on the opposite ends of the scale.

"Probably the biggest challenges to the reunification for East Germany were economic in nature. Under the control of the Socialist Unity Party, food prices and rents in East Germany were subsidized, and individuals were guaranteed employment. As the West German system of capitalism took over that of the East, the cost of living skyrocketed in East Germany as did unemployment, which rose from 0% to 16% in just three years following the reunification."

Surprising part is that 0% bit, and the fact that a nation known most for efficiency couldn't keep that up.

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"Aside from the severe economic impact, the East Germans were also adjusting to various cultural changes. They had to assimilate to a whole new way of living with a new currency, new ways of thinking, and even trivial things such as new shop names and fashion trends. It’s difficult to imagine how overwhelming these changes must have been for the East German citizens. Many felt ashamed of their ignorance. One woman wrote in her diary, “Everywhere is becoming like a foreign land. I have always wanted to travel to foreign parts, but I have always wanted to come home again.” Now, home was foreign too."

Again, it's difficult to understand why the East German concerns just folded. Was the famed competence only in West, and if so, was it part of gift of Marshall Plan?

"Both East and West Germans commented that “their clocks tick differently.” Many had expected the two countries to reunify seamlessly because of their shared history, and few anticipated the differences created by the long time they were divided. Moreover, once the wall came down, many friendships between East and West Germans that had thrived through the years of forced separation, now dwindled once the Iron Curtain was drawn back.

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"West Germans failed to see how the promise of democracy and freedom could be anything but positive for their Eastern counterparts. They failed to consider the culture shock their Eastern friends were suffering. Some West Germans interpreted the reticence on the part of East Germans as ungrateful and began calling them Jammerossis, or “moaning Easterners.” The West Germans did not recognize that the nostalgia experienced by their Eastern friends was not for the oppression they had experienced, but rather the familiar culture in which they had felt comfortable. For those West Germans who were quick to criticize, the East Germans had a term of their own—Besserwessis, or “know-it-all Westerners.”

"Even today, 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the East still lags behind the West economically. And, both political and psychological divisions are increasingly obvious. Only 38% of East Germans think that reunification was a success, and for those under 40, that drops to 20%. Part of the problem is that, though Germany’s powerhouse economy has lifted both the East and the West, disparities still remain. Salaries and disposable income in the East are only 85% of that in the West, and East Germans are underrepresented as leaders in politics, academia, and business. It is a poignant reminder of just how long the legacy of oppression endures. Though the physical wall stands no more, for many East Germans, the psychological wall still divides them from their Western counterparts."

Considering that Prussia, which had dominated Germany for most of its history as a nation, was part of East Germany, its surprising this was or has been so.

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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Conclusion

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Those stealing across borders of East Bengal are doing it, for most part, on a slightly subtle and long term basis.

Unless they are Hindus, fleeing persecution of Islamic culture that seeks to wipe out that of their beloved homeland.

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"When the wall came down on the night of November 9, 1989, the world celebrated with Germany. As East Berliners flowed into West Berlin, they were greeted with champagne and warm embraces. The subsequent adjustment to reunification would not be as euphoric as that magical night, however, as East Germans struggled to adjust culturally and economically to a brave new world.

"Even 30 years after the reunification, disparities are still evident. They are a testament to the enduring trauma caused by authoritarian regimes—a cautionary tale for a modern world struggling with difficult challenges."

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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Bibliography

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"Buckley, William F. (2004). The Fall of the Berlin Wall.

"Childs, David (2001). The Fall of the GDR: Germany's Road To Unity.

"Major, Patrick (2009). Behind the Berlin Wall: East Germany and the Frontiers of Power.

"Miller, Roger G. (2015). To Save A City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949.

"Rottman, Gordon L. (2008). The Berlin Wall and the Intra-German Border 1961-89.

"Smyser, W. R. (2009). Kennedy and the Berlin Wall: "A Hell of a Lot Better Than a War".

"Taylor, Frederick (2006). The Berlin Wall: A World Divided."

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September 18, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

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................................................................................................

The Berlin Wall: A History from Beginning to End

Hourly History

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September 17, 2022 - September 18, 2022.

Purchased September 17, 2022.

ASIN:- B09LV55B92

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4992508835

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Reviews - Books I Read - DRJG

Sunday, September 18, 2022

The Berlin Wall: A History from Beginning to End; by Hourly History.

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