PART 1: The United States and the Soviet Union had begun to have opposing ideas and beliefs Both of them wanted to press their ideas onto post-war Germany During this time, a border started being built along the border between Soviet occupied Germany and Germany occupied by the US, the UK and France This border was soon closed, but the border in Berlin remained open, meaning that to go from East to West Germany, you had to go through Berlin Constructed in the early hours of 13 August 1961 It was 144 kilometres long and four metres tall It consisted of two walls, seperated by a path of mined land surrounded by guards, knows as the ‘death strip’ By 1989, there were 302 watchtowers around the wall The DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, the name for East Berlin) built fences in the early morning of the 13th August to prevent even more people leaving East Berlin and entering West Berlin The Allied forces (France, UK, US and the Soviet Union) occupied Germany and Berlin Tensions between the Western Allies (France, the UK, the US) and the Soviet Union started to appear Due to the Communist regime, a lot of people left Soviet occupied East Germany and went to West Germany (occupied by the Western Allies) A lot of people tried to flee East Berlin by climbing over the wall, but at least 140 people lost their lives between 1961 and 1989 while climbing overt the wall Around 1000 people died along the whole border between the DDR and BRD (Bundesrepublik - the area of Germany occupied by the Western Allies) The original wall was built of barber wire and cinder blocks, but later, they were replaced with concrete walls topped with barbed wire and guarded with watch towers and mines (296 words) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berlin-Wall https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-berlin-wall-built-fell#:~:text=In%20the%20wee%20hours%20of,sides%20of%20the%20new%20border. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_136183.htm#:~:text=The%20decision%20was%20taken%20to,division%20between%20the%20Allied%20forces. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-the-berlin-wall-and-how-did-it-fall#:~:text=The%20Berlin%20Wall%20was%20heavily%20guarded&text=Measuring%20155%20kilometres%20(96%20miles,as%20the%20%27death%20strip%27. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-the-berlin-wall-and-how-did-it-fall#:~:text=The%20Berlin%20Wall%20was%20heavily%20guarded&text=Measuring%20155%20kilometres%20(96%20miles,as%20the%20%27death%20strip%27.
PART 2: After the Second World War, Germany had been divided up amongst the four countries occupying it: The US, The UK, France, The Soviet Union. The US, the UK and France were known as the Western Allies. The Soviet Union had named itself the DDR(Deutsche Demokratische Republik). After the Second World War, Germany was occupied by the four countries which had allied with each other during the war. The US, the UK and France had taken and shared West Germany amongst themselves, while The Soviet Union had received East Germany. After the Second World War, the US and The Soviet Union had begun to have opposing ideas and beliefs on topics, such how the government should be run, Communism and more. Both of them wanted to impress their ideas on to post-war Germany but they could not agree. Thus, tensions started forming between The Soviet Union and The US, the UK and France During this time, a wall had started being built between East and West Germany along the borders. However, Berlin had been left open. Conditions in East Germany had started worsening with a new regime under the Soviet Union. Thus, a lot of people had started leaving East Germany in hope of finding a better life there as under Communism, the quality of life had started decreasing and a lot of people lived in poverty. However, as the borders between East and West Germany had started to close, people had to go through Berlin to cross the border as Berlin did not have a closed border. In the early hours of the morning on the 13th August 1961, the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) (another name for East Germany) built a wall in Berlin, completely separating East and West Germany as they had closed the only remaining open border. This was done to prevent even more people, than had already left East Germany leaving. The wall was made us of two walls. Between them, there was an area known as the ‘Death Strip’. This strip was filled and surrounded by land mines and heavily guarded by guards. The wall was 144 kilometers long and 4 metres tall. Originally, it was made out of barbed wire and cinder blocks. However, subsequently, it was replaced by a concrete wall topped with barbed wire five metres high. Over time, the wall had become more heavily guarded, and by 1988, there were 302 watchtowers surrounding the wall. A lot of people tried to flee East Germany and East Berlin, but unfortunately, at least 104 people lost their lives between 1961 and 1989 while trying to escape over the wall. During the time in which the wall stood, around 1000 people lost their lives while trying to escape over the whole border. (458 words)
