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Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall divided East and West Berlin. It represented the split in both the country of Germany and the division of Europe into two distinct armed camps.
900 Questions
How many people left east Berlin?
over 5,ooo people managed to cross the wall and another 5,000 were either killed or captured 191 people died during the actual crossing but the Berlin wall covered up there killing so well that we do not know exactly how many people died .
Who were the key people involved in the fall of the Berlin wall?
The building of the Berlin Wall was ordered by East German leader Walter Ulbricht, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, SED).
The man given the responsibilty of overseeing the building of the wall was Erich Honnecker, the Central Committee secretary for security matters. In official SED-jargon the wall was referred to as antifaschistische Schutzwall - antifascist barricade.
Ironically, Honnecker was the leader of East Germany when the wall was finally breached on November 9 1989 and opened to unrestricted traffic, marking the beginning of the end of the wall.
Following the reunification of Germany Honnecker fled to the Soviet Union, but was extradited back to Germany where he faced charges in relation to the deaths of East Germans, who had illegally attempted to leave East Germany (as de facto head of the GDR from 1971, Honnecker was responsible for maintaining the border guards' shoot-to-kill orders in repsect of people attempting to flee the country. From 1961 to 1989, a toatal of 192 people were killed attempting to escape). At his trial, Honnecker admitted "political responsibility" for the deaths but denied any "legal or moral responsibility". The trial was eventually halted as Honnecker was dying of cancer and in January 1993 he left the country to live in exile in Chile. Honnecker died on 29 May 1994, having never shown any remorse for the victims of the wall.
What did the Berlin wall look like?
The Berlin Wall was a wall of many colors with lots of writing on it.
It is still in West Germany - in the north. Germany is now a unified country and no longer divided into East and West.
Were people on the West side of the Berlin Wall starved?
From June or July 1948 till May 1949 the Soviet Union blockaded (stopped) all surface traffic to and from West Berlin. This meant that West Berlin - a city of over 2 million inhabitants - had to be supplied by air (by the US, Britain and France). Even coal for the generating stations was flown in. Please bear in mind that military transport plans at the time were small by present standards. In the winter of 1948-49 conditions became grim. Stalin lifted the blockade in May 1949, but the whole businness left a legacy of bitterness that lasted for decades.
How many years did the Berlin Wall stand?
The original barrier was established August 13, 1961 and the wall was later enlarged several times.
The wall "fell" on November 9th, 1989 when the East German government ended all efforts to control or monitor the wall.
What was the most commonly hated symbol of the Cold War?
The most commonly hated symbol of the Cold War was the Berlin Wall.
Who was president of US when the Berlin Wall fell down?
The Berlin wall fell in November of 1989. The president of West Germany was Richard von Weizsäcker and the president of East Germany was Egon Krenz. The United States president was George H. W. Bush.
How many people succeeded in getting over the Berlin wall?
10, but they all ate pancakes and played patty-cake when they got to the other side. 2 of them stubbed their toes and fell into huge piles of cow dung trying to get over, 3 of them shouted the theme song to pokemon adventures gold, and the 5 other people oiled up and crawled there like slugs.
What was on the soviet's side of the iron curtain?
The two sides of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War were the Soviet Union and Europe. This was a symbolic barrier put up to limit the West's influence.
What is the best primary source about the fall of the Berlin wall?
The journal of someone who was present at the fall of the Berlin wall would be an excellent source, or television footage of the event, or really anything first-person. People who were actually there and participated are always the best sources for any historical event.
In which german city did the communists bulid a wall to keep people from escaping to freedom?
The Communists built a 28 mile long wall in Berlin, Germany to separate the Democratic western, and Communist eastern halves of Germany during the Cold War
What was Stalin's reaction to the iron curtain speech?
Stalin died in 1953; the Berlin Wall went up in about '60/61.
What was Gorbachev's role in the fall of the Berlin Wall?
Gorbachev's liberalization programs "Glasnost" (openness) and "Perestroika" (reform) kept the Soviet Army from running any re-liberation campaigns in the nations of the Warsaw Pact.
Contrast this to 1968 when Alexander Dubcek decided to make some reforms in Czechoslovakia. The Soviets responded by sending 200,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers into Czechoslovakia.
Why did they divide the Berlin wall?
To keep out west Germans and to keep east Germans from escaping communism
What were some events that led to the falling of the Berlin Wall?
The Berlin Wall stood from 1961 until 1989. During this time - Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech and JFK was assassinated in 1963, The Beatles gave their first concert in America in 1964, Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, MLK and Robert Kennedy were assassinated in 1968, the moon landing occurred in 1969, the 26th constitutional amendment was passed in the United States. In 1978 the first 'test-tube' baby was born in England and the Jamestown mass suicide occurred. The Three-Mile Island nuclear reactor incident occurred in 1979. In 1986 the Challenger space shuttle explodes.
What is Reagan's tear down this wall speech?
When Regan visited Berlin, he made a speech challenging the Soviets (specifically General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev) to end the separation of Germany into democratic-self ruled West Germany and Comunist East Germany that was propped up by the Soviet Union. The Berlin wall was perhaps to all, the ugliest reminder of that separation. Regan had seen considerable change in the Soviet leader and seemed to think this bold statement would make a difference by focusing public opinion to end divided Germany. This gutsy move paid off, setting Regan above many as a humanitarian and political leader.
