Berlin Wall

The crisis in Berlin in 1948-49 was due to Communist expansion in Europe. Germany was occupied by the 4 Powers (England, France, America, & Russia) as was the CITY of Berlin. It was at this time that Russia was consolidating its power throughout Eastern Europe starting with Poland and Czechoslovakia, Hungary Romania etc. Since Russia already controlled the eastern portion of Germany(East Germany) and Berlin was located in the middle of their territory, the Russians felt the Western powers,with a little pressure, would cede Berlin over to them since the West was demobilized and under prepared for another war. But when the Western powers , specifically the US & UK, didn't back down and threatened to nuke Russia instead, the Russians blockaded the city under the guise of "doing maintenance on the roads and rails". (Remember, the Russians didn't have the bomb yet). This blockade cut off all food, medical supples, gasoline and coal. Berlin, still in chaos from the war, was devastated and the citizen of the city were threatened with extinction. Because the military was allowed access through narrow air corridors, they came up with the idea to save the city via the now famous "Berlin Airlift".

The Berlin Wall was constructed during the eighth month of JFK's first year as president. It was constructed by the communist government of the German Democratic Republic, with the Soviet Union's encouragement, to put an end to the exodus of its own citizens to the western, allied sectors of Berlin, and from there to the free, democratic west. JFK purposely did nothing to prevent its construction because he believed at the time that it was the only way to stabilize the situation and prevent a possible war with the Soviet Union and the eastern bloc communist powers.

Some at the time and over the years have sharply criticized Kennedy for not physically preventing the wall's erection, believing that the Soviet Union was only bluffing by threatening a military response. Some of these critics believe the decision by the Soviets to attempt to equip communist Cuba with intercontinental ballistic missles in 1962 stemmed from their perception of Kennedy as a weak leader.

For further discussion read the post for the following query: How_did_the_Berlin_Wall_contribute_to_the_growing_narrative_that_JFK_was_weak_when_dealing_with_communism

following World War 2, there was a general consensus that Germany had to be controlled to prevent a future German leader from attempting to take over Europe as Hitler had attempted. Germany was divided into 3 parts, each to be monitored and controlled by either Russia, Britain or United States. The United states and Britain were pretty lax about the whole occupation era, and Western Germany was allowed autonomy in most areas, with little more than Western military presence. Berlin was divided into an east and a west section, with Russia controlling East Berlin, and the western allies controlling West Berlin. As the "cold war" started to increase, suspicions grew between Russia, which became the "Soviet Union" and the West. As conditions in East Germany (Soviet controlled) became unbearable, Germans were attempting to sneak into the more free "West Germany". To prevent that, the Soviets built a huge wall to protect their interest and to keep East Germans in the East. As the Soviet Union started to break down, It became evident to the Soviets that Germany would be United, so they finally followed President Regan's advice to "tear down this wall." In fairness to the Soviets, the Germans had caused incredible amounts of destruction and pain over the years and there was quite a bit of contempt toward the Germans. The Soviets wanted to make sure that Germany would never be strong enough to do it again. The Berlin Wall was part of that solution.

It was a wall that divided East Germany and West Germany.

The Berlin wall is, of corse as you can tell, a wall. It separated east Berlin from west Berlin. It was built in 1961/62.

It was a wall separating Germany into two parts East, and West Berlin. East controlled by Soviet Union and the west controlled by United States, France, and Great Britain.

The Berlin Wall was constructed by the Russians in 1961 in an attempt to cordon off the allied sector of West Berlin, occupied by the French, Americans, and British. The Berlin Wall stood until 1989, when it fell along with the rest of the Iron Curtain. The Berlin Wall is often used as an example of extreme isolationism, and was a serious diplomatic blow to relations between Russia and the rest of the world.
The Berlin Wall was a wall erected by the Russians to separate their part of East Berlin from the Western Powers part, known as West Berlin. It was to prevent many East-Berliners crossing over to the more prosperous west. The wall also separated many families and communities.