The Berlin Wall Flashcards
What contrast was there between East and West Berlin?
- Living standards were tolerable in the East
- However in the West, East Germans could see the prize exhibits of capitalist West Germany
- E.g. shops full of goods, great freedom, great wealth and variety
- This had been done deliberately by the Western powers and they’d poured massive investment into Berlin
- East Germans could watch West German television
Did people begin to leave East Germany and move to the West?
Yes, in the late 1950s thousands left and never came back as they could travel freely between the East and West. It was very tempting for many to leave, especially with a harsh communist regime and hardline leader in the East - Walter Ulbricht.
What type of people were leaving East Germany?
Often very highly skilled workers or well-qualified managers - high-quality people.
Who became the new president of American in 1961?
Kennedy, who was young and inexperienced
13 August 1961
- East German soldiers erected a barbed-wire barrier along the entire frontier between East and West Berlin, ending all free movement from East to West
- Quickly replaced by a concrete wall
What was Checkpoint Charlie?
All the crossing points from East to West Berlin were sealed, expect for one (known as Checkpoint Charlie)
What chaos ensued with the Berlin Wall?
- Families were divided
- Berliners were unable to go to work
- Border guards kept a constant look-out for anyone trying to cross the wall
- They would shoot people trying to defect
- Hundreds were killed over the next three decades
What were the outcomes of the Berlin Wall crisis?
- Access to East Berlin had been guaranteed to the Allies since 1945
- In October 1961 US diplomats and troops crossed regularly into East Berlin to find out how the Soviets would react
- On 27 October Soviet tanks pulled up to Checkpoint Charlie and refused to allow any further access to the East
- All day, US and Soviet tanks, fully armed, faced each other in tense stand-offs
- After 18 hours, one by one, five metres at a time, the tanks pulled back
What was the Berlin Wall a symbol of?
A symbol of division - the division of Germany, Europe and communist East and democratic West.
How did East Berlin present the wall?
The communist presented the wall as a protective shell around East Berlin.
How did West Berlin present the wall?
As a prison wall
Was the wall between East and West Germany?
No, between East and West Berlin.
