A movie that shows why the symbol of the East-West Cold War "Berlin Wall" was constructed and how it was destroyed

ByZoetnet

The symbol of the East-West Cold War, which has divided East and West Germany into two for the 28 years from 1961 to 1989Berlin Wall"TED-Ed has released a movie to explain why it was constructed and why it was destroyed in an easy-to-understand manner.

The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall - Konrad H. Jarausch - YouTube


Morning of August 13, 1961


Construction workers in East Germany, while being protected by soldiers and police, built walls throughout Berlin.



This is the moment of the birth of the "Berlin Wall" which is the most notoriously historical.


It took more than ten years since the wall construction work.


The city is divided by the Berlin Wall, and some people have been separated from their families depending on the location. This wall is not only physically split Germany, but it can also be said that it was born in a fight bisecting the world.


To know about the Berlin Wall you need to go back to the Second World War.


At the time, the allied side by the United States, Britain, France, Soviet Union was conflicting with the Axis countries consisting of Germany, Italy and Japan.


After the end of the war, the Nazi Germany was dismantled, the four countries of the victorious countries America, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union share the German land and each begins occupation governance.


Western countries of the United States, the United Kingdom and France promoted the free market economy, but the Soviet Union continues to promote communism even in Germany, which was under occupation like its own.


The relationship between the Soviet Union and the Western countries worsened, Western countries established the "German Federal Republic (West Germany)" on the west side of Germany and the Soviet Union "Germany" Democratic Republic (East Germany) on the east side.


The German Democratic Republic, which became a satellite of the Soviet Union, restricted migration and trade with the West ... ...


On the east side and the west side of Germany are the invisible walls, commonly known as "Iron curtainIt will be told that it exists.


It was the former capital of Berlin that was in the most difficult situation in Germany.


Although Berlin was located completely on the East German side positionally ... ...


After the Second World War, it was jointly managed by Allied Powers.


Therefore, the United States, the United Kingdom, France had made a democratic independent zone in the western part of Berlin, but the people of the East Germany who live in the eastern district were prohibited from leaving the eastern district.


For the leaders of East Germany, the West District, which has been released without any gap, seems to have been a big problem.


Therefore, the leaders of East Germany tackle measures such as criticizing West Germany as being the successor of the Nazi regime.


On the other hand, the west side of the United States, England and France had to provide huge funds to the reconstruction of West Germany. In contrast, the Soviet Union seems to have had just take the exact opposite of correspondence with or adopted a policy that causes loss or winding up the resources from East Germany as compensation for war, the economic competitiveness.


In addition, the life in East Germany is secret policeStageIt seems that it was turned into a very cramped thing that citizens are monitoring whether they work cheating or not by using eavesdropping and advertisements.


Compared to the East and West Germany at that time, East Germany was able to receive medical and education for free, but West Germany has high salary, lots of luxury goods, individual freedom is high.


Through these accumulations, it seems that about 3.5 million people, about 20% of the population of East Germany, have exiled to the west by 1961, despite being forbidden.


As a result, in order to prevent further outflow of human resources, East Germans decided to build a wall of Berlin.


The Berlin Wall extends 43 kilometers along the east and west German border and extends for 112 km to surround the western part of Berlin.


The early Berlin Wall was a simple one consisting of fence and barbed wire.


Several Berliners succeeded in escaping to the west by overcoming a fence or jumping off a window, but it will become more difficult as wall construction progresses.


In 1965, a concrete wall with a height of 3.6 m and a length of 106 km was completed.


It seems that a smooth pipe was installed on the top of the wall to make it difficult to climb.


In the following years, around the Berlin Wall there are spike strips, dogs, landmines


302 monitoring towers and 20 bunkers were established and it became impossible to exile to the west beyond the wall anymore.


The position 100 meters from the fence ......


Zone called "Desistrip"


All the buildings etc located in this Death Strip were destroyed.


This seems to ensure visibility so that the border guard can shoot at any time the person who entered the Death Strip.


Nevertheless, from 1961 to 1989, the number of exiles crossing the East Germany has reached 5,000.


There were diplomats and athletes among the exiles ... ...


It is said that most people are civilians, digging tunnels, swimming canals, flying through the sky with a hot air balloon, and crossing the border.


There seems to be some who destroyed the wall with stolen tanks and exiled.


But, of course, there is a big risk to exile. There were 138 people who died during exile.


The Berlin Wall seems to have prevented the outflow of the workforce and stabilized the economy of the East Germany, but dropped the reputation of East Germany and became a symbol of the global "communist repression".


After that, in 1972 as part of East and West German reconciliationEast-West German basic treatyWill be concluded.


Along with this, the East German regime will allow opportunities for families to visit little by little.


However, it seems that it was sent to make it difficult to implement by setting difficult procedures and high commissions.


Still many people exercised this right.


And around the end of the 1980s, democratization movements will accelerate in Eastern European countries.


In successive demonstrations and others, signs of collapse gradually come to appear in communism.


And on 9th November 1989, East Germany announced "relaxation of leaving departing on travel permission".


However, due to this announcement, thousands of people in East Berlin will rush into wall checkpoints.


Then, urging the border guards to open the checkup, the guard unavoidably opened the border gate.


Many people flowed from the East Germany side to the west side, people from the two countries shared joy on the wall of Berlin.


Furthermore, destruction of the wall also started at random.


Soldiers of border guards will immediately try to maintain order, but it is already late and it will be the wall collapse of the Berlin that separates East and West Germany.


And in October 1990, Germany officially reunified. Furthermore, as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed.


In addition, some walls are still left in the city now.