The Berlin Wall Essay Research Paper For

The Berlin Wall Essay, Research Paper

For 28 years, 15 feet of concrete, metal pipes, barbed wire, mines,

and trenches spreading 110 miles divided a nation. Those living in the

nation named the barrier Schandmauer, the Wall of Shame. We know it

better as the Berlin Wall.

SCHANDMAUER – Wall of Shame

In addition to the many destructive factors which led to the wall.s

construction, including WWII, the Soviet Blockade, the

Kennedy/Khruschev conflict, and opposing cold war views, the tragedy

of the Berlin Wall.s construction caused the deaths of scores of east

Germans trying to cross the wall into West Germany and ruined the East

German economy. The triumphant fall of the Wall managed to break the

impasse between the communist world and the democratic world,

allowing for the opportunity of possible political peace and economic

growth between the feuding countries of the world.

The Foundations

An uneasy peace took effect as a war-weary world began to rebuild

after World War II. Berlin lay in ruins, with nearly 1 1/2 million citizens

dead. Both Berlin and Germany were subsequently divided into four

allied sections, each controlled by the separate powers of Great Britain,

France, The United States, and the Soviet Union. Even before the war

ended, the Allied forces had decided that Berlin would be a separate

division. Clearly Berlin was an important piece in the eyes of all allied

members. To allow one member complete control would be giving away

to much power. Thus, even though the city was located deep inside the

Soviet Zone, the Western powers expected free access to Berlin. The

Soviets, however, had different plans.

From the beginning of the occupation, the Soviet Union and

Western powers clashed over Berlin.s government. The first clash came

when the Soviets vetoed the election of Lord Mayor Ernst Reuter in

1946. This conflict culminated in June 1948 when the Soviets attempted

a blockade of Western movement into Berlin to overpower the Allies and

take full control of the city.

The Soviet Tactics were simple: stop all movement of Allied trucks

and trains to prevent food, coal, and medical supplies from reaching their

zones, thus starving Berlin into submission. The Blockade commenced

on June 24 with the announcement that no rail, water, or highway

movement would be allowed through the Soviet Zone. However, to

prevent this, the Allied forces staged the largest airlift in history. Over

104 planes, carrying 2 millions tons of coal, food, and medicine, took part

in this effort, costing the Allied forces 300 million dollars. This

continued for 11 months, until the Soviets saw that their effort was futile

and lifted their blockade. This effort greatly decreased the Soviet

dominance in the Berlin struggle for the moment.

Berliners began to dislike the Soviet rule, which became evident in

the elections of 1950. Over 80% of West Berliners opted for a

democratic government, and in a director contrast to previous Soviet

intervention, Ernest Reuter was elected Lord Mayor, and he stayed. Thus

began the transformation of the western half with his energetic

administration. This opened a window of democracy into West Berlin.

The Soviets soon stopped any hopes of this in East Berlin by prevented

their citizens to vote.

In 1957, West Germany joined the common market, & Willy

Brandt, a moderate socialist was elected Lord Mayor. Brandt laid the

foundation for the upcoming climax between Kennedy and Khruschev

by describing the conflict in its most lucid terms -

This crisis about Berlin has been provoked arbitrary. It

affects us all, not only Germans, but all persons who take to heart

the cause of human Freedom and international peace.

The Khruschev Era

When Soviet premier Nikita Khruschev took over the Communist

party in 1953 he began a new era for Berlin and Soviet/ US relations.

The only major offensive on Berlin up to this point was the Blockade.

But Khruschev managed two more, and a complete isolation of Berlin in

only first 9 years.

The next step was the most climactic occurrence surrounding the

Wall. The Berlin crisis of 1961 between Kennedy & Khruschev began

with their first political meeting at Vienna. Khruschev there declared

either the US sign a peace treaty to end occupation or the USSR would

sign one that allowed them a stake in West Berlin. After Kennedy left

the summit, two grim statements were ominous harbingers of the events

to come. He stated that .Khruschev did not give an inch, not an inch..

and predicted that . it looks like a cold winter ahead..

The high morale caused by the Bay of Pigs fiasco undoubtedly

encouraged Russians to try another attempt on Berlin. Khruschev.s

continuos pressure in the forms of thunderous speeches and military

threats r

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