Berlin Wall

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http://www.bbc.co.

uk/history/places/berlin_wall
The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to
1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting on
13 August 1961, the wall completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East
Germany and from East Berlin until it was opened in November 1989. Its demolition
officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992. The barrier included guard
towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known
as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other
defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population
from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist
state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration
and defection that marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the
post-World War II period.
The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the "Anti-Fascist Protective Wall"
(German:Antifaschistischer Schutzwall) by GDR authorities, implying that the NATO
countries and West Germany in particular were "fascists" by GDR propaganda. The West
Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the "Wall of Shame"a term coined
by mayor Willy Brandtwhile condemning the Wall's restriction on freedom of
movement. Along with the separate and much longer Inner German border (IGB), which
demarcated the border between East and West Germany, it came to symbolize the "Iron
Curtain" that separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.
Before the Wall's erection, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc
emigration restrictions and defected from the GDR, many by crossing over the border
from East Berlin into West Berlin; from which they could then travel to West Germany and
other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989, the wall prevented almost
all such emigration. During this period, around 5,000 people attempted to escape over
the wall, with an estimated death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around
Berlin.
In 1989, a series of radical political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc, associated with
the liberalization of the Eastern Bloc's authoritarian systems and the erosion of political
power in the pro-Soviet governments in nearby Poland and Hungary. After several weeks
of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all
GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed
and climbed onto the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory
atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped
away parts of the wall; the governments later used industrial equipment to remove most
of what was left. Contrary to popular belief the wall's actual demolition did not begin until
the summer of 1990 and was not completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall
paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on 3
October 1990.
http://berlinwall.pressbooks.com/chapter/the-significance-of-the-wall/

The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolized a key turning event in diplomatic and government
powers as it showed the supremacy of the capitalist government system and
brought about the major downfall of many communist countries.
The fall of the Berlin wall ended communist rule and allowed capitalism to become
the primary government in the modern world.

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