18.1.12

The Berlin Wall

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The Berlin Wall

On the 12th August 1961, the USSR (Soviet Union) began to build the Berlin Wall.

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Avoiding war

  • British, French and American troops stayed in West Berlin, even after Soviet orders for foreign troops to leave.
  • The USSR used the building of the wall to show strength without starting a war.
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The Wall

  • The Berlin Wall began as a fence and then became a heavy border wall designed to stop the flow of people from East Berlin to West Berlin.
  • By October 1961, West Berlin was entirely shut off from East Germany.
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Crossing the Wall

  • West Berlin became a contrast to East Berlin and a symbol of freedom.
  • Crossing the wall was not allowed and 200 people were killed trying to cross the border.
  • Foreigners were allowed to cross over to East Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie.
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Responses of the USSR

  • West Berlin remained under Allied control and this made it harder for the Soviets to control all of East Germany.
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Responses of the West

  • The Western Powers did not think that the Wall was a good idea, but agreed that it was better than war.
  • This was a propaganda victory for the West and the USA.
    • The need to build a wall to stop East Germans moving to West Berlin was embarrassing for the Soviet Union.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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