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Wednesday, April 7, 2010 @ 2:59 AM
Berlin Wall Summary
The Berlin Wall was the physical symbol of the Cold War, built on Aug 13, 1961. This border symbolised the physical separation between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc and enclosed the city of West Berlin, separating it from the rest of East Germany, including East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was built by East Germany for several reasons. Firstly, there was a huge brain drain in East Germany, as many skilled East Germans fled to West Germany knowing that life in the West is much better than life in the East. Also, there were two different currencies in Germany, especially in Berlin. West Germany currency can be exchanged with East Germany currency at the rate of 1:4, allowing people with West Germany currency to get goods very cheaply in East Berlin. This led to the agreement to build up the Wall at midnight, with much protection from East Germany troops to prevent any interference. The immediate effect was the fact that many families were split as East Germans could not travel or move to West Germany. This eventually prevented anybody from West Berlin to leave, a fact proven when the Wall was structurally reinforced, for a total of four versions. The fourth version is the most advanced version, consisting of many anti-escape methods, especially the reinforced parts of the Wall to prevent cars of escapees from driving through. About 5000 East Germans tried to defect to West Berlin, some of the more famous being Conrad Schumann, who was the first East German guard to defect, and Thomas Krüger, who succeeded an airborne escape. The fall of the Berlin Wall began in Aug 1989, when Hungary removed its physical border defences with Austria, causing many East Germans to flee to Austria. This triggered a similar incident in neighbouring Czechoslovakia. More and more people attempted to leave East Germany for the West through Czechoslovakia, which was tolerated by the new Krenz government and in agreement with the Czechoslovakia communist government. Due to much miscommunication regarding new regulations of the Berlin Wall that were about to be implemeneted, Günter Schabowski, a spokesperson for the politburo, incorrectly announced certain details of the new regulations, including when it was supposed to take effect. A German channel broadcasted incomplete information during the conference as well, stating that the borders are open to everyone. As such, the guards, seeing so many people going towards the borders and having no superior to refer to, yielded and let many people through. This paved the way for the eventual downfall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification.
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010 @ 2:59 AM
Berlin Wall Summary
The Berlin Wall was the physical symbol of the Cold War, built on Aug 13, 1961. This border symbolised the physical separation between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc and enclosed the city of West Berlin, separating it from the rest of East Germany, including East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was built by East Germany for several reasons. Firstly, there was a huge brain drain in East Germany, as many skilled East Germans fled to West Germany knowing that life in the West is much better than life in the East. Also, there were two different currencies in Germany, especially in Berlin. West Germany currency can be exchanged with East Germany currency at the rate of 1:4, allowing people with West Germany currency to get goods very cheaply in East Berlin. This led to the agreement to build up the Wall at midnight, with much protection from East Germany troops to prevent any interference. The immediate effect was the fact that many families were split as East Germans could not travel or move to West Germany. This eventually prevented anybody from West Berlin to leave, a fact proven when the Wall was structurally reinforced, for a total of four versions. The fourth version is the most advanced version, consisting of many anti-escape methods, especially the reinforced parts of the Wall to prevent cars of escapees from driving through. About 5000 East Germans tried to defect to West Berlin, some of the more famous being Conrad Schumann, who was the first East German guard to defect, and Thomas Krüger, who succeeded an airborne escape. The fall of the Berlin Wall began in Aug 1989, when Hungary removed its physical border defences with Austria, causing many East Germans to flee to Austria. This triggered a similar incident in neighbouring Czechoslovakia. More and more people attempted to leave East Germany for the West through Czechoslovakia, which was tolerated by the new Krenz government and in agreement with the Czechoslovakia communist government. Due to much miscommunication regarding new regulations of the Berlin Wall that were about to be implemeneted, Günter Schabowski, a spokesperson for the politburo, incorrectly announced certain details of the new regulations, including when it was supposed to take effect. A German channel broadcasted incomplete information during the conference as well, stating that the borders are open to everyone. As such, the guards, seeing so many people going towards the borders and having no superior to refer to, yielded and let many people through. This paved the way for the eventual downfall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification.
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If only you knew
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"Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his
hands and at whom it is aimed."
Stalin is the name, born on December 21st, 1879
Proudly Russian and Communist
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