Over The Berlin Wall Research Paper
November 9th. Midnight. Crowds of German citizens swarmed the Berlin wall standing in the middle of their country. A huge celebration had been formed around the wall that had been a symbol of oppression for the German people for decades. People were hugging, kissing, singing cheering and crying. While some crossed over, traveling safely into West Germany for the first time since August 13th, 1961, many brought hammers and picks and began to destroy the symbol of barefaced Communist oppression.
Before the Berlin wall was built the Soviets felt threatened by the sharing of Berlin with the USA, which was providing a haven of capitalism within their communist East Germany. These feelings were heightened and triggered by the cold war occurring between the two world powers at the time. The close proximity to the USA and reminders of their …show more content…
Soft sand around the wall, vicious dogs, floodlights, trip wire machine guns and Soviet soldiers patrolled the wall with orders to shoot on sight.
The many obstacles German escapees had to contend with to get over the wall. However, the sheer magnitude of the wall didn’t stop the trapped East Germans from trying. Over the next 28 years, 171 Germans were killed trying to cross the Berlin wall. However, over 5 000 Germans managed to escape from the East by climbing the wall, jumping from nearby windows, crawling through sewers, driving at high speeds through lesser protected parts of the wall and flying over in hot air balloons.
The only way to get in and out of East Germany without risking the Berlin wall was to go via one of the three checkpoints manned by East German soldiers; Checkpoint Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. These checkpoint’s main use was for the travel of diplomats and officials, leaving the civilians of East Germany to stay put or jeopardise their life attempting the wall
Before the Berlin wall was built the Soviets felt threatened by the sharing of Berlin with the USA, which was providing a haven of capitalism within their communist East Germany. These feelings were heightened and triggered by the cold war occurring between the two world powers at the time. The close proximity to the USA and reminders of their …show more content…
Soft sand around the wall, vicious dogs, floodlights, trip wire machine guns and Soviet soldiers patrolled the wall with orders to shoot on sight.
The many obstacles German escapees had to contend with to get over the wall. However, the sheer magnitude of the wall didn’t stop the trapped East Germans from trying. Over the next 28 years, 171 Germans were killed trying to cross the Berlin wall. However, over 5 000 Germans managed to escape from the East by climbing the wall, jumping from nearby windows, crawling through sewers, driving at high speeds through lesser protected parts of the wall and flying over in hot air balloons.
The only way to get in and out of East Germany without risking the Berlin wall was to go via one of the three checkpoints manned by East German soldiers; Checkpoint Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. These checkpoint’s main use was for the travel of diplomats and officials, leaving the civilians of East Germany to stay put or jeopardise their life attempting the wall