Why was the Berlin Wall an important event in history?
The Berlin Wall was built by the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War to prevent its population from escaping Soviet-controlled East Berlin to West Berlin, which was controlled by the major Western Allies.
What did the Berlin Wall represent in Europe?
The wall, which stood between 1961 to 1989, came to symbolize the ‘Iron Curtain’ – the ideological split between East and West – that existed across Europe and between the two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, and their allies, during the Cold War.
What events took place during the Berlin Wall?
The fall of the Berlin Wall (German: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989 was a pivotal event in world history which marked the falling of the Iron Curtain and the start of the fall of communism in Eastern and Central Europe. The fall of the inner German border took place shortly afterwards.
How did the Berlin Wall affect history?
The Berlin Wall dismantling saw anti-communism, and communism intolerance, spread quickly around Eastern Europe with free elections and economic reforms following suit.
How did Berlin get divided?
Shortly after midnight on August 13, 1961, East German soldiers begin laying down barbed wire and bricks as a barrier between Soviet-controlled East Berlin and the democratic western section of the city. After World War II, defeated Germany was divided into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation.
Where did the Berlin Wall start and end?
listen)) was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Construction of the wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) on 13 August 1961. The Wall cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin.
What key events occured before the creation of the Berlin Wall?
1961 is the year the Berlin Wall was first built, but the conditions that led up to its construction began earlier, shortly after the end of the Second World War in 1945. The Berlin Airlift (1948-1949) was the landmark event that most dramatically signaled the growing divide between the Soviets and the other Allies.