Berlin WallJoin now to read essay Berlin WallBackgroundAfter the end of World War II the victors: the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union divided Germany into four occupation zones, each one controlled by one of the four countries. Berlin also divided into four zones, the same way the rest of Germany did. At first, Berlins citizens could move freely between the zones to work or visit family and friends. The U.S., British and French zones became capitalist and democratic, which formed into the Federal Republic of Germany (and West Berlin) in 1949. The Soviet zone became a communist dictatorship, which in turn formed the German Democratic Republic (including East Berlin) the same year.
Divergence of German statesFrom 1948 onwards, West Germany developed into a western capitalist country with a social market economy and a democratic Allies while the communist Soviet Union argued over how to govern Berlin. Berlin was in the Soviet part of Germany, an island surrounded by capitalism. Western nations assumed they would have free access to the city. But on April 1, 1948 the Soviet Union blockaded routes in and out of East Germany, trapping 2 million West Berliners with little food or fuel. The Allies countered with the Berlin Airlift, flying planes with food and supplies into West Berlin for 462 straight days. The Soviets lifted the blockade in across the inner-German border; East Germany established an authoritarian government with a Soviet-style command economy. While East Germany became one of the richest, most advanced countries in the Eastern bloc, many of its citizens still looked to the West for political freedoms and economic prosperity. The flight of growing numbers of East Germans to non-communist countries via West Berlin led to Germany erecting the GDR border system (of which the Berlin Wall was a part) in 1961 to prevent any further exodus.
Massive migrationFrom 1949 through to 1961, huge numbers of professionals and skilled workers migrated daily from East to West Berlin frequently because of lucrative opportunities connected with rebuilding Western Europe funded by the Marshall Plan Furthermore, many West Berliners traveled into East Berlin to do their shopping at state-subsidized stores, where prices were much lower than in West Berlin. This drain of labor and economic output threatened East Germany with economic collapse. This had ramifications for the whole Communist bloc and particularly the Soviet Union, because East Germanys economy was being subsidized by the Soviet government, and simultaneously, the now-threatened East German production was responsible for all war reparations to Poland and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people left East Germany for a better life in the West. By 1961, the communist government knew it had to stop the exodus.
Proposed barrierThe impetus for the creation of the Berlin Wall came from East German leader Walter Ulbricht, approved by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, but with conditions imposed. Ulbrichts proposal for a second air blockade was refused and the construction of a barrier was permitted provided that it was composed at first of barbed wire. If the Allies challenged the barrier, the East Germans were to fall back and were not to fire first under any circumstances.
Construction begins, 1961Construction of 45 km (28 miles) around the three western sectors began early on Sunday 13 August 1961 in East Berlin. That morning the zonal boundary had been sealed by East German troops. The barrier was built by East German troops and workers, not directly involving the Soviets. It was built slightly inside East German territory to ensure that it did not encroach on West Berlin at any point; if one stood next to the West Berlin side of the barrier (and later the Wall), one was actually standing on East Berlin soil. Some streets running alongside the barrier were torn up to make them impassable to most vehicles, and a barbed-wire fence was erected, which was later built up into the full-scale Wall. It physically divided the city and completely surrounded West Berlin. During the construction of the Wall, NVA and KdA soldiers stood in front of it with orders to shoot anyone who attempted to defect. Additionally, the
P.O.-6-14 of the Russian M.A.[3]
Implantations of explosives and rocket propelled grenade launchers to help the East German army carry out the offensive were also launched by Soviet forces, although the Soviets did not allow such measures to take place, with East Germans saying that most of the rockets were for non-humanitarian purposes. The most impressive attempt was made in August 1946 while the Soviet army was in Potsdam, Germany. All the units took part in a simulated invasion of Germany, which would take place between 20 July 1946 and 18 October. During the invasion, Soviet soldiers, with the help of some civilians (including the victims of the bombings), entered the city and engaged in fighting. Soviet troops carried out a campaign of “liberation” and attacked the East German command. It was hoped that such an attack would have some of the same effect after the start of hostilities. The Soviets also had, in fact, made some preparations during the offensive. However, the German occupation authorities, which were not concerned about the possibility of a major “liberation of East Germany”, decided not to put that hope into action. Thus the East German government and a variety of other officials, not especially on the Western Front, decided to put the effort aside.[4] All this was stopped in 1946, when East German civilians also decided to take part in the liberation of a number of cities, as they considered that such a large and significant movement would be dangerous.[5]
It seems to be the intention of the West to concentrate further on West Berlin, to take control of a massive and important industrial area on the eastern line, and to hold it for quite some time beyond 1945. The main problem was that these areas were divided into small, mainly rural and industrial areas — not as industrial centers, but as industrial facilities. It was not immediately clear how large these areas would be, since they were not directly occupied by the West, and therefore could not be controlled by the Soviets. All efforts to keep a close watch on civilians on the eastern and western edge of West Berlin were futile, since these areas included large tracts of woodlands populated by West German soldiers. Although there was some concern that these areas might be used for agriculture, they were clearly not, because of the large number of civilians in them, who were either prisoners of war or members of the Red Army Corps. The Soviets later developed an anti-Soviet training camp in the industrial area, though there were no such facilities, because such an area could not be captured. This was intended as an opportunity to reinforce the West German military presence in the strategic and industrial centers. After the Soviets began to strengthen their propaganda machine in the cities, they gradually increased their efforts in the industrial areas during the course of the war. Between October and July 1946, however, Soviet troops began attacking East Berlin, for all of the city centers and the surrounding areas. During their attacks their forces entered these areas almost immediately after the West Berlin line had been broken. It was not until the end of the war that East Berlin became totally controlled by the Soviets. Since their attempts at liberation were not yet successful, Soviet command decided not yet to put off a major offensive and to stop the main offensive.
The West German occupation of West Berlin was led by N.A.T.G (National Liberation Army), who, acting as their general liaison with East Germany throughout the war, worked on an unprecedented level to prevent mass atrocities at the hands of the Soviet military. The objective of the “Operation Inland Empire”, was to control the entire area from all East Germany. The West German occupation was aimed almost entirely at “liberating” East Berlin by the end of the Second Battle of Berlin, which put the