The Berlin Wall Essay Research Paper INTRODUCTION — страница 3

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sociology, and total lifestyles of the citizens were becoming a major difference. MEASUREMENTS OF THE WALL The border between West Berlin and East Berlin and the GDR had a total length of 166 km, and there was a deeply staggered system of barriers. There was the physical wall with a length of 107 km.(4) The simple vastness of the city of Berlin proved that they could not build a wall to close in the entire city. The area around the concrete wall looked like; First, there was the wall which was made up of concrete segments with a height of nearly twenty feet, usually with a concrete tube on top. Behind it on the Eastern side there was an illuminated control area, called the death area. Refugees attempting escape that got over the wall were shot in this area thus the name as the

death area. Following this area was a trench that would prevent vehicles from breaking through. Then there was a patron track, a corridor with watchdogs, watch towers and bunkers, and a second wall.(4) My impression of this area at first was that it would have been simple to just jump off an apartment building with a glider and sail across. I than observed the area of the wall still standing with years and numbers underneath. I later found out that these numbers stood for the number of people killed in that given year for attempting to escape. People did escape but according to my guide many more than the numbers on the wall were killed in attempting . Escape was a dream, but once a citizen escaped he had to have a major plan, The West German embassy could not deal with all the

escapee?s. Other nations wanted to help, but they did not want to insult the East German government. So when a person escaped they were treated difficulty, and most often needed family and money to stay out. The border in the city cut through 192 streets, 97 leading in to East Berlin and 95 leading into the GDR. This whole area was the city section of the barricade/wall, but the wall extended 59 km without a physical wall. When the wall first went up the Country section was just about the ?leakiest? part it, and many escapees made it to the west through fields and woods, and even through people?s gardens and summer houses. But slowly and surely, over time, all the places where escape was possible were plugged up. Any building close to the border was demolished.(1) Things in the

country section were far more complex than in the city section of the wall. The country section was constantly guarded as was the city section. But in the country planes, tanks, dogs, and roving mass patrols were used. In the city section there were massive towers approximately every two-hundred meters. these towers housed armed guards, armed with automatic rifles, grenade throwers, and they too had a roving patrol with dogs. To even think about escape would be crazy but the concept of freedom led man to actually escape. There were three motorways running out from West Berlin to West Germany, and the Railway had to go through as well, and there was also a canal system for the transport of heavy supplies like coal.(5) The vastness of the city meant that goods and services had to

come in from the outside, they utilized the motorways, Railway and the canal system, these areas were more heavily guarded than others. Simply escaping in the country section was more than merely walking around the wall, this due to the fact that the wall was deep in the middle of East Germany, and the fact that it was barely fifty kilometers from the Polish border. To escape Berlin a refugee than needed to take the long journey somewhere. The nearest border was Poland, at the time another communist country. Escaping in the city a person entered West Berlin, In West Berlin they were in a free state, with embassy?s and possible family ties that could assist them in getting into West Germany. They still did need someone to assist them financially, and socially by giving them a

place to stay. THE FALL OF THE WALL During the period of the divided city between East and West Berlin, West Berlin enjoyed great economic growth, while East Berlin remained in a state of little growth. West Berlin received aid from its democratic friends along with West Germany, which was becoming an economic power. East Germany relied on its communist patriarch. The Soviet Union due to harsh feelings following the treaties after World War I, used there occupation following World War II to fuel the hearts of their people of past hardships that the German culture had given there nationality. By making them feel inferior. Once in Berlin, the west side was like many other thriving western cities. In fact, thriving a good deal more than most, due to heavy support and subsidy by the