Berlin Wall1 essays

Berlin Wall1 essays For twenty-eight years, the Berlin Wall separated friends, families, and a nation. After the second World War in 1945, the victorious Allies, the US, Britain, France, Russia divided Germany into four sectors, each under the control of an ally. The US, British, and French Sectors combined to form a democratic state, The Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany. The Soviet sector became a communist state, The German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, on October 7, 1949. A barrier now separated east and West. Winston Churchill named this barrier the Iron Curtain. Even though Berlin lay deep within the Soviet sector, the Allies thought it best to divide this metropolis. Therefore Berlin was also divided into four sectors. Again the US, British, and French Sectors combined to form West Berlin. The Soviet sector became the East German capital, East Berlin.The governments of these two new countries were set up by the occupying forces, not the populous. Most of the residents of East Berlin and East Germany did not like the communist regime. In fact, most people were The Berlin Wall, though not part of the iron curtain, was a reminder of it. The wall was made of steel, cement, and barbed wire fences with traps and explosives. There were guard towers with machine guns and other weapons. It was almost impossible to cross this barrier without the communist government's permission. Conrad Shuman was a nineteen year old border guard when he witnessed families tearfully separated. He realized he was not protecting his country, but imprisoning its people. Three Days after the border was closed, he leapt to freedom. The people of East Germany became dissatisfied with the economic and political conditions of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Private trade was outlawed, as was the ownership of private land. People were forced to work on collective state owned farms. There were food and su...