(October
3, 2015 is 25th Anniversary for One Germany Again.)
Ten Facts About The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a wall separating the Eastern side of Berlin from the Western side. It was a symbol of The Cold War until it fell in 1989. Here are ten facts about the Berlin Wall.
Fact One
Construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13
1961 as a way of separating the three zones controlled by France,
Britain and America from the zone controlled by the Soviet Union.
After World War Two,
Germany was split into four zones, each occupied by one of the four
Allied powers that defeated the Nazis. The zones controlled by France,
Great Britain and America became West Germany, or Bundesrepublik
Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany). The Soviet-controlled zone
became East Germany, or Deutsche Demokratische Republik
(Germany Democratic Republic). Germany's capital, Berlin, was situated
in Soviet-controlled
East Germany , but as this city was the administrative area for the
Allied forces, it too was split into four. This meant that France, Great
Britain and America controlled West Berlin, whereas the Soviet Union
controlled the East. Relations between America and the Soviet Union
soured considerably during much of the second half of the Twentieth
Century. The Berlin Wall was a symbol of this hostility, a physical
representation of what was called the Iron Curtain.
Fact Two
The Berlin Wall was constructed as a way of
preventing East Germans from entering West Germany. It was not so much a
boundary for West Germans wanting to enter the East, who were able to
do so by obtaining a permit several weeks in advance. It didn't face
much opposition by the western powers as its construction confirmed that
the Soviet Union were not planning to take over West Berlin.
Fact Three
Official figures show that at least 136 people died
trying to cross the border. People attempting to get from East to West
were regarded as traitors and guards were instructed to shoot at them if
they attempted to cross, although not to kill them.
Fact Four
The west side of the Berlin wall was covered in graffiti. The East side was not.
Fact Five
The Berlin Wall was something of a propaganda
disaster for the Soviet Union and East Germany. It showed the communists
to be tyrannical in the way they controlled the movement of their
people and their willingness to shoot at people they considered to be
traitors.
Fact Six
West Berliners used the Berlin Wall as an ideal way
of getting rid of rubbish. If they had anything that needed throwing
away, they threw it over the wall. After all, it wasn't as if they would
be made to go over it to fetch it back.
Fact Seven
Michael Knight himself, David Hassellhoff, is huge
in Germany. The Hoff performed his hit "Looking For Freedom" while
standing on the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Fact Eight
Despite there being a wall separating East from
West, there were a number of checkpoints that allowed passage to and
from the two sides. The most famous of these was Checkpoint Charlie, a
checkpoint separating the American-controlled zone of West Berlin from
the Soviet-controlled East Berlin. The guard house for Checkpoint
Charlie was removed in October 1990 and is now situated in the Allied
Museum in Berlin-Zehlendorf. The last remnant of Checkpoint Charlie, an
East German watchtower, was demolished in 2000.
Fact Nine
Although November 9th 1989 is recognised as the date
of the fall of the Berlin Wall, official demolition of it didn't start
until June 13th 1990. Between November 9th and June 13th, border
controls still existed, although were less strict that previously. Parts
of the wall was chipped away by Germans to keep as souvenirs/sell on
eBay. People who did this were known as "wall woodpeckers"
(Mauerspechte) Some parts of the wall had been taken down but only to
make way for more crossing points. All border controls ended on July 1st
1990 and Germany was recognised as one country again from October 3rd
1990.
Fact Ten
The Berlin Wall was a physical barrier above the
ground, but what about under the ground? Berlin, like many major cities,
has an underground or subway system. After construction of the Berlin
Wall, trains
could only operate on the side in which they were based. Some trains
either ran purely on the west side or the east side. Trains which
previously crossed the border would now go no further than its
respective border and then turn back. This was apart from three lines
that were used by West Berliners but which went through East Berlin for a
small part of their journeys. They travelled through several stations
which became known as Ghost Stations (Geisterbahnhöfe), dimly lit and
heavily-guarded stations that the trains were unable to stop at. This
was apart from certain exceptions: Friedrichstasse Station was situated
in East Berlin, but was used a transfer station for passengers to get
onto other trains travelling to locations in West Berlin. Passengers
could also enter East Berlin at this station if they had the relevant
permits (also needed for crossing the Berlin Wall). Bornholmer Strasse
Station was a station that both West and East Berlin trains passed
through, but not on the same lines. Neither side's trains stopped at the
station, and the two lines through it were separated by a tall fence.
Finally, Wallankstrasse Station was another station situated right on
the border. There were exits in the station, some leading the West
Berlin, some leading to East Berlin. The exits to West Berlin were open
and allowed people to pass through it freely. The exits to streets in
East Berlin were locked. When the Ghost Stations were reopened after the
fall of the Berlin Wall, the first people using them found them
preserved as they were when they closed in 1961 with the same signage
and advertisements on the walls.
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