...Berlin Wall Construction of the Wall Early in the morning of Sunday August 13 1961 the GDR began under the leadership of Erich Honecker to block off East Berlin and the GDR from West Berlin by means of barbed wire and antitank obstacles. Streets were torn up, and barricades of paving stones were erected. Tanks gathered at crucial places. The subway and local railway services between East and West Berlin were interrupted. Inhabitants of East Berlin and the GDR were no longer allowed to enter West Berlin, amongst them 60,000 commuters who had worked in West Berlin so far. In the following days, construction brigades began replacing the provisional barriers by a solid wall. The reaction of the western allies was moderate, since the three essentials of the American policy regarding Berlin were not affected: presence of allied troops, free access to Berlin and the right of self-determination of the West Berliners. After 1961-08-23, citizens of West Berlin were no longer allowed to enter East Berlin. On 1961-09-20, the forced evacuation of houses situated immediately at the border to West Berlin began. On 1962-08-17, Peter Fechter, an eighteen years old citizen of East Berlin, bled to death after he was shot down by East Berlin border patrol in an attempt to escape over the wall. On 1963-06-21, the Minister of National Defense of the GDR gave orders concerning the installation of a border area at the frontier between the GDR and West Berlin. Afterwards inhabitants of East...
Words: 283 - Pages: 2
...In 1945 Germany lost WWI and was split into four zones. The capital city of Germany, Berlin, was controlled by the Soviet Union, France, Britain, and the United States. In 1947 the ideological Cold War began. Tensions had risen between the zones. By 1949, Germany was split in two: the democratic Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the west and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the east (Constitutional History of Germany). In 1961, the Berlin Wall was constructed by the GDR to prevent propaganda from spreading and keep their people from leaving Communist East Berlin to go to the Democratic Western Berlin (Pollard, pg. 730- 732). The wall created a physical boundary between Soviet-controlled East Berlin from the capitalistic west and stopped East-Berliners from escaping to the west as it offered improved economic conditions. During the Cold War, East Germany was home to communist ideologies, and West Germany held democratic...
Words: 459 - Pages: 2
...delivered their Berlin ultimatum, demanding that the western allies should withdraw their troops from West Berlin and that West Berlin should become a "Free City" within six months. On 1959-02-17, the threat of settling a separate peace treaty between the USSR the GDR followed. The meeting between US President Kennedy and the Prime Minister of the USSR, Khrushchev, on 1961-06-03/04 in Vienna ended without any noticeable results. Generally, measures of the government of the GDR were expected with the aim of preventing people from leaving the GDR. At an international press conference on June 15, 1961, Walter Ulbricht (the leader of the east German communist party, SED, and President of the Privy Council) answered to the question of a journalist: "I understand your question as follows: there are people in West Germany who want us to mobilize the construction workers of the GDR to build a wall. I am not aware of any such plans... No one has the intention of constructing a wall." Construction of the Wall Early in the morning of Sunday, August 13, 1961, the GDR began under the leadership of Erich Honecker to block off East Berlin and the GDR from West Berlin by means of barbed wire and antitank obstacles. Streets were torn up, and barricades of paving stones were erected. Tanks gathered at crucial places. The subway and local railway services between East and West Berlin were interrupted. Inhabitants of East Berlin and the GDR were no longer allowed to enter West Berlin, amongst...
Words: 1003 - Pages: 5
...The Division of Germany was tragic, yet necessary. Germany was split into east and west. On May 7,1945 Germany surrendered to the allied forces. The Berlin Walls construction started at midnight on August 12, 1961. The building of the wall was a disaster for Khrushchev. Stalin tried to negotiate with the East Germans, but did not sign the treaty. The soviets were not gentle and were not inclined to be gentle with anyone. It was more peaceful for the Germans than it ever was during the war for them. Some germans speak of regret that the Berlin Wall was not still standing. The allied forces divided Berlin at the end of 1945, creating a period of peace for Germany. At the end of the war Germany was split into East Germany and West Germany. The Germans surrendered on May 7, 1945. The allied forces decided that Germany had to much power. The allies decided that they could not give power back to Germany immediately, because the war might flare up again. At...
Words: 1075 - Pages: 5
...war; War communism; NEP; terror and coercion; Foreign relations * * Gorbachev and His aims/Policies (glasnost And perestroika) and (1931-1991) consequences of the soviet state * consequences of Gorbachev’s policies for Eastern European; reform movements: Poland- the role of solidarity; Czechoslovakia- the velvet revolution; fall of the Berlin wall * china: Mao (1935-1976) Conditions that produced authoritarian and single party states * emergence of leaders: aims, ideology, support * methods of force and legal used to establish authoritarian * form of government ideology establishment * nature, extent and treatment of opposition establishment * domestic policies and impact (structure and organisation of government and administration * political, economic , social and religious policies within domestic policies and there impact * role of education, the arts, the media, propaganda in domestic policies and...
Words: 780 - Pages: 4
...by the wall.” In Berlin, the Iron Curtain had many purposes. It was there to protect, to separate and to enforce a way of life for East Berliners. Firstly, The Wall gave meaning to people’s lives in different ways. It defined where they were to go, who they were to see and who they were to be. For the countless Stasi and informers, it gave them a purpose and an importance in society, and after The Wall came down, that purpose was lost and yearned for. Secondly, The Wall and the controlling ways of the Stasi loomed over the lives of East Berliners, and its implementation was just one of many extreme measures to minimalise Capitalism and encourage Communism. Thirdly, although The Wall was taken down in 1989, the detrimental effect of the Stasi regime on those in East Berlin remains to this day. The Iron Curtain “went up overnight” and disappeared without a trace, but the impression left on East Berlin has found to be inescapable. The Wall determined the lives and actions of those in East Berlin. It was the final stage in the Stasi’s attempts to keep people within the “land gone wrong”. It “went up overnight”, and people were instantly separated from their loved ones, their schools and even their jobs. The wall may have been simple for the Stasi to assemble, but for Berliners like Frau Paul, it was difficult to overcome the challenges that it created. When Frau Paul gave birth to sickly Torsten, the only choice was to send him to capable medical facilities over The Wall. Frau...
Words: 1220 - Pages: 5
...In the Soviet Union, Stalin used a lot of propaganda to get his point across to his people. In source one it is an example of one of the famous pieces of propaganda quoting “to fly higher than all, farther than fall, faster than all.” In this quote he refers to the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. The two superpowers had a competition at all times, especially when it came to communist and democracy belief. Stalin believed using these poster he could be recruiting people for military. However due to the Soviet Union being a military based government, he played a role in securing his people and making sure that they had strong enough military means to fight. The Soviet Union believed that they were dominant to and everyone...
Words: 860 - Pages: 4
...countries aligned with that nation. Rather than engaging in a potentially devastating out and out war, the countries involved in the Cold War jockeyed for position in more subtle ways. Many major events in global history including the rise of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis were related to this war. So the things that I am going to talk about is what are some effects that USA made during cold war to other countires? I think first of all, many countries get rich because of their buy of aliiances, for example, During the 1950s, U.S. propaganda, as an instrument of the Cold War, was intended "to expose the fallacies of communism" and to warn of its dangers. Other goals for the Middle East included strengthening "Western-oriented elements," increasing awareness of the Soviet threat, and building "greater willingness to cooperate both regionally and with the West." In Iraq, "an emotional response" overcoming antagonism toward the West was sought, since "A realization of a common, global foe" could "forge a common, global bond between Iraq and the Western defense powers." In Iran, propaganda promoted the view that close relations with the West would "provide the "most profitable course." In all Arab countries, U.S. propaganda sought "Reversal of the Anti-American trends of Arab opinion" and guidance of "the revolutionary and nationalistic pressures throughout the area into orderly channels not antagonistic to the West." So the US use this kind of ways to let the middle...
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
...The Cold War began in 1946 when Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech was made. This brought on a lot of changes during and after the conflict between The Soviet Union and The United States. To get out the message and influence the American people, different tools were used to spread the word of the propaganda. The message was sent through school educational videos to reach the impressionable minds of the future, through film and T.V. and through printed material such as magazines, newspapers. (American foreign relations staff, 2017) The American people were introduced to a furry cartoon character named Bugs Bunny. He was also used to help spread the word on propaganda and selling items to the Americans. People also started spending...
Words: 344 - Pages: 2
...SECTION 1: THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE WEIMAR GOVERNMENT 1918-OCTOBER 1933 |9 November 1918 |Abdication of the Kaiser | |January 1919 |Spartacist Uprising | |February 1919 |First Weimar elections | |28 June 1919 |Treaty of Versailles signed | |July 1919 |Weimar Constitution announced | |March 1920 |Kapp Putsch signed | |January 1923 |Occupation of the Ruhr | |January-November 1923 |Hyperinflation | |8-9 November 1923 |Munich Putsch ...
Words: 13280 - Pages: 54
...Essay #5 – Reagan Administration POL 313 August 12, 2015 Former Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan becomes the 40th president of the United States at the ripe old of 69 in a time when both, the popularity and the faith among the American people in the office of the president was greatly impaired. Reagan’s predecessor, Jimmy Carter`s tenure concluded with many unsolved domestic and international issues that in turn presented a great opportunity for Ronald Reagan to establish himself as a transformative president who shall restore the power to the presidency. In fact it would not be incorrect to state that, Reagan capitalized on America`s desperate desire to change the status quo during his presidency. 1970s was a chaotic decade for the United States of America; stagflation, unemployment, stubborn bureaucracy, ineffective congress, and most importantly, soviet expansion and loss of Vietnam war had demoralized the public. Nixon` Watergate scandal and the overall weakening of America`s image on the international platform only added more to America`s misfortune. By the beginning of the 1980s the government was almost entirely non functional before the eyes of the public; some go as far as to say that, Carter administration was a perfect example of how America could function without a president (Milkins, 2013). It is evident that in the beginning of 1980s America mainly needed three things; reclaim its title as a powerful nation in the world, a sense of...
Words: 956 - Pages: 4
...Chats, New Deal, 100 Days Public Works Administration National Recovery Administration TVA-Tennessee Valley Authority Social Security World War Two Good Neighbor Policy Fascism: Hitler, Mussolini NAZI=National Socialists Lebensraum Invasion of Poland The Battle of Britain Pearl Harbor Bataan Death March Doolittle Raid on Tokyo D-Day The Holocaust Pacific: Island Hopping Rosie the Riveter Revenue Act of 1942 Balloon Bombs Rationing-Victory Gardens The Draft Propaganda: Dehumanization Internment: Executive Order 9066 Tuskegee Airmen After the War/Cold War GI Bill National Security Act George Marshall-Marshall Plan Berlin Airlift Jackie Robinson Harry Truman Dixiecrats Korean War Joseph McCarthy-2nd Red Scare Dwight Eisenhower, VP Richard Nixon Brinkmanship Sputnik TV: Milton Berle, Ed Sullivan, Game Shows Elvis Presley, Jack Kerouac, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe John Kennedy Richard Nixon John Glenn Peace Corps Bay of Pigs Cuba Fidel Castro Berlin...
Words: 277 - Pages: 2
...It escalated due to antagonist values between the Cumulated States, representing capitalism and democracy, and the Soviet Cumulation, representing communism and authoritarianism. Being the two ascendant world powers after WWII, contention between the Americans and Soviets became an ecumenical conflict. The Cold War differed from most wars in that it was as much of a propaganda war as a war with military engagements. The Korean and Vietnam Wars are consequential examples of military intervention by the Americans in the denomination of ceasing communist expansionism. However, these wars did not have the decade’s long impact on American domestic and peregrine policy that the cultural, political, and economic battles of the Cold War had. (Katy Fletcher,...
Words: 4528 - Pages: 19
...only 6 battleships and no submarines ▪ 13% of Germany is now transferred to neighbouring countries as the map is redrawn ▪ Germany loses land to France (Alsace-Lorraine), Belgium, Poland (Posen & West Prussia) & Denmark ▪ 15% of German coal mines are lost in map changes ▪ Many Germans blame the defeat in the war on “the stab in the back” (DOLCHSTOSS) – i.e. the Socialists / Communists / Jews betrayed Germany & the army was never defeated. This myth makes it harder to accept the Treaty ▪ Treaty weakened democracy in Germany and the German economy ▪ Friedrich Ebert appointed Chancellor in October 1918 2) The Weimar Constitution ▪ A National Assembly was elected to write this new constitution ▪ It met in Weimar because Berlin was not safe – so we call this whole period in German history the WEIMAR REPUBLIC, or WEIMAR GERMANY (or just WEIMAR!) ▪ Constitution ready by August 1919 ▪ Very democratic = everyone over the age of 20 gets the vote (men and women) ▪ Proportional representation is used in elections – so small, extremist parties find it easier to get into the Reichstag ▪ The President is the Head of State...
Words: 5018 - Pages: 21
...THE IRON CURTAIN The Second World War lasted for a period of six years starting from September 1939 and ending in the year 1945. Being a war of large scale involving belligerent super powers with their own sphere of interests, it ended with the surrender of Germany, Japan and the liberation of Western Europe. The Yalta conference in February 1945 was attended by Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. Apart from other settlements was a Memorandum of Understanding between the three allied powers to divide Germany into British, American and Russian zones in addition to further bifurcation of Berlin. The war struck European society’s agitation against the old order came in the shape of supporting ideologies having moderate, socialist, and communist views. Stalin being the staunch supporter of communism had by 1946 succeeded in establishing pro-communist coalition governments in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The surge of communism in Eastern Europe was augmented by the fact that the local administrative setups of different governments were bent on cleansing their social lives from anarchic ideologies formed previously in the garb of patriotism. Non adherence to paying taxes was one of the practices prevalent in those times. Spread of communism in Eastern Europe began with taking control of the Police and using it for economic and social reforms. The pace of reform and development on the Eastern side was fast and visible. The logical and possible fallback of this advancement...
Words: 954 - Pages: 4
