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During the Cold War, Berlin wanted to a statement and an extreme example in Europe. It all began in 1948 with the Berlin Blockade, to the rise of the Berlin Wall, and to the end with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The Berlin Blockade put an end to the Four-Power Alliance, and the unity of Germany and Berlin. ... Telephone calls were cut until “the wall” came down. ...
After November of ‘53, any one from Berlin’s western sectors that wanted to enter the eastern sectors were required to have a pass that was issued by the East German authorities. ... The Mayor of Berlin referred to the people that tried to cross as “people voting with their feet”. By now there was only one way in and out of Berlin, and still every day about 500,000 students, stowaways, and boarder residents crossed to the other side. ... the equivalent of the entire population of East Berlin, passed through West Berlin. ... Despite claiming on 15th June 1961 that " nobody has any intention of building a wall ", was intent on stopping this hemorrhage which endangered the long-term survival of the communist regime.” (Cement Curtain)
It was not until it was certain that there would be no protest from the Western powers, that East Germany began to replace the barriers with a 5-foot high wall. ...
At this time there was plenty of propaganda stating that it was an antifascist wall of protection that avoided the aggression from the West. ... As time went on, the wall was getting a face-lift.
The wall started as 75 miles of cement slabs and 87 miles of barbed wire. The wall also had 116 watchtowers, through the years the wall was getting stronger. The wall cut into 192 streets. Many people escaped the wall without being captured or killed, but that was in its early years without the security it has now. If an East German wanted to escape, they had to go though: A smooth concrete wall that was 11’6” high, some areas there would be wire mesh fencing with an electric device that rose 10-13’ high. ... After that there was large strip of open land that ended with a second wall that was grayish-white so that the soldiers can see the person’s silhouette.
Approximate Word count = 1892
Approximate Pages = 7.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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