Berlin Wall
McAffee, Courtney
Mr. Haskell
World History
25 May 2005
Many people believed that the Berlin Wall was constructed to prevent fascist ideals and to keep people out of the city. But the truth is on the contrary; the Berlin Wall was made to keep the people from leaving. Next to the wall in West Berlin, there would be a 10-30 foot wide border patrol in which only those who were authorized could enter. Those who entered without permission would be killed or severely punished. In this way, the people were put under tight restrictions. The wall has gone through many reformations to become more impassible.
Although the Berlin Wall was built around West Berlin, there were still ways to get in and out, these links were especially protected. These ways in and out through the wall were linked to Germany and East Berlin. At first airway travel and train travel in and out of West Berlin was strictly regulated. Eventually they built their own railway linking West Berlin to Germany.
Some people came to view the wall as a part of their city's landscape, others however, thought of it as a threat and controlling factor. Many of these people tried to escape by jumping out of their homes, swimming under the wall, or simply getting over it as fast as possible. In this way, many people were killed in the 28 years that the Wall was up. About 239 people were taken as victims of the wall; they died through drowning, being shot, or other means.
Eventually the Wall came to an end. This was partly due to the role that the USSR played as well as the powerful leader Gorbachev of West Germany. After the Berlin Wall's threat ended, the Wall opened and people were taken out. As part of a demonstration 4 million people were taken out as they pleaded for freedom and rights on November 4th 1989. This was the fall of the Berlin Wall and the people of this area have made a lot of progress since.