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The History of the Berlin Wall

In 1945 World War II ended and with that the allied alliance that won the war. The Soviet Union, in their hurry to defeat the Nazis, absorbed most of Eastern Europe. East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungry, Romania, Bulgaria and the Balkan states, once free were now under Soviet control. The Soviets wasted no time setting up communist governments and expelling or arresting allied troops who wondered into their zones of control; however, this was only the beginning of a greater story.

From 1946 to 1948, there was a relative calm across Europe. The Soviets continued their nation building, with minor travel restriction between East and West. Then on June 24, 1948, a day after the Allies announced that West Germany would have a different currency than the East and that West Berlin would be included in the new currency. Fearful of the West, the Soviets announced their own German currency marking the start of the Berlin blockade. By blocking West Berlin, they hoped to pressure the West into uniting Germany under communism. This backfired as Allied planes brought supplies into Berlin, trying to keep the people from starving. The blockade continued for almost a year, until Stalin finally ended on May 12th 1949.

From 1949 to 1961 the Soviets continued to hinder free travel between East and West. In 1952, they closed the border between East and West Germany, leaving the only travel point in between the two Berlin's. Then in 1953 the Soviets used their military might to crack down on several small revolts. By 1957 crossing the border between East and West Berlin is restricted and in 1961 the border between East and West Berlin is closed and construction of the Berlin wall begins.

In 1963 President Kennedy addressed the issue of the wall, claiming "I am a Berliner." Kennedy spoke of freedom; however this did not stymie the Soviets and the building of the wall continued. In 1963 and again in 1971 Berliners were given more freedoms allowing them to travel from East to West with permission. But still construction continued. During this period of time people trying to flee did so, sometimes being killed in the process. Many people were able to escape this oppression, while other died, most names lost to history.

In 1987, Ronald Reagan visited the Berlin wall. This was a different time then in 1963 when Kennedy spoke. The Soviet Union, power house of Eastern Europe, was slowly falling apart. Years of Reagan defense spending and the

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