When World War II ended, the Allied nations had to implement agreements made over the course of the war, specifically the meetings of Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin and Yalta. While there, they divided Germany into three parts, where France, Great Britain, the United States and Russia each had a zone of occupation. The German capital of Berlin was also split into four occupation zones.
As the 1950's passed into the 1960's it was clear to the Communist rulers of East Berlin and East Germany that the vast numbers of people passing from East Germany to West Berlin would quickly make the economic viability of East Germany unsustainable. Therefore, on August 13, 1961 a barrier of barbed wire and concrete blocks was quickly erected to keep the people from passing into West Berlin. At first it was a makeshift barrier, and some people were able to get across. However, as time went on the barrier was made far more complex and impenetrable so that very few people were able to make the journey.
The barrier existed for 28 years, and many people lost their lives on it. Yet, in 1989 in one of the most stunning and unbelievable events, the wall was breached and came down without a shot being fired. Suddenly, Allies whose major concern was avoiding a major war with the Warsaw Pact nations now had to scramble to manage the fall of the Soviet East European empire.
This video traces the origins of the wall, mentioning why it had to go up if East Germany was to survive as a nation, to the years where it existed and seemed a long-term entrenched certainty to the rapid movements where in a matter of days it was voluntarily breached and rendered moot.
It is a fascinating story of how people power, even in a communist nation with a vast secret police, are able to create monumental change. Of course, such success is dependent on whether the security forces are willing to fire on the people. In this case, the East German leadership was unwilling to carry out such orders.
Even though it may take years for the background to be created, sometimes a lot of history can happen in a few days. This video captures the history of the Berlin Wall, from the first strands of barbed wire to the evolution to a multi-layered barrier through the incredible few days when it was quickly rendered irrelevant. It is a video that should be required viewing in high school history classes.
