Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart: Difference between revisions
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== Background == | == Background == | ||
West Germany bribed East German workers with up to $100,000 and free loans. It gave them instant citizenship if they defected. Before the wall was built, the GDR lost 10% of its population. Many people who emigrated were highly skilled. In addition, the [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution|Western secret police]] promoted black market trading and smuggling that harmed the GDR's economy.<ref name=":05">{{Citation|author=Austin Murphy|year=2000|title=The Triumph of Evil|chapter=A Detailed Autopsy of the Collapse of the Superior System in the Divided Germany|page= | West Germany bribed East German workers with up to $100,000 and free loans. It gave them instant citizenship if they defected. Before the wall was built, the GDR lost 10% of its population. Many people who emigrated were highly skilled. In addition, the [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution|Western secret police]] promoted black market trading and smuggling that harmed the GDR's economy.<ref name=":05">{{Citation|author=Austin Murphy|year=2000|title=The Triumph of Evil|chapter=A Detailed Autopsy of the Collapse of the Superior System in the Divided Germany|page=124–7|pdf=https://mltheory.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/austin-murphy-the-triumph-of-evil.pdf|city=Fucecchio|publisher=European Press Academic Publishing|isbn=8883980026}}</ref> | ||
== Construction == | |||
Before 1961, barbed wire and minefields already existed on the border. The GDR built the wall on 13 August 1961.<ref name=":05" /> | |||
== Border crossings == | |||
=== Legal === | |||
In the first few years after 1961, only a few thousand people legally traveled into the West. The GDR's government later loosened restrictions and allowed anyone aged 65 or older to cross the border. By the 1980s, East Germans could visit the West if they were aged over 50 or had relatives there. People who did not meet these criteria could still ask for permission to visit. In 1987, the GDR approved 1.3 million of 1.6 million applications from people under the retirement age. More than 99% of visitors to the West returned to the GDR.<ref name=":05" /> | |||
=== Illegal === | |||
Over 90% of illegal crossing attempts failed, and about 50,000 people were arrested for trying to cross the border without permission. 239 people died trying to illegally emigrate across the wall. Some were shot, and others died from drowning or suicide.<ref name=":05" /> | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 18:34, 3 July 2023
The Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart (Antifaschistischer Schutzwall), referred to as the Berlin Wall by the Western media, was a wall that protected East Berlin, the capital of the German Democratic Republic, from NATO aggression. It was built in 1961 and demolished in 1989.[1] It was created to protect the GDR from counterrevolutionary West Germany, where denazification never took place.[2][3] It also prevented skilled workers from being recruited by the West after completing their free education.[4]
Background
West Germany bribed East German workers with up to $100,000 and free loans. It gave them instant citizenship if they defected. Before the wall was built, the GDR lost 10% of its population. Many people who emigrated were highly skilled. In addition, the Western secret police promoted black market trading and smuggling that harmed the GDR's economy.[5]
Construction
Before 1961, barbed wire and minefields already existed on the border. The GDR built the wall on 13 August 1961.[5]
Border crossings
Legal
In the first few years after 1961, only a few thousand people legally traveled into the West. The GDR's government later loosened restrictions and allowed anyone aged 65 or older to cross the border. By the 1980s, East Germans could visit the West if they were aged over 50 or had relatives there. People who did not meet these criteria could still ask for permission to visit. In 1987, the GDR approved 1.3 million of 1.6 million applications from people under the retirement age. More than 99% of visitors to the West returned to the GDR.[5]
Illegal
Over 90% of illegal crossing attempts failed, and about 50,000 people were arrested for trying to cross the border without permission. 239 people died trying to illegally emigrate across the wall. Some were shot, and others died from drowning or suicide.[5]
References
- ↑ Hope M. Harrison (2014-11-02). "Untangling 5 myths about the Berlin Wall" Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
- ↑ Nikos Mottas (2016-11-10). "The Berlin Wall and the bourgeois lies" In Defense of Communism. Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
- ↑ M. Fergus Gabhainn (2021-08-26). "A Rampart of Civilization Against The West" Historic.ly.
- ↑ What You Should Know About the Wall: 'What did the wall prevent?' (1962).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Austin Murphy (2000). The Triumph of Evil: 'A Detailed Autopsy of the Collapse of the Superior System in the Divided Germany' (pp. 124–7). [PDF] Fucecchio: European Press Academic Publishing. ISBN 8883980026