More languages
More actions
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]:124–5
Construction
Before 1961, barbed wire and minefields already existed on the border. The GDR built the wall on 13 August 1961.[5]:125–6
Demolition
On 18 November 1989, Egon Krenz replaced Erich Honecker as leader of the GDR. The wall was demolished on 9 November, and 70,000 East Germans had entered West Berlin by 4 a.m. on 10 November, but the majority had returned to the East. On the night of 10 November, the Western ruler Helmut Kohl made a nationalistic propaganda speech. 343,854 people emigrated to the West legally or illegally in 1989. The GDR continued to restrict West Germans from entering in order to prevent smuggling.[5]:145–9
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]:126–7
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]:126
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 5.4 Austin Murphy (2000). The Triumph of Evil: 'A Detailed Autopsy of the Collapse of the Superior System in the Divided Germany'. [PDF] Fucecchio: European Press Academic Publishing. ISBN 8883980026