The Political Context of the Berlin Wall
Allied Occupation Zones in postwar Germany.
World War II ended in Europe with Germany's surrender on May 7, 1945. After having been defeated by the Allies, Germany was divided among the powers of the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and the Soviet Union, with each nation given an occupation zone to administer. And although it lay surrounded by the Soviet occupation zone, the same was done to Berlin. This placement posed problems to both western Allies, who feared Soviet expansion into West Berlin, and to the USSR, who feared Allied influence over its soon-to-be communist state. An early indication of the tensions to come between western Allies and the Soviet Union came in the Berlin Blockade in 1948: a precursor of sorts to the Berlin Wall, in which western Allied access to West Berlin by rail and road were denied. Because West Berliners relied on British, French, and American supplies (which included food), if the USSR were to give them supplies instead, West Berliners would be much more receptive to electing a communist (Soviet-friendly) government. To the USSR's dismay, the Allies were able to airlift sufficient supplies to the West Berliners and retain their control of the city. As realizing its failure, the Soviets lifted the blockade in 1949.
The division between West and East Berlin became even more pronounced in the following years. The western Allies joined their occupation zones in both Germany and in Berlin to create the state of West Germany, while the Soviet occupation zone became a separate state, East Germany. West Berlin and West Germany adopted western-style democratic institutions and economic systems. East Germany, as part of the Soviet expansionist policies following World War II, adopted a Marxist-Leninist government and economy under the influence of the USSR. In fear of further deprivation of rights and freedoms, and drawn by economic prosperities in West Germany, East Germans and Berliners began emigrating en masse to West Germany and West Berlin during the early 1950s. In response, East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic as it was officially named, tightened border security and strengthened its defenses. However, exchanges between East and West Berlin remained relatively open. Due to further emigration of East Germans through West Berlin, Soviet-controlled East German government completely segregated the two parts of Berlin in 1961, and began construction of the Berlin Wall to separate the two halves.
The Berlin Wall was built starting August 17, 1961. The Wall consisted of a 12-foot high concrete barrier running straight through the 140 km long border between East and West Berlin. A "death strip" on the East German side was cleared, which provided a clear line of fire to kill any attempted defectors. After the Wall was completed, there was no exchange between either side of the city. Families were separated for decades and people lost their homes, if they were unlucky enough to be in the wrong side of the city when the borders closed. Before long, the Berlin Wall came to symbolize the "Iron Curtain" that separated the Eastern Communist bloc from the Western Capitalist nations.