Berlin Wall/Airlift

By: Alexis, Lacey, and Brandon

The 4 Sections• After WW2 Germany was divided into

4 sectors (technically 2, communist and non-communist) the French, American, Great Britain, and Soviet sector.

• Berlin was also divided among the 4 sectors, but eventually it just was divided into East and West Berlin where East Berlin would be part of the communism and West Berlin would be part of the Democracy.

• In 1949, the US, France, and Britain sectors combined to form West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany) and the Soviet sector formed East Germany (the German Democratic Republic).

Life for the East and West

East Germany• The Soviets pilfered factory equipment

and other valuable assets from their zone and shipped them back to the Soviet Union. When East Germany became its own country, it was under the direct influence of the Soviet Union and thus a Communist society was established. In East Germany, the economy dragged and individual freedoms were severely restricted.

West Germany• They set up a capitalist society and

experienced such a rapid growth of their economy that it became known as the "economic miracle." With hard work, individuals living in West Germany were able to live well, buy gadgets and appliances, and to travel as they wished.

By the late 1950s, many people living in East Germany wanted out. No longer able to stand the repressive living conditions of East Germany, they would pack up their bags and head to West Berlin. Many of them did not make it over because they were stopped on the way, but hundreds of thousands made it across. By 1961, East Germany had lost a lot of its population from the easy access people had to West Berlin. East Germany needed to stop this easy exit. They tried to take over West Berlin with the help of the Soviet Union by threatening the US that they would use their nuclear bombs but the US did not back down. Instead East Germany decided to do something else.

The Berlin Wall Goes Up• On August 13th 1961 , East Germany

decided to build a wall to keep people from crossing the border.

• The wall went through Berlin and cut West Berlin off from the rest of East Germany.

• Whatever side citizens were on when they went to sleep August 12th was the side they would be stuck on for 28 years.

• People were not allowed to cross the wall no matter, not even to see their loved ones!

• For example if someone's husband left for a business trip into West Berlin that night and did not make it back in time, he would be stuck on the West side for 28 years and could not see his family at all! That would not be cool!!

The Berlin Airlift

• June 25, 1948 was when the Berlin Airlift began.• The Berlin Airlift was a complex mission conducted by

the United States, the United Kingdom, and France in order to feed and supply the German residents of West Berlin in 1948.

• Battered planes from the Normandy invasion took eighty tons of food and medicine into Berlin on the first day.

• It enhanced enough to feed and supply the beleaguered city within months.

• The Berlin Airlift is remembered as a triumphant humanitarian effort to feed a devastated people.

Berlin Airlift cont…

• Lt. Gen. William H. Tunner, a native from New Jersey, directed the Berlin Airlift operation and assumed his position on July 28, 1948.

• For 13 months, the aircraft under his planning and direction supplied an isolated Berlin- a city under siege- with every product necessary to keep the city and its more than a million inhabitants alive.

The Blockade is Over!

• The Airlift officially ended on Sept. 30, 1949, fifteen months after it had begun. In total, the US delivered 1,783,572.7 tons, while 541,936.9 tons were delivered by the British which totaled 2.3 Million tons from 277, 569 total flights to Berlin.

“I am a jelly filled doughnut!”• President John F Kennedy gave a

speech in West Berlin on June 26th, 1963 showing the United States support for West Germany.

• This speech is considered to be one of his best and a notable moment during the cold war.

• During his speech Kennedy tried to say “I am a Berliner” in German which would be “Ich bin Berliner” but instead he said “Ich bin ein Berliner” which would be translated to say that he is a jelly filled doughnut. All the Germans still understood what he meant and were happy that he tried.

The Wall is Finally Down!

• On November 9th, 1989 the Berlin Wall was torn down and all the people trapped on each side could finally be free and go over!

• To celebrate this David Hasselhoff, who is adored in Germany, performed on top of the wall before it was torn down.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdaDo42DvLs

20 Years Later...

• Tokio Hotel performed their song World Behind My Wall at the EMAs in Berlin in 2009.

• During their performance, there are some clips from the wall and it being torn down.

• For those who do not know Tokio Hotel all four of them are from Germany and were born before the wall was torn down, so this kind of effected them.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PphvNVzdI7g

Time Line• May 8, 1945 - World War II is over and Berlin is divided into 4 sectors:

the American, British, and French in the West andthe Soviet in the East.

• June 30, 1946 - At the instigation of the Soviet Military administration the demarcation line between East and West Germany is safeguarded.

• October 29, 1946 - A 30 day valid Interzonenpass is required to travel between the sectors in Germany.

• June 23, 1948 - Currency reform in Berlin. Berlin is divided into two different currency zones.

• June 24, 1948 - The Berlin blockade begins.• June 25, 1948 - The Berlin Airlift begins.• May 12, 1949 - The end of the Berlin blockade.• May 24, 1949 - Federal Republic of Germany is founded

(West Germany).• September 30, 1949 – The end of the Berlin Airlift.• October 7, 1949 – The German Democratic Republic is founded

(East Germany).• May 26, 1952 – The Border between East and West Germany and between East

Germany and West Berlin is closed. Only the border between East and West Berlin is still opened.

Time Line cont..• November 14, 1953 - The Western Powers waive the Interzonenpass, the Soviet

Union follows but East German citizen need a permission to travel to the West.• December 11, 1957 - Leaving East Germany without permission is forbidden

and violations are prosecuted with prison up to three years.• August 13, 1961 - The Berlin sectorial border between East and West Berlin is

closed, barriers are built.• August 14, 1961 - The Brandenburg Gate is closed.• August 26, 1961 - All crossing points are closed for West Berlin citizens• June 26, 1963 President J. F. Kennedy visits Berlin, gives his famous speech to

make them tear down the wall and says: "Ich bin ein Berliner." ("I am a Berliner.")

• December 17, 1963 - West Berliner citizen may visit East Berlin for the first time after more than two years.

• September 3, 1971 - The Four Power's Agreement over Berlin visiting becomes easier for West Berliners.

• June 12, 1987 - President Ronald Reagan visits Berlin and tries to convince the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

• November 9, 1989 - The Berlin Wall is torn down and opened up.• December 22, 1989 – The Brandenburg Gate is opened.• October 3, 1990 - Germany is finally reunited.

Works Cited• 1948 By. "The Berlin Airlift." Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation. Web. 25 May

2010. <http://www.spiritoffreedom.org/airlift.html>.• "American Languages: Our Nations Many Voices Online." Welcome | Center

for the Study of UpperMidwestern Culture. Web. 25 May 2010. <http://csumc.wisc.edu/AmericanLanguages/writings/2_myths_kennedy.html>.

• "Ich Bin Ein Berliner." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 25 May 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner>.

• "The Berlin Airlift." Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation. Web. 26 May 2010. <http://www.spiritoffreedom.org/airlift.html>.

• "Timeline - History of Berlin Wall." Dailysoft: IT-Consulting, Photography, Berlin and Berlin Wall Information. Web. 24 May 2010. http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/berlinwall-timeline.htm

• Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Berlin Wall - The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall." 20th CenturyHistory. Web. 25 May 2010. <http://history1900s.about.com/od/coldwa1/a/berlinwall.htm>.