Berlin Wall’s 45th
August 13, 2006, is the 45th “anniversary” of the erection of the Berlin Wall, the totem of the Cold War that came down in 1989, pushing the end of the Cold War. Residents of Berlin awoke on this day in 1961 to find the communist government of East Germany erecting what would become a 96-mile wall around the “western quarters” of the city — not so much to lay siege to the westerners (that had been tried in 1948, frustrated by the Berlin Airlift) as to keep easterners from “defecting” to the West. The Brandenburg Gate was closed on August 14, and all crossing points were closed on August 26.
From 1961 through 1991 1989, teachers could use the Berlin wall as a simple and clear symbol for the differences between the communist Eastern Bloc, the Soviet Union and her satellite states, and the free West, which included most of the land mass of Germany, England, France, Italy, the United States and other free-market nations — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. I suspect most high school kids today know very little about the Wall, why it was there, and what its destruction meant, politically.
This era of history is generally neglected in high school. Many courses fail to go past World War II; in many courses the Cold War is in the curriculum sequenced after the ACT, SAT and state graduation examinations, so students and teachers have tuned out.
But the Wall certain had a sense of drama to it that should make for good lessons. When I visited the wall, in early 1988, late at night, there were eight fresh wreaths honoring eight people who had died trying to cross the Wall in the previous few weeks (in some places it was really a series of walls with space in between to make it easier for the East German guards to shoot people trying to escape) — it’s an image I never forget. Within a year after that, East Germans could travel through Hungary to visit the West, and many “forgot” to return. Within 18 months the wall itself was breached.
The Wall was a great backdrop for speeches, too — President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin in June 1963, and expressed his solidarity with the walled-in people of both West and East Berlin, with the memorable phrase, “Ich bin ein Berliner,“ which produced astounding cheers from the tens of thousands who came to hear him. There are a few German-to-English translators who argue that some of the reaction was due to the fact that “Berliner” is also an idiomatic phrase in Berlin for a bakery confection like a jelly doughnut — so Kennedy’s words were a double entendre that could mean either “I am a citizen of Berlin,” or “I am a jelly doughnut.” Ronald Reagan went to the same place Kennedy spoke, the Brandenburg Gate, in his famous June 1987 speech which included a plea to the Soviet Union’s Premier Mikhail Gorbachev: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 - photo from University of Utah, by Corey Hatch.
Update March 9, 2007: Berlin Airlift information and lesson plans are available from the Truman Library, here, here and here.
February 9, 2007 at 5:38 am
Personally I think the wall was built behind theft of people private property - I can confirm that at the age of 55 years English dishonesty includes not notifying me of squatters in the family house in Berlin.
English people particularly the women suffer from an accute tendancy that everything is free in life, demonstrating publicly this fact in Berlin.
Facing facts is my preference today supporting extradition to Berlin in every case however trivial
March 12, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Hey, you several dozen people hitting this post today, more than a half-year after it went up — what specific information are you looking for? Are you researching for school, or for work?
Please leave a comment, let us know what’s up of a sudden.
May 21, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I’m just using your picture to make a historical piece of art, I was only 2 when that wall fell. From what I have learnt and know this was a great event all ther Germans I know are a lot more expresive now.
Keep it metal and Know Jesus love you :D
This is my bigger blog http://ibox-security.net/laurence1987/
August 7, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Its a great experience when I have opportunity to study in Berlin for several months, so I understand about the history of Berlin Wall, its contain so much story about humanity and personal. As we see now Berlin Wall was fall, but all the memories and sacrified from the person who dedicated their self to fallen the Wall still remain. And I memory from the World History kept couple piece of Berlin Wall framed in my living room.
August 8, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Good research. You are making some good points here. I’m impressed.
August 13, 2007 at 12:42 pm
[...] Wall’s 46th Today is the 46th anniversary of the beginning of the Berlin Wall. The post I wrote last year on this topic continues to be popular, day in and day out, but especially when high school [...]
February 15, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Your article states the wall was up for 30 years–61-91. The wall came down in November 1989–not 1991.
February 15, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Thanks for the correction. I was actually referring to the end of the Cold War, but it’s more clear and it makes more sense to use the 1989 date.
I visited the wall in 1988. There were fresh wreaths honoring recent fatalities of people trying to escape. Had they only been able to wait two more years, had they only known.