Berlin wall between what???

Question

How come that crossing the Berlin Wall you could reach "freedom"?
I can't understand that fact because the wall was in the middle of Germany RD, not in the border with another country, so, if you could cross it, you're still inside Germany RD. That makes me crazy... it sounds like you escape from a box to get into a jail.
I mean, beyond the wall were more of the same RD, you still had to run at least another 4000 Km to reach "occident" (a gross calculation).

Of course I know the wall is not more there, I'm try to figure what happened on these days.

Thanks!

Even with Germany splitted, Berlin wasn't in the middle of that division, neither the border: Berlin was in the middle of GDR and 4000Km away from the division.

Answer 1

A good way to think of it: The slaves ran away from the South, and enslavement, to the North, where freedom was, even though it was all the same country.

Here's a simplified version of what happened:
After World War II the rest of the world decided Germany couldn't be allowed out on its own anymore, and had to be watched over. The Allies (Soviets (Russia), France, Britan, and America) decided they would split Germany. The Russian portion had Germany's capital in it. They then divided the city into four parts. The idea was that the four nations would rule Germany together, but Russia decided that it wanted to be separate from the other three, and built a wall right through the middle of the city. It had barbed wire and concrete, it even had people in towers with guns to make sure that no one tried to go over or under it. It was kind of scary on the Russian side: you had to be very careful what you said or did, you couldn't take any pictures, you had better be on time to where you were going, because if you were late you were in BIG trouble. This may sound funny, but it was very serious and creepy. Anyway, this is why people wanted to go back on the American/British/French side. It was totally different, like going from a funeral to Mardi Gras. Hope this helps :)

Answer 2

At the end of WW2 the main Allied Powers (USA< Great Britian, France, Soveit Unuion) broke Germany up into "sectors" areas of responsibilty that were governed by the first the allied military authority, the a allied civilian authority, then joint allied Germany control, and then finially German Authority. Berlin being the capital of germany was also divided into American, French, British, and Russian Sectors. Most of Germany was divided along the Elbe River. Berlin being in the Russian sector. Thus the allied powers governed germany over the next 5 years. The cities were being rebuilt, and German authorities, under the supervision of the allied powers, were begining to manage their own affairs. The USA, France, and Britian were "democracies" and the soviet union was a Comunist Dictartorship. The differencies in these vastly different forms of government naturally brought about a conflict of political motives and methods in the execution of the emerging "German" governmental struture. The biggest problem was reintoducing the German Mark, and voting. Another problem was that people begam to emigrate from the Soveit controlled areas "Eastern Europe". In 1963 the Soviet Union decided to isolate Berlin, and the Soveit controlled Eastern Europe. So basicly a wall was built right through the middle of the city of Berlin and around the entire French, British, and American Sectors of Berlin. From one day to the next, families were seperated. Wherever one was at when the wall went up is where they where they would be staying for a long time. Then Germany and eastern europe were also seperated, from the Danish Border at the Baltic sea to the Adiratic Sea. Berlin was an island of demoracy in a sea of communism. People were killed trying to escape to either West Berlin or West Germany. The border was fenced, guarded and land mines were implaced.

Answer 3

After the war, Germany was partitioned by the victorious allies - which included Russia (the war would have been lost without them). The capital was split in two, but was physically in the East

It was not expected that Russia would isolate the sectors of the country or capital under its control, but it did.

Attempts to force West Berlin to join the East by blockading supplies were overcome when the remaining allies (the west) airlifted supplies into the city (the Berlin Airlift).

What followed was a stalemate. West Berlin was an island of western democracy in the USSR.

Of course, many people wished to flee the East to the West via West Berlin, so the Russians put up the wall to stop them. But anyone who made it to West Berlin then had freedom of movement to go anywhere in the Western world.

Answer 4

Your ideas of the geography are not correct. You are right that the city of Berlin was in the center of the GDR. But the city itself was split in two parts, and one of the parts (West Berlin) did not belong to the GDR, it hat its own status and belonged in most respects to West Germany.
You could say that West Berlin was an island of freedom surrounded by a country of oppression.
The GDR considered leaving the country a crime, so they built fences and walls and other "protection" facilities around themselves (and around the "island" of West Berlin), you could have called the whole country a prison. But if you made it across the border despite the walls, you were either in West Berlin or West Germany, so you were free. (From West Berlin you could go to any place by plane)
By the way, the distance from West Berlin to West Germany was an estimated 200 km, not 4000.

Nowadays, since both parts of Germany are united and free again, it all seems like a bad dream.

Answer 5

Interesting question, but there is a simple answer: West Berlin, although surrounded by the wall, was still "free" and democratic. And, by airplanes for example (but also by other means of transport through the territory of the German Democratic Republic), from West Berlin you were able to travel to any other place in the "free world".
There was a feeling, however, for a lot of residents of West Berlin, of living in a jail. On the other hand, West Berlin was still under allied control and not a part of the Federal Republic of Germany, which also brought some advantages. For example, young men were not drafted to the army, which led to many West Germans moving to Berlin to avoid military service.

Answer 6

Vally has a very good answer. If you read history books and autobiographies, some Germans woke up one morning to the wall having been constructed during the night. Families that had allowed children to "sleep over" with friends or relatives never saw them again. Neighbors were not able to talk to someone who use to be across the street.

The only way the concept may sense to me was when my mother described it as how it can rain on one side of the street but not the other.

Answer 7

The wall symbolized and contained smaller European nations that comprised the Soviet UNION. The line was drawn in the middle of Germany, meaning, half of Germany withstood the Soviets and was still its own country. When the wall fell the nations became their own again, although Russian is still the official language in many of them.

Answer 8

To complex to answer properly here - you need a good history book. There are many.
http://www.berlin-explored.com

Answer 9

That was then, this is now.
Does history matter!!
Like the Crusades!!!! ????