Why was Germany separated into two places?? What led to the Berlin Wall??

Answer 1

Germany after WWII was separated into 4 different sectors. Russian, French, English, and American. Berlin, although in the Russian sector, was an open city divided into 4 separate areas as well. Eventually Germany was split in half, becoming East Germany (The Russian sector) and West Germany (The original Allied sectors). Berlin had the same division. The East Germans, under the thumb of Russia erected a wall between east and west Berlin to prevent people leaving the poor eastern sector for the richer and fast growing west. This also gave the East German Secret Police (Stasi) far more control.

Answer 2

at the end of WWII, the Allied powers (u.s. etc) and the USSR both wanted parts of germany b/c germany was blamed for the war - this was like trying to get back some of the money and resources that had been expended during the war. Germany was divided as was Berlin. The wall in Berlin was erected to keep the now communist East berliners from escaping into "free" west berlin.

Wikipedia offers a pretty basic explaination as well if you want more details

Answer 3

The Allies agreed to split Berlin between Russia (USSR) and the USA after the war. Remember, the Russians got to Berlin first and had a jolly time killing, raping, and stealing. The Berlin wall was put up by the Russians in about 1960 to keep the East Germans from escaping to the West or USA side.

Answer 4

You can search on line or read an encyclopedia about this for a longer, more accurate version.

Short answer -- at the end of World War II, Germany was split into occupation zones of the four winning nations (US, France, England, Soviet Union). The Soviets wanted to dominate their sector, and any reunification talk went nowhere. So the Soviet zone became East Germany, the others became West Germany.

The four nations also split up Berlin, the capital. East Berliners were "escaping" to the West, so the Soviets put up a wall to prevent it.

Answer 5

After World War II, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation - American, British, French, and Russian. This was the Allied Powers way of punishing Germany for their role in World War II. America, Britain, and France consolidated their zones of occupation into West Germany while the Russian zone of occupation became East Germany. Although the city of Berlin was deep in the heart of East Germany, it too was divided into four zones of occupation and America, Britain, and France consolidated their zones of occupation into West Berlin while the Russian zone of occupation became East Berlin. West Germany became democratic while East Germany became communist. The Berlin Wall was built by the Russians to keep East Berliners from escaping into West Berlin, which was technically part of West Germany.

Answer 6

Berlin Wall, fortified wall surrounding West Berlin, built in 1961 and maintained by the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), commonly known as East Germany, until 1989. The Berlin Wall was a highly visible symbol of the Cold War, the post-1945 struggle between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its allies, including East Germany, and the United States and its allies.

At the end of World War II in 1945, the city of Berlin was completely surrounded by territory occupied by Soviet forces. This territory officially became the country of East Germany in 1949. The city of Berlin itself was partitioned into East Berlin and West Berlin. West Berlin was occupied by British, French, and United States forces and was supported by the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly known as West Germany. Between 1949 when East Germany was established and the middle of 1961, at least 2.7 million people fled East Germany, more than half of them through West Berlin. Compared to other countries in Eastern Europe, East Germany was the most productive Communist nation between 1949 and 1961. However, East Germans had limited access to West German media and were aware that their standard of living was substantially lower than that of their counterparts in West Germany. Many East Germans left the GDR hoping to find better economic opportunities in the West.

In 1961 the East German government decided to stop this flight to the West, which was depleting the country's labor force, among other things. During the night of August 13, 1961, East German soldiers and members of its militia surrounded West Berlin with temporary fortifications that were rapidly replaced by a concrete wall, 4 m (12 ft) high and 166 km (103 mi) long, of which 45 km (28 mi) lay between two sides of the city. Where a wall was not possible, buildings were bricked-up. The only openings in the wall were two closely guarded crossing points. Although the GDR announced that the wall was needed to prevent military aggression and political interference from West Germany, the East German government built tank traps and ditches along the eastern side of the wall, suggesting that it was constructed to keep East German citizens in.

Between 1961 and 1989, a few East Germans managed to escape to West Berlin, but at least 80 people died trying to cross the border. In the summer of 1989, the Berlin Wall became irrelevant when Hungary allowed East Germans to pass through Hungary on their way to Austria and West Germany. In the fall of that year, the East German regime was on the verge of collapse, and on November 9, enthusiastic private citizens began to demolish whole sections of the wall without interference from government officials. East Germany eventually participated in the removal of the Berlin Wall and reunited with West Germany in 1990 as one nation, the Federal Republic of Germany. The Berlin Wall is now commemorated by a few remaining sections and by a museum and shop near the site of the most famous crossing point, Checkpoint Charlie.

for more information:
http://www.msnbc.com/onair/msnbc/TimeAndAgain/archive/berlin/default.asp?cp1=1
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/artcollection/exhibitions/august/
http://www.memorial.fr/10EVENT/gb/berlin.htm