13 agos 1961 anni - Berlin Wall built

Descrizione:

Hundreds of thousands of people left East Germany through Berlin to go to the west each year. This caused a problem for East Germany as many of the people who left were young, skilled workers who were looking for better work in the west. This caused economic problems for east Germany.

WHY WERE PEOPLE LEAVING EAST GERMANY?
POLITICAL:
-Many people did not like Soviet communism
-The Soviet communism was extremely repressive
They resented the freedom of the west

ECONOMIC:
-There were much better paying jobs in the West.

SOCIAL:
-Families had been split
-Living standards were much worse in East Germany
-People were jealous of the shops and cafes they saw in the west.

To solve this, Khrushchev decided to build a wall to prevent people from leaving as it was a strain on the DDR's economy.

WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE WALL:
IMMEDIATE:
-Increased tensions between east and west. One day Soviet tanks rolled up to checkpoint charlie, preventing all access to the East. The west sent tanks in too, and although the tanks slowly retreated, it was a clear sign of the tensions between the two sides.

LONG TERM:
-The issue of tensions actually improved, there was some level of international release. The east and west were more separated and no longer bothered each other quite as much in Berlin.

Aggiunto al nastro di tempo:

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