Since the occupation of Western Allies, Berlin was divided in half, leaving the eastern and western parts of the city culturally divided. During late 1950s and early 1960s when many Eastern German’s began to migrate to the western part of the city, the socialist government decided to build a fence across the city boarder, limiting access to the Western half. Over time, this fence soon became a brick wall, completely cutting off access to the west, leaving family and friends separated for nearly 30 years. After the wall came down in 1989, Europe was faced with new problems such as how to function as with new freed nations with the end of the Soviet Union and how to unify the countries.
For the guide, I combined information that gave a general overview of the History of the Berlin Wall, building the falling, the destruction of the wall, and first hand experiences about living with in the wall, and video clips and pictures about the wall. Throughout the guide, all of the “blue” titles are hyperlinks to each online source listed below and the bold titles are the in print sources used, with the citation for each book following a brief description. This guide is divide into five sections, breaking up the information based on the relevance and time line of events that happened throughout the time the Berlin Wall stood.
GENERAL OVER VIEW
Each of these sources below give a broad overview of the events that lead up to building, life in Berlin living with in the wall, and reactions to what happened once the wall was torn down in 1989. These sources range from in-depth novels that go into detail about each event, basing information from de-classified files, first hand experiences and other historical sources.
- This website, run by the history channel, breaks down the Berlin Wall into four sections. Giving brief descriptions of the background of how the city was divided into two, the reasoning East Germany built the wall, events that occurred as the barrier was put in place and the wall was built. Additionally the US reactions to the wall, what happened during the 28 years that wall was in place and the relationship between east and west Berlin, and tearing down the wall in 1991. This website is easy to understand, the hit on the key reasoning behind the Berlin Wall.
The Berlin wall: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and a showdown in the heart of Europe
- Written by Norman Gelb, this book does an excellent job of describing the background and perimeters of the wall. Going into the entirety of the crisis of 1961 and the fait of the Berlin Wall, this book is a great source to get a first hand experience about what it was like to be a Non-German in Berlin at this time.
Gelb, Norman. The Berlin wall: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and a showdown in the heart of Europe. N.p.: Dorset Press, 1990.
The Berlin Wall : a world divided
- Combining first hand experience and historical evidence, Taylor tells the story of the Berlin Wall, and how the Germans reacted and dealt with the isolation. This books is a good source because it combines primary and secondary sources to tell the story in a compelling manner.
Taylor, Fred. The Berlin Wall: A World Divided, 1961-1989. New York: Harper Perennial, 2008.
Living with the wall: West Berlin, 1961-1985
- Giving direct insight to what life was like living behind the Wall in Eastern Berlin, this book is based off of official documents and first hand experiences that gives readers new information and insight into life before, after, and during the Berlin Wall era.
Merritt, Richard L., and Anna J. Merritt. Living with the Wall: West Berlin, 1961-1985. [Durham, N.C.]: Duke University Press, 1985.
BUILDING THE WALL
The sites and book in the section focus on why the wall was built, reactions from both East and West Berliners, and the outside world. The links here are used to connect viewers to the site where they can find the information, some of the sites can further link viewers to more information. The book listed below gives great background information about the poltial and social context in Europe during the period.
The Construction of the Berlin Wall
- This website, run by the Berlin Government examines why the Wall was built. Giving a deeper understanding about the history of the Wall and why the government chose to build it. Because this website is run by Germany, has more of a formal tone to the writing, and gives more information about how the lives of Germans were affected by the wall. Including an image of workers, this site also has a 3D image of the city, showing viewers where the wall was, and how it affected not only all of Berlin, but the Germany as well. This website is useful to understand how it affected Germans in both East and West Berlin during its construction and how the reasoning behind the wall was explained to the citizens, however the site does not go into life in East Germany during a majority of the 28 years the wall was in place or when the wall fell.
East Germany Begins Construction on the Berlin Wall
- Another site provide by the History Channel, discussing the background on why the Wall was built. Written from the American point of view on the events, this site discusses the reasons behind the wall, American’s reaction to the wall, and what the Berlin Wall stood for. Although this site is brief, it focuses on the basic reasons behind the wall, and gives a quick overview with accurate information for someone who does not have time to read an extensive source.
East Germany and detente: building authority after the wall
- Although this book does not focus directly on the Berlin Wall, the information given in this book helps to set up the background information and the political tension during the time. This book will be useful to someone who need background information about the Soviet Union and the reasons behind tension between the East and West
McAdams, A. James. East Germany and Detente: Building Authority After the Wall. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
FALL OF THE WALL
After the GDR lifted the restricted access to West Berlin, people of both East and West Berlin began to tare down the wall. These sources look at the viewpoints of event that occurred and the after math from the American point of view, a socialist view point, and how people in East and West Berlin felt at the time.
Socialist Viewpoint-Fall of the Berlin Wall
- Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International, this article is looking back twenty years after the Berlin Wall was torn down. Giving a different view point of the tearing down the wall, written by a pro-socialist group, this articles focuses on information that states why the wall should not have been torn down, and the negatives ramifications of it. This article compares views about the Wall at the time it was torn down, ten years later, then twenty years later comparing each viewpoint. When reading this article, one should remember the view point that this is coming from, and only use the information here to compare the viewpoint of the West to the socialist ideals.
The fall of the Berlin Wall
- In this detailed book, Buckley looks into the cultural and social implications of the Berlin Wall, the political tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. Going into such detail about each event, Buckley is able illustrate with words what it was like behind the Iron curtain at the time, and how the Germans made such rash decisions. This book is a great read, Buckley is able to draw the reader in and engage them in the story.
Buckley, William F. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
The idea of a united Europe: political, economic, and cultural integration since the fall of the Berlin Wall
- This book discusses what happened to Europe at the end of the cold war, and how after the fall of the Berlin wall, and then the official unification of Berlin and Germany a year later Europe had to adjust to having all of Europe as free democratic nations.
Shahin, Jamal, and Michael J. Wintle. The Idea of a United Europe: Political, Economic, and Cultural Integration Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
The Year That Changed the World
- Meyer, who was in East Berlin the wall came down compares how Americans viewed the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Wall to how Americans view the events. Telling the story from his own experiences, he is able to pain a picture of what happened the night the wall fell. The book also goes into depth about how the Cold War affected the United States and its lasting affects.
Meyer, Michael. The Year That Changed the World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall. New York: Scribner, 2009.
FIRST HAND EXPERIENCES
Below are links to different video clips, photos, and news reports documented throughout the time the Berlin Wall Stood. This information is both valuable and important because it not only shares first hand experiences about what happened during this time, but also is able to convey how the people of Berlin felt during the 28 years the wall stood.
- Although this site is focused on pictures with little explanation, the images seen on the site give the viewer a first hand experience of what the wall was like, and how it affected East and West Berliners every day lives. Showing images from before the wall was actually a brick wall to the destruction of it, using this site help the viewer relate to what happened.
Live Coverage of the unification of East and West
- This is a video clip of the wall falling. Tom Brokaw from NBC is covering the destruction of the wall live, stating that “it is freedom night”, showing images of young adults moving from east to west, standing on the wall. You can also hear Germans singing, the sound the people chiseling the wall away, Watching this clip, viewers can see the impact and how this event affected both the people of east and west Germany. This is a great primary source; it shows news coverage, video of the reactions, and interviews with Germans.
Berlin Wall-Episode 1: Building the Wall
- This video building the wall from the perspective of Berliners. This video is narrated by Germans and shows images and film of when the wall was first built, and the wall alter in the 1980s. The film is also narrated by a historian who discusses life in Berlin before the wall, when citizens could walk freely between the sides, and then what happened when GDR began to block access to the west. This video is a great primary source, viewers are able to see first hand experiences of the wall being built, Germans trying to escape to the west and and their feelings about the situation. This link also has other clips related to the wall at different points in time.
- Showing photos of the wall, these images convey how both Eastern and Western Germans viewed the wall and what they experienced and saw as the wall was being build and right after its completion. Using this source, viewers can get a snap shot of the social context of the time, as well as a short synopses that further explains the pictures.
INTERACTIVE SOURCES
These two sources give a different look at the events that occurred during the 28 years. The first looks at how Americans viewed what was happening in Berlin while the second has both descriptions and photos along with interactive questions that allow viewers to connect the Berlin Wall to other events in history.
- Written to go along with a symposium and the National Archives and Records Administration, this source, while focusing on the rise of the wall, gives an inside look on life with in Berlin when the wall was built, and how the Americans viewed the events that occurred. It also shows CIA documents about the governments reactions, maps of Germany, and speeches given by Gregory W Pedlow, chief historical officer at NATO, Danoald A. Carter, historian for the Army, and Lou Mehrer, retired CIA. Although this essay is longer than the other documents, it gives a different look to the situation, along with pictures taken with blurbs describing what was happening during many of the images. This document is an excellent source because it gives the view points of many important American figures during the time who had a close connection with the events around the Berlin Wall and images and descriptions of what is happening, and then a general overview of the struggle related to the wall.
- Run by the Newseum in Washington DC, this website combines summary of information and images of the different stages of the Berlin Wall to tell the story. Showing images of different phases of the wall, this site combines images and reconstructed images of the events with a synopsizes of what happened. Each section of the website has one-two photos that can be in larged to give viewers a better understand. Along with the pictures, this site also related the Wall to other events in history, gives examples of how East Berliners tried to escape, and provides interactive questions to viewers to help them connections between different points in history and understand the reasoning behind the wall better. Additionally, there is also an interactive quiz that summarizes the information further. This website is useful because it touches on the events that lead up to and happened during and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but also gives examples of how East and West Berliners dealt with the wall, and how they tried to over come it.