Presentation
Berlin Wall
Research by
Samantha Santoro
G.A.P. 2006-2007
Why I chose this Building
• Saw a documentary about it
• Interesting
• Know people who saw it
Name Origin and Meaning
• Located in Berlin , called Berlin Wall
• In German Berlin Wall is Berlin Mauer
(Mauer meaning wall)
Location
• Continent - Europe
• Country – Germany
(formerly East
Germany)
• City - Berlin
Map of Berlin Wall
Important Facts
• Was begun in 1961
• No longer standing
• East Germany and West Germany were separated by different governments
• East Germany = poor & communist
• West Germany = successful & free
Important Facts Con’d
• The Allies supported West Germany which was democratic
• The Soviet Union (Now Russia) controlled East Germany, which was communist
Functions
• To try to stop people from moving from
East Berlin/Germany to West
Berlin/Germany (2.6 million people moved)
• To try to stop “Brain Drain” from East
Germany (Lost intelligent and young people)
• From 1954 to 1961, 3,100 doctors had left-1/5 of doctors in East Germany
Considerations for
Construction
• Escaping Berliners
• Political Issues
• Dividing
City/buildings/ churches
The Berlin Wall Divides a City
Walter Ulbricht
• East German leader in 1961
• Title was Chairman of the Council of
State of the German Democratic
Republic or GDR
(Staatsratsvorsitzender in German)
• Presenter of the idea of “temporary” barbed wire fence
Erich Honecker
• Member of East
German Central
Committee & supporter of Ulbricht
• Man in charge of building Berlin Wall
Nikita Krushchev
• Title was Premier Krushchev
• The leader of the Soviet Union
• Gave permission for Ulbricht’s proposal
& said, “Put up the barbed wire. If they don’t react, put up a wall.”
Warsaw pact Members
• Soviet union (most powerful)
• East Germany
• Czechoslovakia
• Bulgaria
• Hungary
• Poland
• Albania (left in 1962)
Size, Shape and Form
• 96 miles - border length around West
Berlin
• 11.8 ft high, 66 miles long - Concrete segment wall
• Each section weighed about 2.5 tons
• 41 miles - wire mesh fencing
Size, Shape & Form Con’d
• 65 miles - anti-vehicle trenches
• 79 miles - contact or signal fence
• 7.33 yd. wide, 77 miles - column track
• Barbed wire
(August 13, 1961)
Phase 1
Phase 2
• Concrete objects
(August 15, 1961)
• Concrete slabs
Phase 3
between steel girders and concrete posts
(Beginning 1965)
Phase 4
• Concrete segments
• Bunkers
• Watch & Viewing Towers
• Guard dogs
• Directing/control towers
• Anti-vehicle trenches
Phase 4 Con’d
• Tarmac roads
• Electric fences
• Armed guards
• Flood lights
• Automatic guns
• East wall whitewashed (to show people climbing wall easily)
Details of Wall Construction
Materials
• Cement slabs
• Concrete blocks
• Barbed wire
• Metal pipes
• Stalin’s grass
• Wire mesh fence
Materials Con’d
• Wire entanglements
• Softsand
• Tarmac
Human Interest Stories
• West Berlin family tried to learn about sick relative in East Berlin by talking through fence
• Couple lifted new twin babies over wall so grandparents could see them
• East German guard saw scenes which made him jump over the fence
Escape Attempts
• Man strapped meat to himself to protect him
• People went through sewers
• People went through tunnels
• People jumped out windows
• People went up in hot-air balloons
• People hid in cars
Tunnel Construction
• Usually measured 3 ft. by 3 ft.
• Wooden floors and ceilings
• Roof held up by wooden beams
• Lit as light as a living room
• Compressed air was pumped in to the people building the tunnel
Monument Sites
• Hinterland Wall at the Bornholmer
StraBe
• Bernaur StraBe
• Wall segments along the “Ulbricht-
Kurve”
• From the Death Strip to the Wall Park in
Prenzlauer Berg
Monument Sites Con’d
• Around the Nordbahnhof
• The Invalid Cemetery in
Berlin-Mitte
• Hinterland Wall at the
Leipziger Platz
• The Wall at
NiederkirchnerstraBe
• Watchtower at the Kieler
Eck
• The Watchtower in the
Erna-Berger-StraBe
Monument Sites Con’d 2
• Directing Tower
Schlesischer Busch
• The Hinterland Wall at the Rudow
Heights
• And der
Schillingbrucke
• The East Side
Gallery
Comparing & Contrasting to
Others
• Proposal of fence on US/Mexican
Border-
1. Not to keep American people in
2. To keep illegal immigrants out
3. Proposal is fence and vehicle barriers
Comparing & Contrasting to
Others Con’d
• Israel’s Security Fence
1. Temporary
2. To keep terrorists from harming Israeli citizens
3. Made of fencing and alarm systems
Comparing & Contrasting to
Others Con’d 2
• The Great Wall of China
1. Made of BRICK and GRANITE
2. 3,948 miles long
3. To protect people from nomadic tribes
4. Ran through entire country of China
Bibliography
• Internet
• “Berlin Wall Wall-Monuments.” Senate Department of Urban
Development. December 12, 2006 http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/en/b erliner_mauer/mauer_denkmale.shtml
• “Bermauer StraBe.” Berlin Wall. December, 13, 2006
< http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_ber lin/en/berliner_mauer/ >
• “The Berlin Wall.” The Berlin Wall A look back at the fall of Communism
• and Soviet influence. December 4, 2006
• < http://factmonster.com/spot/berlinwall.html
>
• “Episode 9: The Wall.” CNN Perspectives Series Cold War. December
12,
• 2006 http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/
• Reber, Nichole. “Berlin Wall a powerful influence for intern’s architect’s
• perspective.” Herald Tribune.com. December 4, 2006
•
< http://www.heraldtribune.com
>
Bibliography Con’d
“The Berlin Wall as a building structure.” Berlin Wall. December
13,2006
< http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_ berlin/en/berliner_mauer/ >
“The system of the Berlin Wall.” History of the Berlin Wall. December
13,2006 http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/facts_03.htm
“The Wall From East to West.” Concrete Curtain Tenth Anniversary
Opening of the Wall. December 12, 2006 http://www.msnbc.com/news/wld/graphics/berlinwall_dw.htm
Trager, Eric. “Security Fences Make Good Neighbors.” Israel–at-a-
Glance. December 13,2006
< http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hireveiw/content.php?type=article& issue=spring04/&name >
“Trying to Escape.” Newseum: Berlin Wall. December 13,2006 http://www.newseum.org/cybernewseum/exhibits/berlin_wall/
Bibliography Con’d 2
“Wage Terrorists Lurking South of the Border.” December, 13,2006 http://statastic.com/category/Israel/
Books
Blashfeild, Jean F. Germany . New York: Children’s Press, 2003.
Epler, Doris M. The Berlin Wall How It Rose and Why It Fell Brookfield,
Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, 1992.
Nickles, Greg and Niki Walker. Germany. New York: Raintree Steck-
Vaughn Publishers, 2001.
Wyden, Peter. Wall The Inside Story of Divided Berlin. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989.
Interview/ Letter
Muck, Jack. (702) 227-7212. December19, 2006.
Muck, Peggy. (702) 227-7212. December 19,2006.
Santoro, Susan. Home. December 19,2006.
Thank You
Thank you for listening!!!!!!!!!!
