[0:00]13th of August, 1961, Germany, Berlin, under a 150 km long wall was built in just one night, dividing Germany's capital, Berlin, into two parts for 28 years.
[0:15]Crossing this wall would result in being shot, but 28 years later, millions of people came to this wall, and not a single shot was fired. Just as this wall was built in one night, it was demolished in one night, without spilling any blood. But the question is, why was it built in the first place? What happened when it was built, and how was it finally demolished? Let's try to understand in today's video.
[0:45]Well, it's about April 30, 1945, when Adolf Hitler commits suicide, and on May 7, 1945, Germany surrenders. After World War II, Germany was divided into four parts, one part going to the USA, one to Britain, one to France, and one to the Soviet Union. Everything is fine, but the problem starts when the USA, Britain, and France realize that Berlin, the capital of Germany, has fallen into the Soviet Union's share. And they decide that Berlin will also be divided into four parts, and so it was done. Berlin was divided into four parts. Now, on May 23, 1949, the three parts of Germany that were under the control of Britain, France, and the US were merged into one part, named Federal Republic of Germany, which is famously known as West Germany today. And the three parts of Berlin were also merged into one, known as West Berlin. Now the problem is that East Berlin and East Germany, where the Soviet Union had control, the quality of life was very bad there. Food items were not available there, inflation and poverty were at their peak, and because of this, people of East Berlin started shifting to West Berlin in large numbers. No one could cross the border between East Germany and West Germany, but the people of East Germany started to think smart, and they found a loophole. They knew that they could not go to West Germany, but they could go to West Berlin, and they started doing just that. Millions of people started going from East Berlin and East Germany to West Berlin, and from there, they would leave for West Germany by train or plane. In this way, from 1949 to 1961, 3 million people escaped from East Germany. Now, this was a big problem for the Soviet Union, and they needed a solution. And this solution came on August 13, 1961, when the entire Berlin was asleep. West Berlin was sealed off from all sides, families were separated, and all the relations people had on the other side were broken. Life in West Berlin was quite good, but in East Berlin and East Germany, people were trapped in a prison. Now, if you put someone in prison without any fault, they will try to escape. The Berlin Wall was not originally a wall, but on August 13, only barbed wires were laid, on which guards stood.
[3:14]The actual brick wall took 15 years to complete. And initially, only barbed wires were laid like a border that you see between countries. There is no wall there, there are wires through which electricity flows. There was no concept of electricity here, only barbed wires. And if you search for Berlin Wall on Google, you will see this picture. In this picture, this is Conrad Schumann, a Berlin Wall guard, who is escaping just two days after the barbed wires were laid there.
[3:45]He was standing on the wall when people from West Berlin started calling him to their side, and he actually ran away. After this, in the next three decades, 5,000 people escaped from East Berlin and went to West Berlin, and more than 150 people lost their lives trying to cross this wall. People knew that their lives could be lost trying to cross this wall, but still, they did not stop. Some people risked their lives, and some got freedom with the help of people from West Berlin. One family made a hot air balloon from clothes at home, and in the dark of night, they sat the whole family, who were around eight people, and landed in West Berlin. But in every story, there is never a happy ending. Peter Fechter was just 18 years old when he tried to cross the wall. After being shot, he fell between the wall. Neither East nor West Berlin could help him. He kept screaming for 45 minutes, but he died there. Some people even jumped from their house windows to West Berlin. In these videos, you can see that people jump from their windows so that they can go to West Berlin. After this, the East German government even closed the windows of all the houses that were near the Berlin Wall.
[5:01]In these pictures, you can see that walls were also built on the windows. But now the question is, how was this wall finally demolished, and how did this division end? Well, it's about 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the leader of the Soviet Union. As soon as Gorbachev came to power, he started making reforms, and in Europe, all the countries that were under the Soviet Union's control slowly started separating from the Soviet Union. Revolutions happened in Hungary, and protests started in East Berlin and East Germany. Anyway, Gorbachev was freeing Europe, and it was already in his mind that the Berlin Wall should be broken. After this, on November 9, 1989, the East German government held a press conference where they said that the Berlin Wall would be opened. When a reporter there asked him when this would be done, he said that it would be done now, meaning at the moment, this wall would be opened.
[5:57]This phrase, that it would be opened now, was a mistake. He had no intention of opening it now, but this spokesperson had made a mistake. After hearing this, millions of people from East Germany and West Germany reached the wall, and the guards there had no idea what to do here. When they asked their seniors, they said that they should try to stop them for as long as they can, but there were so many people there that it became absolutely impossible to stop them. The guards did not understand anything, so they opened the wall, and in many places, people themselves broke this wall and made a way. After staying separated for 28 years, Berlin became one again, and on October 3, 1990, East and West Germany were made one, and on December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union officially ended, and all this became history. If you have any confusion, you can tell us in the comments. Thank you.
