Essential Question: How did the Berlin Wall symbolize the Cold War Standard: SS6H7c. Explain how the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the end of the Cold War and German reunification.

Europe After WWII

At the end of WWII, the Allied powers divided conquered Germany into four zones. Each zone was occupied by either the United States, Great Britain, France, or the Soviet Union. The same was done with Germany’s capital city, Berlin. It became an island of democracy within Communist East Germany.

Within a short period of time after the war, living conditions in West Germany and East Germany became very different. West Germany was set up as a capitalist society and saw rapid economic growth. East Germany was set up as a Communist society and the economy dragged and individual freedoms were severely restricted.

By the late 1950s, many people living in East Germany wanted out and headed to West Berlin. By the early 1960s, East Germany was rapidly losing both its labor force and its population. Hundreds of thousands of people left East Germany for West Germany, many who were young, trained professionals.

Desperate to keep its citizens, East Germany decided to build a wall to prevent them from crossing the border. It became known as the Berlin Wall.

How would you feel if you lived in East Germany? How would you feel if you lived in West Germany?

How might you feel if you lived in East or West Germany on November 9, 1989?How might you feel if you lived in East or West Germany on November 9, 1989? What did the tearing down of the Berlin Wall signify?