THE BERLIN WALL: 1961-19899 Map of Berlin, the Capital of Germany Between 1949 and 1961, thousands of East Germans fled to West Berlin to escape Soviet communist rule, and from there, continue on to West EAST EAST Germany. In August of 1961, the East German GERMANY GERMANY government, under the control of the Soviet Union, began the construction of a wall between communist East Germany and democratic West Berlin. Guards and watchtowers were posted along the wall to ensure EAST that no one was able enter West Berlin. This meant GERMANY that families, friends, and loved ones from different sections of the city would not be able to unite with one another. The Berlin Wall would stand for 28 years as a symbol of oppression and division in EAST GERMANY Europe. The wall would fall in November 1989. 4. Imagine that you are living in East Berlin or West Berlin after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Write a short journal entry describing how your life has changed since the wall went up. In your journal, include your own experiences/feelings about life on your side of the wall AND how you think your life is different from friends or family members who live on the other side. Use specific evidence from the reading and/or video in your journal. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ The Killing of Peter Fechter On August 17, 1962, Peter Fechter and his friend, Helmut Kulbeik attempted to escape East Berlin. Their plan was to escape from East Germany by climbing over the Berlin Wall at the right moment when the guards were not looking. Helmut was able to make it over the wall in time; however, Peter was shot twice in the pelvis upon reaching the top of the wall. He fell back onto the East Berlin side of the wall, where he begged for help as he lay bleeding to death. Thousands of West Berliners were witnesses to this tragedy. West and East Berlin forces chose to hold their ground, rather than go to Peter’s aid out of fear of either being killed or starting a war. West Berlin police officers threw bandages over the wall so that Peter could attempt to stop the bleeding, but Peter was unable to retrieve any of them. After nearly an hour of suffering, Peter’s cries for help ended and he passed away. His body was carried away by an East German soldier. .