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N0KFQ > TODAY 13.08.12 01:22l 57 Lines 2815 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Aug 12
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Sent: 120812/2237Z 26646@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.52
Aug 12, 1961:
East Germany begins construction of the Berlin Wall
In an effort to stem the tide of refugees attempting to leave
East Berlin, the communist government of East Germany begins
building the Berlin Wall to divide East and West Berlin.
Construction of the wall caused a short-term crisis in
U.S.-Soviet bloc relations, and the wall itself came to symbolize
the Cold War.
Throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s, thousands of
people from East Berlin crossed over into West Berlin to reunite
with families and escape communist repression. In an effort to
stop that outflow, the government of East Germany, on the night
of August 12, 1961, began to seal off all points of entrance into
West Berlin from East Berlin by stringing barbed wire and posting
sentries. In the days and weeks to come, construction of a
concrete block wall began, complete with sentry towers and
minefields around it. The Berlin Wall succeeded in completely
sealing off the two sections of Berlin. The U.S. government
responded angrily. Commanders of U.S. troops in West Berlin even
began to make plans to bulldoze the wall, but gave up on the idea
when the Soviets moved armored units into position to protect it.
The West German government was furious with America's lack of
action, but President John F. Kennedy believed that "A wall is a
hell of a lot better than a war." In an attempt to reassure the
West Germans that the United States was not abandoning them,
Kennedy traveled to the Berlin Wall in June 1963, and famously
declared, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" ("I am a Berliner!"). Since the
word "Berliner" was commonly referred to as a jelly doughnut
throughout most of Germany, Kennedy's improper use of German
grammar was also translated as "I am a jelly doughnut." However,
due to the context of his speech, Kennedy's intended meaning that
he stood together with West Berlin in its rivalry with communist
East Berlin and the German Democratic Republic was understood by
the German people.
In the years to come, the Berlin Wall became a physical symbol of
the Cold War. The stark division between communist East Berlin
and democratic West Berlin served as the subject for numerous
editorials and speeches in the United States, while the Soviet
bloc characterized the wall as a necessary protection against the
degrading and immoral influences of decadent Western culture and
capitalism. During the lifetime of the wall, nearly 80 people
were killed trying to escape from East to West Berlin. In late
1989, with communist governments falling throughout Eastern
Europe, the Berlin Wall was finally opened and then demolished.
For many observers, this action was the signal that the Cold War
was finally coming to an end.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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