The Wall and the Border Strip - Berlin, Germany
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 52° 32.000 E 013° 23.312
33U E 390694 N 5821579
Located at a Park in Berlin marking the boundaries of the Berlin Wall.
Waymark Code: WMPV37
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 10/21/2015
Views: 9
The sign is in German and English and the English portion reads:
"The Wall and the Border Strip
After the war, the SED, the ruling party, with the help of the Soviet occupying forces, began establishing a dictatorship, first in the Soviet zone of occupation and as of 1949 in GDR (East Germany). Large parts of the East German population, however, did not agree with the new political and economic system. In contrast, the Federal Republic (West Germany) and West Berlin, with their offer of freedom, prosperity and modernity, were very appealing. Consequently, a mass migration to the West began in the late forties that by the fifties had reached dramatic proportions. By August 1961 the GDR had lost a sixth of its population.
By 1952 the SED had almost completely closed off its border to the Federal Republic to GDR citizens. Travel to the western part of Germany required approval. Moving to the West without permission was considered an illegal 'flight from the republic' and prosecuted by law. When the fortifications at the inner-German border were expanded, it became increasingly dangerous to flee directly to West Germany. Hence many people went across the open sector borders into West Berlin.
On August 13, 1961, the SED began erecting barbed wire and walls to seal off the border all around West Berlin. It was hoped that this would end the growing mass migration to the West once and for all. The SED also wanted to stabilize its power over the people in the GDR and to demonstrate sovereignty to the world. But the barbed wire and walls were unable to completely stop the escape attempts. Therefore the border barriers in Berlin were continually expanded and reinforced"
Group that erected the marker: City of Berlin
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Bernauer Str.
Berlin, Berlin Germany
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