The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall Essays - Eastern Bloc

For twenty-eight years, the Berlin Wall separated friends, families, and a nation. After the second World War in 1945, the victorious Allies, the US, Britain, France, Russia divided Germany into four sectors, each under the control of an ally. The US, British, and French Sectors combined to form a democratic state, The Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany. The Soviet sector became a communist state, The German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, on October 7, 1949. A barrier now separated east and West. Winston Churchill named this barrier the Iron Curtain. Even though Berlin lay deep within the Soviet sector, the Allies thought it best to divide this metropolis. Therefore Berlin was also divided into four sectors. Again the US, British, and French Sectors combined to form West Berlin. The Soviet sector became the East German capital, East Berlin. The governments of these two new countries were set up by the occupying forces, not the populous. Most of the residents of East Berlin and East Germany did not like the communist regime. In fact, most people were not communists. The Berlin Wall, though not part of the iron curtain, was a reminder of it. The wall was made of steel, cement, and barbed wire fences with traps and explosives. There were guard towers with machine guns and other weapons. It was almost impossible to cross this barrier without the communist government's permission. Conrad Shuman was a nineteen year old border guard when he witnessed families tearfully separated. He realized he was not protecting his country, but imprisoning its people. Three Days after the border was closed, he leapt to freedom. The people of East Germany became dissatisfied with the economic and political conditions of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Private trade was outlawed, as was the ownership of private land. People were forced to work on collective state owned farms. There were food and supply shortages. One hundred-sixty thousand refugees crossed the b order from East Berlin to West Berlin between January and the beginning of August of 1961 in search of a better life. This upset the East German government and the Soviet countries. (East Germany was a Soviet satellite, but was of special interest to Moscow). Nikita Kruschev, the Soviet premier of that time ordered the Berlin wall built to stop the flow of refugees. The GDR began building what they called the anti-fascist protection wall on August 13, 1961, using barbed wire and anti-tank obstacles. However the East German citizens were still escaping. The GDR added tanks at important streets some supplied by the red army. They tore up the streets to use the paving stones to build barricades. There were many escape tunnels dug under the wall. The tunnel system was an extraordinary resistance movement dug by hundreds of East Berlin students with thousands more willing to help. The first successful tunnel was in an East Berlin Graveyard. Mourners brought flowers to a grave and then dr opped out of sight. A woman with a baby accidentally found the tunnel and escaped leaving the baby carriage. The police found the carriage and closed the tunnel. The largest tunnel was in the basement of a house at number sixty Wernerstrasse, twenty-nine people were freed from this location. On August 23, 1961, the GDR stopped the subways, the railroads, and the telephone lines going to West Berlin. The people of East Berlin were no longer allowed to enter West Berlin, including the sixty-thousand workers who worked in West Berlin. However East Berliners still managed to get out. Some of them bribed their way out with cigarettes and money. After some people managed to scale the wall, there was a ban on the sale of rope and twine. On September 20, 1961, the GDR began to demolish all of the houses near the wall. They began construction of a more permanent concrete wall. When completed the wall was one hundred-sixty six kilometers long, and an average of four meters high, topped with c oncrete tubing and barbed wire. Behind the wall was a trench to stop vehicles. After that was a patrol track with a corridor for watch dogs, watch towers, and bunkers. Behind that was a second wall. This area of

How successful was Louis XVIII in establishing stability in France during his reign Essay Example

How successful was Louis XVIII in establishing stability in France during his reign Essay Example How successful was Louis XVIII in establishing stability in France during his reign Paper How successful was Louis XVIII in establishing stability in France during his reign Paper Essay Topic: History Louis XVIII came to the throne after the warfare and economic dislocation of the Napoleonic years. He was king of France from 1814 until his death in 1824. To decide whether he was successful or not, first the word success has to be defined. Success is, in terms of being king, keeping the country running well (socially, economically and politically). I feel that during Louiss time as king, many important changes and incidents happened for the French people which he handled amicably and he was an overall success. His reign can be split into different periods, the liberal era and the ultra era. Upon coming to the thrown in 1814, Louis XVIII faced several problems. Since the demise of his brother, Louis XVI, France had been characterized by warfare and economic dislocation (Randell). Napoleon had left a war-weary population under heavy taxes to bankroll his doomed foreign conquests that had resulted in France being on the periphery of international politics. How ever Napoleon was successful in setting up an effective civil service bereft of corruption and the French people, particularly the Bourgeoisie, had gained from the French Revolution and feared the new Bourbon monarch would revert to the ways of the Ancien Regime. Thus, many would not have been heartbroken had Louis XVIII faltered. Many of the royalists supported him for what he stood for, not for who he was. They yearned for the political stability associated with a legitimate monarchy and were not pre-occupied with who filled the role. They wanted to gain a sense of security and permanence that had been missing in the recent past (Randell). They too were wary of Louis intentions. One of Louis first and arguably wisest decisions was to introduce the Charter by which he would rule. It acted as a stabiliser as the first few months of his rule was crucial in gaining the silent trust, if not the public support, of the French people, especially the pays legal, those involved in politics. It was significant as it showed Louis accepted the gains the people had made as a result of the Revolution. The Charter guaranteed equality before the law for every Frenchman, proportional taxation, press freedom and the up keeping of a meritocracy in the civil service and military. This disproves the opinion of many that whilst in exile the Bourbons learnt nothing and forgot nothing. There existed a faction within the Royalists known as the Ultras. These were considered more royalist than the king himself. Many were i migri s and wanted an Autocracy, as in the days of the Ancien Regime. They possessed political clout in abundance and Louis was successful in keeping them in check, however they gain importance in the later years. The downfall of many Kings is in the Ministers they appoint. Louis XVIII shrewdly appointed competent moderate ministers in the face of an Ultra dominated Chamber, the most prominent Ellie Decazes. Under his guidance France experienced an economic boom which brought prosperity to the people and fostered stability in the country. Napoleon escaped from Elbe in 1815 and seized power in a period knows as the 100 days. Due to the support the French people gave him the allies punished France by making them pay war indemnities and stationing their troops in France until this was paid off. The presence of foreign troops in France angered the French people but the economic boom allowed for France to pay off the war indemnity by 1817 and the allies duly removed their troops. Louis was once again successful. Louis XVIII was successful in resisting the temptation to involve the Church in state affairs, especially education. However they were one of his main supporters as the Church was the source of news and information for all peasants, thus it was an effective tool in maintaining support. The King did make minor errors however. He restored the Bourbon flag as the national flag. After the 2nd restoration the King was seen as a puppet of the allies and the French people felt he turned a blind eye to the white terror, where Royal sympathisers persecuted those who had supported Napoleon upon his return. Was Louis XVIII successful as King of France? At home and abroad? Louis XVIII was king of France between 1815 and 1824. To decide whether he was successful or not, first the word success has to be defined. Success is, in terms of being king, keeping the country running well (socially, economically and politically) and making sure that the French people have the best conditions for life possible, this may mean that they are not completely content. During Louiss time as king, many important changes and incidents happened for the French people, many of which I feel Louis handled with great shrewdness and intelligence; therefore I feel that as king of France, Louis XVIII was a success. This is because of his attitudes politically, introducing the charter and therefore realizing that France could no longer return to the ancien regime; because he chose ministers who had moderate elements, so France could attempt to recover after war; and because he did his best to avoid any extremes in policy. On the other hand, there is evidence that Louis could have been described as a poor king, with, even though he was not directly involved, the white terror and the Ultra government, which had power But in 1820 the situation was becoming increasingly chaotic and Decazes resigned. Meanwhile Louiss age (he was 65 at this point) was telling on him. It was getting harder for him to fend off the Ultras. Increasingly power even within his own cabinet was passing out of his handsin particular when he was forced to accept Villi le (1822-1824) as prime minister and to take on board his brother as a member of the cabinet.