Berlin Wall Dbq

Among the wall, there were multiple checkpoints. Checkpoints were open spaces that were under twenty-four hour surveillance by guards. The open spaces were used to grant access for officials and people that had special permission, to cross either side of the border. The most famous checkpoint is “Checkpoint Charlie.” This checkpoint became a symbol of the Cold war and it has been shown in movies and books. This is the checkpoint that allied personnels used to go in and out of either side of Berlin. The concrete wall kept out most people, but not all. During the twenty-eight years that the wall stood, approximately five thousand people made it across the border. Most people crossed the first version of the wall by throwing a rope over the top

of the wall and climbing up the concrete. Then there were people that had a more aggressive way of getting across Berlin. German citizens would drive a large vehicle or bus at full speed in hopes of destroying a section of the wall.

The few people that successfully rammed down a portion of the wall had no choice but to make a run for it. Some people were so desperate to make it across the wall that they would risk their lives, by jumping out of windows of buildings that bordered the Berlin Wall. The nearby buildings were forced to put wooden boards across all of their windows and some buildings were torn down. The torn down buildings left an open space, which was known as the “The Death Strip.” The death strip was an open space, where East German soldiers had the authorization to shoot anyone that attempted to cross the wall. East German soldiers shot twenty eight people in the first year of the death strip. Hundreds of people attempted to cross over the Berlin wall, but there were numerous people that remain unsuccessful. On August 17th, 1962, two men attempted to escape East Germany. The first man successfully ran up the wall and made it to West Berlin. The second man, Peter Fechter, was shot as he was running towards the wall. Peter made it up the wall, but he fell backwards landing back onto the East side. He was not shot again, the guards left Peter to bleed to his

death. Peter Fechter is the 50th person to die at the Berlin wall. Peter became a symbol for the struggle of freedom. Some escape plans were more thought out, than others, whether they were successful or not. A group of people dug tunnels from the basements of buildings in East and West Berlin. They used these tunnels to get from either side of Berlin. Another group of people made a hot air balloon out of cloth to fly over the wall. About 239 people have died at the Berlin wall.