Summary of Por qué se construyó el Muro de Berlín y qué provocó su caída | BBC Mundo

00:00:00 - 00:05:00

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to keep East Germans from crossing into West Berlin. When the wall was built, it was anticipated that it would only be temporary, but when a journalist from the East German side asked a high-ranking official about when people would be able to travel across the border, everything changed. Thousands of East Germans gathered at the border crossing and broke through the wall. The guards at the border didn't have a chance to shoot, and the East Germans began to tear down the wall. The reunification of Germany followed soon after.

• 00:00:00 The Berlin Wall, which was built in the early 1960s as a barrier between the Soviet and American sectors of the city, divided the city for nearly 30 years and was a significant event in the 20th century. After winning World War II, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom agreed to divide Germany into four zones, with Berlin remaining in the Soviet sector. However, as the capital, Berlin was divided into East and West sectors, with each of the four great powers administering their own sector. This division became a problem for the Soviet authorities as the services of the United States' (CIA) and United Kingdom's (MI6) secret services used the city as a base of espionage. Additionally, over two million and a half people fled East to West from 1949 to 1961, many of them crossing the wall. As a result, the wall separated families and loved ones for nearly thirty years, something that was traumatic for generations of Germans. In the early 1980s, the Soviet authorities began to experience economic problems as a result of the expensive war with the United States and the war in Afghanistan. This led to the decision to build a wall to divide the city. On August 13, 1961, the "Operation Rosa" wall was raised. Over
• 00:05:00 In 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down, signaling the end of the Cold War. This event is often cited as the main cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union just a few years later. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to keep East Germans from crossing into West Berlin, which was part of the socialist German Democratic Republic. When the Wall was built, it was anticipated that it would only be temporary, but when a journalist from the East German side asked a high-ranking official about when people would be able to travel across the border, everything changed. Thousands of East Germans gathered at the border crossing and broke through the wall. The guards at the border didn't have a chance to shoot, and the East Germans began to tear down the Wall. The reunification of Germany followed soon after. East Germany became the economic engine of Europe, while the West became more prosperous. The economic and social differences between East and West Germany remain to this day.