Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall

What is Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall?

Within History, which covers ancient civilisations, empires, revolutions, world wars and the making of the modern world, this topic explains Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall. History topics connect events, people and ideas across time, so each one here gives a clear summary and a way to test your understanding.

Check that you can explain Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall helps you explain change over time and judge why events happened, which is the core skill in history essays.

Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall in detail

After World War Two, Germany was split into four zones controlled by the USA, Britain, France and the USSR, and Berlin was likewise divided. In 1948, the Western zones joined and introduced a new currency, so Stalin blockaded West Berlin, and the Allies responded with the Berlin Airlift, supplying the city by air for 11 months.

In 1949, Germany split into West Germany (democratic, capitalist) and East Germany (communist). Many East Germans fled to the West through Berlin, so in August 1961, East Germany built the Berlin Wall, with guards and barbed wire, to stop them. It became a symbol of the Cold War until it fell on 9 November 1989, and Germany reunified in 1990.

How the interactive helps you understand Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall

Watch the timeline in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the timeline responds.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall.

Real-life uses and examples

• Compare Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall with another event to spot patterns of change and continuity.
• Build a timeline that shows when Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall happened and what came before and after.
• Judge how important Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall was by weighing evidence from more than one source.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating one source as the whole story when you study Division of Germany and the Berlin Wall.
• Describing events without explaining why they happened.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.