The construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 created a visible symbol of Cold War divisions. After the Second World War, Germany was occupied by four powers: Britain, France, the USA and the USSR. Tensions between the USA and the USSR meant that Berlin (deep in Soviet-controlled East Germany) soon became a flashpoint. It also became a transit point for hundreds of thousands of East Germans fleeing Communist rule. This resulted in the decision by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to build a wall between West and East Berlin and further to encircle the city completely. The wall survived for almost three decades until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990.
Extract from a modern school textbook:
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