1. Berlin

2. Berlin Blockade
• Stalin decided that the
Western powers would
have to be driven from
West Berlin.
• In the summer of 1948 he
blocked all road, rail and
water links to West Berlin
from the Western zones.
• With these supply lines
blocked, Stalin thought
that the West would have
to withdraw and leave
West Berlin to him.

3. Berlin Airlift
• The Western Allies
decided to bring
essential supplies to
West Berlin by air.
• It was a huge
operation and lasted
almost a year.
• In the end, Stalin saw
that Truman would
not give in so he
ended the Blockade.

4. The Wall

5. Fortifications

6. Escapes

7. Escapes
• 5 043 East Germans, including 574 border guards,
managed to escape.
• The first one being Conrad Schuman who jumped over
the barbed wire, on 15th August 1961.
• In the first year the Wall was smashed through by heavy
lorries 14 times.
• In October 1964 57 East Berliners passed under the
Wall, they had been digging the tunnel for months.
• Cars were used in various ways by escapees. The
fugitive was strapped under the vehicle or hidden in the
trunk where the petrol tank had been downsized. 9
people escaped in an Isetta – a car similar to a Fiat 500.

8. Victims
•
18 year old East German,
Peter Fechter was shot by
East German border guards as
he tried to cross. He bled to
death while East German
guards looked on and West
German guards were
forbidden to go and help him.
• In 28 years, the Wall claimed
at least 239 victims.
• The first victim was Rudolf
Urban, who was killed on 19th
August 1961 on jumping out of
a window.

9. Spies
•
•
•
•
•
Berlin was the hottest spot for
communist and western
intelligence services
In West Berlin powerful receivers
were set up, capable of listening in
and decoding messages.
In East Berlin, from 1958 to 1987
Markus Wolf, " the man without a
face ", was head of the espionage
service.
February 1962, Francis Powers,
the American pilot of a U2 spy
plane shot down over Soviet
territory was exchanged for Soviet
agent Rudolf Abel on Glienicke
Bridge.
Berlin formed the backdrop to spy
films and books: John Le Carré,
The Spy who came in from the
Cold ; Len Deighton, Funeral in
Berlin.

10. Spies
•
•
•
•
•
Berlin was the hottest spot for
communist and western
intelligence services
In West Berlin powerful receivers
were set up, capable of listening in
and decoding messages.
In East Berlin, from 1958 to 1987
Markus Wolf, " the man without a
face ", was head of the espionage
service.
February 1962, Francis Powers,
the American pilot of a U2 spy
plane shot down over Soviet
territory was exchanged for Soviet
agent Rudolf Abel on Glienicke
Bridge.
Berlin formed the backdrop to spy
films and books: John Le Carré,
The Spy who came in from the
Cold ; Len Deighton, Funeral in
Berlin.