Why was the Berlin Wall erected in Berlin?

Question

I understand the divide between East and West, but why was the Wall erected specifically in Berlin?

In: Other

Answer 1

At the end of WWII Germany was divided into 4 sectors: British, Freach, American and Soviet. Berlin, also, was divided into 4 sectors in the same way. France, Britain and the US created the Federal Republic of Germany out of their sectors while the Soviet sector became the German Democratic Republic. The sectors of Berlin were associated with the respective sectors of the rest of Germany.

As Berlin is surrounded by the soviet sector outside the city, in 1949 West Berlin was blockaded by the Soviets to try to gain control of all Berlin but the allies staged the Berlin Airlift, to supply West Berlin, and the blockade did not succeed.

The border between the two parts of Germany was closed, but with the failure of the blockade of West Berlin, transit road and rail links between west Berlin and the rest of West Germany were established.

With the economic success of west Germany relative to the East, a lot of East Germans wanted to move west. They could not cross the border directly, but they could go to East Berlin, walk into West Berlin, and then use the transit roads to go to the west.

The Berlin Wall was built to close this escape route for East Germans wanting to escape to the west.