Imagine your country being divided in two. Then, imagine the town or city you live in also being divided. This is what happened to Germany and its capital, Berlin, about 80 years ago. Germany is a country in central Europe. Today, it is unified [brought together as one]. But in the 1940s, it became two countries—East Germany and West Germany.
During, World War II, Germany was defeated by the United States and its allies [friendly nations that support each other]. After the war, the country was split into East and West sections. A wall was built to separate East Berlin from West Berlin. It was known as the Berlin Wall. The wall prevented people from traveling between East and West. Family members who lived on different sides of the wall often could not visit each other.
People who lived in East Germany and West Germany had different experiences. The countries had different governments. West Germany was run by an elected government. East Germany was run by an unelected political party. West Germany had a market economy [a system where companies are free to compete to sell goods and services]. East Germany had a command economy [a system where the government makes most of the decisions about goods and services].
West Germans earned more money than East Germans. They also had easier access to goods. East Germans sometimes had food shortages [when something needed is not available]. Most East Germans were also not allowed to leave the country.
In 1989, protests in East Germany led to people tearing down parts of the Berlin Wall. This became known as the Fall of the Berlin Wall. East Germany stopped preventing people from leaving the country. Many friends and families reunited. Parts of the Berlin Wall still stand. But people are free to move from East to West. At Berlin’s East Side Gallery, artists have painted murals along the former wall. In 1990, East and West Germany became one country again. Today, Germans work to build a better future together.
What Do You Think? What differences were there between living in East Germany and West Germany?
Photo Credits: Brian Hauser
