Cold War by Year - 1960 in the Cold War, 1961 in the Cold War, Berlin Wall, Tsa1960 in the Cold War, 1961 in the Cold War, Berlin Wall, Tsar Bomba, Berlin Crisis of 1961, 1960 U-2 Incident R Bomba, Berlin Crisis of 1961, 1960 U-2 Incident (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: 1960 in the Cold War, 1961 in the Cold War, Berlin Wall, Tsar Bomba, Berlin Crisis of 1961, 1960 U-2 Incident, Checkpoint Charlie Stand-Off. Excerpt: The Berlin Wall (German: ) was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting August 13, 1961, that completely cut off the city of West Berlin, separating it from East Germany (including East Berlin). The official version promulgated by the Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc was that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascistic elements conspiring to prevent the will of the people in building a Socialist State. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses. The separate and much longer Inner German border (the IGB) demarcated the border between East and West Germany. Both borders came to symbolize the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc nations. Before the Wall's erection, 3.5 million East Germans had circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions and defected from the GDR, many by crossing over the border from East Berlin into West Berlin. From West Berlin, emigrants could travel to West Germany and other Western European countries. During its existence between 1961 and 1989, the wall prevented almost all such emigration and separated the GDR from West Berlin for more than a quarter of a century. After its erection, around 5,000 people attempted to escape over the wall, with estimates of the resulting death toll varying between around 100 and 200. The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the "Anti-Fascist Protection Wall" (German: ) by the communist GDR authorities, imp... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=3722