The Fall of the Berlin Wall (Past Moments from History)

Join us on this exciting episode of Check This Out!, where we dive into a fascinating chapter of world history — the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Perfect for elementary-aged kids, parents, and teachers, this episode explores how the Berlin Wall symbolized the division between democracy and communism during the Cold War. 

Discover how this historic wall was built in 1961 to stop East Germans from fleeing to the West and learn about the incredible moment when it finally came down. Through age-appropriate storytelling and engaging insights, we explain the political tensions that led to the wall’s fall, the brave protests of ordinary people, and how this pivotal event helped bring an end to the Cold War. Perfect for young history enthusiasts eager to understand today’s world and the lessons from the past! 

Tune in to learn about the significance of the Berlin Wall, the Cold War, and how historic events from 1989 continue to shape our understanding of freedom and unity today. Whether you're curious about Cold War history, the reunification of Germany, or remarkable moments in recent history, this episode is a must-listen for young learners, parents, and teachers alike!

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Transcript

We have talked about World War 2 in our podcast before.  You’ve heard it referenced in our episodes on Anne Frank, and D-day.  Today’s episode focuses on a past moment in history that came after WW2 but existed because of that conflict.  

Cece: Tell me everything 

After World War II, Germany lost the war, along with the other axis powers of Italy, Japan, and their allies around the world. When the war was over Germany was divided under the control of the Allied powers—the United States, the Soviet Union (What we know today as Russia), Britain, and France. 

Cece: I remember hearing about that 

After the war, when the allied powers were dividing up Germany they also divided Berlin,  The capital of Germany. Although the city of Berlin is technically is located in the eastern part of germany this city was also divided into East and West sectors. The soviet union controlled the east, and the US, France, and Britain controlled the west. West Berlin became a symbol of Western democracy and capitalism, while East Berlin and East Germany was aligned with communism.

Cece: What happened?   

To keep the 2 sides of berlin separated a wall was built by the east german soviet government… The Berlin Wall created all kinds of challenges. 

Cece: Like what mama? 

Well, the wall stopped families from being able to see each other if they lived on different sides of the wall, it prevented people from going to their jobs, and created a lot of struggle within Berlin, it also created a lot of tension between the eastern and western governments.  

This wall symbolized something called the Cold War

Cece: More on that later 

For years The Berlin wall stood as a symbol of political division and the line between democracy and communism.  On November 9th, 1989 theberlin  wall came down and was celebrated around the world.  Listen in to learn more about this past moment from history as we explore the fall of the berlin wall.  

Cece: Welcome to Check this out! Podcast for kids 

And their grownups where we explore people, places, ponderings and past moments from history that shape the world around us.  My name is Amy Contreras, and I’m Cece.  

Today is another episode in our series on past moments from history! So far we have gone into the past to talk about D-Day, Juneteenth, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the 4th of july 1776.  Today we are going to head into a different moment in the past, 1989 to be precise.  

Cece: That was a long time ago

Hey! It wasn’t that long ago it wasn’t even 40 years ago! (Other parents please don’t be offended by my child thinking 1989 was a long time ago)

Cece: Hahaha  

Ok chuckles - today’s past moment is focusing on the fall of the Berlin Wall.  But before we can talk about the wall falling, and why this is a past moment from history we still talk about today we have to understand a few things that were happening in the decades that led up to the fall of the wall. 

Cece: What does that word mean mama? 

Decades? A decade is a way we measure time Cece. A decade is 10 years.  Between when world war 2 ended in 1945 and the berlin wall fell in 1989  it was 44 years, or a little over 4 decades, because 4 decades would be 40 years. 

Cece: Got it 

So as we mentioned after Germany was defeated it was divided up by the occupying powers - the US, UK, France and the USSR. East Germany became the Soviet Union's foothold in Western Europe.

Because Berlin was split four ways, with British, French and American zones in the west of the city and a Soviet zone in the east. West Berlin became an island surrounded by communist East Germany.

The wall was eventually built in 1961 because East Berlin was losing people to the West.

Cece: Can you explain that to me? 

Sure Cece! On August 13, 1961, the Communist government of East Germany began to build a barbed wire and concrete wall between East and West Berlin. The government’s official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep so-called Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stopping mass amounts of people leaving from East to West.

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, many East Germans fled to West Berlin and West Germany in search of political freedom and economic opportunities, leading to a big population drop. To stop people from leaving the East German communist government the USSR and local government leaders decided to build a physical barrier to stop people from leaving.

Cece: How was life there?

Things were tense! People wanted to leave east berlin because they didn’t feel like they had the same freedom and opportunity as they would in the west.  People left in big numbers, which made the government nervous.   

After the wall was built it became a powerful symbol, that represented  the division between the democratic West and the communist East.

Cece: Why does that matter?

The wall was a physical representation of something happening around the world called the Cold War.  At the start we said we’d explain more about that later.  

Cece: Check this out 

Here is a helpful overview of what the cold war was from Britannica for kids. After World War II the United States and the Soviet Union were the superpowers of the world. They became rivals as they each tried to prevent the other from getting too much power. The period of tension that existed between them came to be known as the Cold War. Although the conflict did not result in actual war between the two countries, it did lead to a number of smaller wars.

Cece: Thats terrible! 

Remember that during World War II, the Soviet Union helped liberate many countries of eastern Europe from Nazi Germany. But after the war, the Soviet Union continued to control the countries and forced its own communist economic system on them.

The United States did not want communism to spread to other countries in Europe. It also wanted the western European countries as allies, or friends. So the Berlin Wall was a physical representation of the tension between democratic countries like the US and UK/France in europe and the communist rule of the USSR.  

Cece: Got it 

The wall was a big deal, it ran all the way through berlin.  It consisted of barbed wire, guard towers, and concrete barriers.  The wall effectively stopped people from leaving east berlin.  

.Cece: How unfair 

People didn’t like the wall, but the eastern government really wanted to stop people from leaving and the wall stood for a long time.  But then things started to shift.  By the 1980s, the Soviet Union or the USSR faced major economic problems and were running out of money.  They also had major food shortages. Then a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power station in Ukraine exploded in April 1986 and was a huge disaster.  All the signals showed the USSR were under a lot of pressure and people were unhappy - reform movements started and political unrest was on the rise.  

Cece: Things were not easy

You’re right, in May of 1989: Hungary began dismantling its border with Austria, which allowed East Germans to flee via neighboring countries not just through west Berlin.

On 9 October 1989, within days of East Germany celebrating its 40th anniversary, 70,000 people took to the streets to the protest.

Cece: A lot was happening! 

Remember, the berlin wall was built in 1961 and it came down in 1989, so we are almost to this key past moment from history.  

On November 9, 1989 the East German government made a mistake at a press conference, this mistake led to the fall of the berlin wall.  

Cece: Tell us, tell us! 

East German leaders had tried to calm protests by loosening the borders, and making travel easier for East Germans. They had not intended to open the border up completely. A man named Günter Schabowski ran the press conference.  He had no time to review the talking points, and he announced that east german citizens can cross the border freely.  When he was asked by reporters for more details Mr Schabowski said that as far as he was aware, it was effective immediately.

It was all over the news and crowds of people made their way to the wall

Cece: I can imagine! 

Border guards became overwhelmed by the crowds of people and opened the gates, leading to masses crossing and celebrating on both sides. The border guards didn’t know what to do but there were hundreds of people at the wall and only a few border guards, so they opened the wall.  And with that, the Berlin wall fell.  

Cece: What an amazing story! 

At least 171 people were killed trying to get over, under or around the Berlin Wall while it existed from 1961-1989. But more than 5,000 East Germans (including some 600 border guards) managed to cross the border by jumping out of windows next to the wall, climbing over the barbed wire, flying in hot air balloons, crawling through the sewers and driving through unfortified parts of the wall at high speeds.

Cece: I want to check out more about that 

After the Berlin Wall fell it was gradually dismantled. Full sections were torn down by civilians, regular peopole who lived in East Germany.  

Cece: I wish i could have seen that 

Images of people taking apart the Berlin Wall are something I remember from my childhood! We can look at it online.  

Cece: I can’t wait! 

The fall of the Berlin Wall was the beginning of the end for East Germany's communist regime, leading to Germany’s reunification on October 3, 1990.  It took over a decade for Germany to fully come back together economically and socially but the fall of the Berlin wall was the start of that journey. Soon after the berlin wall fell the Soviet Union itself broke up into 15 separate nations. Communist rule ended in many countries, bringing an end to the Cold War.

We covered a lot today, did you keep up with it all? 

Cece: Let’s recap 

After WW2 the Allied Powers divided up germany

Part was controled by democratic and capitalist countries like the US, UK, and France, and part was controlled by the communist USSR 

People in communist east berlin were leaving in big numbers to the west so a wall was built, called the Berlin Wall 

The wall existed from 1961 - 1989 

It came down after protests and lots of political progress with the Cold War coming to an end 

The berlin wall fell on November 9th 1989 

Cece: Thats a big deal! 

It was. Now just like always we have a quick poem for you before we let you go.  

The Berlin Wall stood between east and west 

This iron curtain was hard to best 

For years it stood, angry and strong 

The world knew it couldn’t last long 

People protested and took to the streets

Pushing to travel and for a chance to be free 

A little mistake opened the gates 

The end of the wall is a moment of greats 

Thanks for listening with us as we talked about past moment from history, the fall of the berlin wall.  At the “check this out” we know it can be hard to know if information you find online is accurate!  We use verified sources to build the stories you hear about. 

If you want to learn more about any topics we talk about we encourage you to go to your local library, head online with a grownup, or find a documentary to watch about the person, place, or past moment we discuss! Your learning journey is in your own hands! What do you want to learn more about? 

Cece: OUr sources are

BBC, History,com, encyclopedia brittanica 

Cece: Thanks for listening, see you next episode, don’t forget to subscribe 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50013048 

https://www.history.com/articles/berlin-wall 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berlin-Wall 

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Cold-War/352982