Shortly after midnight on this day in 1961, East German soldiers begin laying down barbed wire and bricks as a barrier between Soviet-controlled East Berlin and the democratic western section of the city.
After World War II, defeated Germany was divided into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation. The city of Berlin, though technically part of the Soviet zone, was also split, with the Soviets taking the eastern part of the city. After a massive Allied airlift in June 1948 foiled a Soviet attempt to blockade West Berlin, the eastern section was drawn even more tightly into the Soviet fold. Over the next 12 years, cut off from its western counterpart and basically reduced to a Soviet satellite, East Germany saw between 2.5 million and 3 million of its citizens head to West Germany in search of better opportunities. By 1961, some 1,000 East Germans–including many skilled laborers, professionals and intellectuals–were leaving every day.
In August, Walter Ulbricht, the Communist leader of East Germany, got the go-ahead from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to begin the sealing off of all access between East and West Berlin. Soldiers began the work over the night of August 12-13, laying more than 100 miles of barbed wire slightly inside the East Berlin border. The wire was soon replaced by a six-foot-high, 96-mile-long wall of concrete blocks, complete with guard towers, machine gun posts and searchlights. East German officers known as Volkspolizei (“Volpos”) patrolled the Berlin Wall day and night.
Many Berlin residents on that first morning found themselves suddenly cut off from friends or family members in the other half of the city. Led by their mayor, Willi Brandt, West Berliners demonstrated against the wall, as Brandt criticized Western democracies, particularly the United States, for failing to take a stand against it. President John F. Kennedy had earlier said publicly that the United States could only really help West Berliners and West Germans, and that any kind of action on behalf of East Germans would only result in failure.
The Mississippi river and other western tributaries most notably the Missouri river formed pathways for western expansion.
Answer: The Tang dynasty got its territory through devastating wars. Buddhism gained strength and became part of the Chinese tradition. It was the golden age of art and literature. Like the Song dynasty, they thought of humble people living in poor conditions. The best of this dynasty was achieved with Li Shi Min who murdered his brothers to reach power but reigned in an exemplary manner. He strengthened his army with horses and bows. The whole population was prosperous and rich. Poetry was very popular because people traveled a lot for their economic solvency and had several sources of inspiration.
The Song dynasty was the first government in the world that used paper money, also used powder for the first time, they discovered true North using the compass. They developed military technology using powder. Social life during this dynasty was spectacular, the elite met to observe and trade with works of art, to public parties and shows in the neighborhoods. Literature, technology, philosophy, engineering, science and mathematics were disseminated. They infused Confucianism with Buddhist ideals and created the doctrine of Neo-Confucianism. They provided humble people with education and religious services.
