A Divided City and Country
Occupied Berlin (left) and Germany (right)
At the end of World War II, the three main powers: Britain, America and Russia divided Germany into East and West, and the capital of Berlin into four occupation zones, with the French allies also overseeing one. This division set the stage for years of strife not only for the conquered Germans, but for the allies and the rest of Europe as well. The films below tell the story of how Berlin became divided between democratic West Berlin, and communist East Berlin for 28 years. They also tell the heroic story of how America and its western allies saved the great city in 1948-49.
Somehow the Böttcher family lived not only through the terrible war, the bombings that destroyed 90% of their city, the subsequent rape and pillaging, but the Russian imposed "Iron Curtain" and attempted starvation.
Somehow the Böttcher family lived not only through the terrible war, the bombings that destroyed 90% of their city, the subsequent rape and pillaging, but the Russian imposed "Iron Curtain" and attempted starvation.
Youtube Film on the Berlin Wall Youtube Film on the Berlin Airlift