After World War II, Germany’s capital of Berlin was divided up into four occupied zones, one for each of the major victors of the war: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Russia then known as the Soviet Union. (See map below) By 1949, Germany itself had been carved up into two distinct countries, East Germany or the DDR (Deutsche Democratische Republik) under the control of Soviet Russia and West Germany or the BRD (Bundesrepublik Deutschland). By the 1950s, West Germany was experiencing an economic boom or Wirtschaftswunder and many East Germans were leaving for the West. In response, the East German government built the Berlin wall or Berliner Mauer. The government claimed it was erected to protect its citizens from the fascist influences of West Germany. In reality, its main aim was to prevent any further citizens from leaving.
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