Berlin Wall

The first real major event that led to the Berlin Wall being built was the end of WWII.  As a way to keep the Germans under control and tensions to a minimal Berlin was divided into four parts.  The U.S. and Russia each took a chunk of it.  Then people in East Berlin started to flee to West Berlin to get away from Stalin's rule, therefore, a barbwire wall was put up.  For people in East Berlin, life was very controlled and restricted.  This rose tensions between the Allied Powers and Russia because Russia was being way to mysterious.  The wall was up for 28 years.  The wall was torn down due to a number of factors but one of the famous reasons was Ronald Regan telling Russia to tear down the wall.  Also Russia was going Bankrupt after a failed arms race against the U.S.  The last factor was the need to relieve tensions with the other countries of the world and to show the end of the cold war.

Sources:

John Pinheiro, my history professor talked about it in class.

 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/berlin-wall-built