Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, over 40,000 people living in Communist East Europe risked their lives trying to flee across the Berlin Wall and its extensions between 1961 and 1989. More than 900 of these individuals lost their lives in the attempts. Once nearly 90 miles long, only a small portion of the Berlin Wall still exists today, but the effects of forced isolation over three decades still linger today in reunified Germany.
Part of Greenwood’s Daily Life through History series, Daily Life behind the Iron Curtain enables today’s generations to understand what it was like for those living in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, particularly the period from 1961 to 1989, the era during which these people—East Germans in particular—lived in the imposing shadow of the Berlin Wall.
An introductory chapter discusses the Russian Revolution, the end of World War II, and the establishment of the Socialist state, clarifying the reasons for the construction of the Berlin Wall. Many historical anecdotes bring these past experiences to life, covering all aspects of life behind the Iron Curtain, including separation of families and the effects on family life, diet, rationing, media, clothing and trends, strict travel restrictions, defection attempts, and the evolving political climate. The final chapter describes Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin wall and the slow assimilation of East into West, and examines Europe after Communism.
