👮 A West Berlin police officer stands in front of the concrete wall dividing East and West Berlin at Bernauer Strasse as East Berlin workers add blocks to increase the height of the East German barrier October 7, 1961 @facethenation

❓Why was the Berlin Wall built?

After the Second World War, the Allied forces (France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union) occupied Germany and its capital, Berlin 🇩🇪.

When the Soviet Union imposed the Berlin Blockade in 1948, major tensions between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union came to light. Fear of the Communist regime led increasing numbers of East Germans to emigrate 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♂️ to West Germany.

The Soviet Union decided to build a physical barrier between East and West Berlin. Work began in the early hours of August 13, 1961.

The Berlin Wall became the symbol of the Cold War and a tangible manifestation of the world’s separation into two distinct ideological blocs.

1940 — London, United Kingdom — People sheltering on the platform of Elephant and Castle Underground station during an air raid World War II.

2022 — Kharkiv, Ukraine — Hundreds of people flocked to the underground station to seek shelter from Russia’s full-scale invasion. Thousands of Kharkiv residents spent last 3 months in the underground.

🔴 2022 - Russia’s War in Ukraine, in Context

@facethenation

1940 — A boy points out his bedroom to his friends after his home had been wrecked during a random bombing raid in an eastern suburb of London.

2022 — A child walks in front of a damaged school as Russian fascist forces shelled the city of Zhytomyr, Ukraine

🔴 2022 - Russia’s War in Ukraine, in Context

@facethenation

1941 — A 1st SS Panzer Division advances on Ukraine city of Mariupol following massive bombardment in which civilians massacred during World War II.

2022 — Russian army doing exactly same thing today. Russian military vehicles move on a highway near Mariupol. You have seen “Z” on the tanks and armored vehicles that are attacking Ukrainian towns

🔴 2022 - Russia’s War in Ukraine, in Context

@facethenation

So crazy how history repeats as if we haven't learned over the millions of deaths since World War II

1943 — Destroyed buildings in Ukrainian port city Mariupol after the occupation by Nazi Germany. During World War II, the city was under German military occupation from October 8, 1941 to September 10, 1943. The Nazis killed 10,000 civilians in Mariupol.

2022 — The russian occupiers murdered more than 20,000 Mariupol residents. Russia's assault on Mariupol has damaged or destroyed 100% of buildings in the besieged port city.

🔴 2022 - Russia’s War in Ukraine, in Context

@facethenation

February 23, 1945 — during some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II, the Battle of Iwo Jima, six Marines planted the U.S. flag 🇺🇸 at the summit of Mount Suribachi. Iwo Jima, a tiny volcanic island located in the Pacific about 700 miles southeast of Japan, was to be a base for fighter aircraft and an emergency-landing site for bombers. The battle for control of Iwo Jima lasted 36 days.

April 3, 2022 — Ukrainian soldier celebrate at a checkpoint in the outskirts of capital of Ukraine, Kyiv 🇺🇦. The russian government did not expect heavy resistance from the Ukrainian population. After nearly 40 days of fierce hostilities, the russian occupiers were defeated near Kyiv. The fight for the capital was intense, leaving suburbs destroyed.

🔴 2022 - Russia’s War in Ukraine, in Context

@facethenation

1944 — A building in Warsaw, Poland 🇵🇱 is hit with a giant German Nazi mortar shell during World War II. The skyscraper that became the symbol of the Warsaw Uprising.

2022 — An apartment building explodes after being hit by a shell from a russian army tank marked with “Z” sign in Mariupol, Ukraine.

🔴 2022 - Russia’s War in Ukraine, in Context

@facethenation