Berlin Wall Research Paper

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Following the conclusion of World War II, the control of Germany was left in the hands of four powerful countries: Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union. The division of Germany and the tensions that resulted contributed to the start of the Cold War. The fall of the Berlin wall sparked the initial discussion over the reunification of Germany, until it was officially reunified in 1990. The losses Germany suffered during World War II, the various changes in leadership, and Cold War events all influenced and led up to the eventual reunification of the country.
To conclude their involvement in World War II, the Germans surrendered on May 8, 1945. During this war Germany suffered many casualties, economic losses, and was left …show more content…

Since the United States, Britain, and France all had common beliefs regarding Germany, they eventually merged into one large zone. This zone occupied the western part of Germany, leaving the Soviets with their zone in the east. One of the common goals among the western zones were to help rebuild the economy. As a result, the West established a new kind of currency. Due to already existing tensions with the United States, the Soviets, rather than viewing the merging of the West and this new form of currency as progress, viewed these actions as threats.
In response to these actions, the Soviets established the Berlin Blockade, which later turned into the Berlin Wall. The purpose of the Berlin Wall was to “physically divide the country into eastern communism and western democracy. After it was built, citizens from the East tried to escape to the West because it was economically prosperous and granted its citizens more freedoms” (“Separation of Berlin”). The Berlin Wall divided Germany for about twenty-eight years, between the years of 1961 and …show more content…

This was made possible by the uneasiness of the seperated German citizens and changes in politics at that time. For close to thirty years this wall restricted people from job opportunities, family and friends, and freedoms in the West. Therefore, the German citizens of the East were more than eager to travel to the West once these conditions became less restricting. “The political, economic and social impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall further weakened the already unstable East German government” (“What Was the Berlin Wall and How Did It Fall?”). When the East Germans jumped at the opportunity to travel West, they were simultaneously jumping at the opportunity to reunify

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