The Berlin Wall
Walls are one of man’s oldest defenses; physical barriers that are erected to keep people out, or, in some cases, to keep them in. Walls are physical fortifications that create tension and distain among people on both sides. This is what the Berlin Wall, or der Mauer in German, was; a physical barrier created in Berlin, Germany during the Cold War. It was created by the East Germans in an attempt to stop East German citizens from immigrating to Western Germany. However, the Berlin wall was a crude attempt to separate the political and social variances in Germany during the Cold War, because, while it created a physical barrier, it still was unable separate people in an ethic manor.
Notably, before the walls creation, Germany was a political mess. It was a mess for many reasons, but the main being that “West Germany (governed by the Allied powers- the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) and East Germany (governed by the Soviet Union)” (“Cold War”). Of course, the Allied Powers and the Soviet Union were polar opposites; the Soviet Union was Communist while the Allies were anything but, and despised the very idea of Communism. Therefore, The Wall was constructed in 1961 by the East German government. The walls main purpose was to stop the emigration of East German citizens, because in “1953, the number of refugees doubled- more than 400,000 people left”, all of whom were heading to West Germany (Dowling). They wanted to stop the “skilled workers and professionals”, which were in high demand at this time, from leaving (“Berlin Wall”). These young men were valuable to the economy, because of the various products and services they could provide. However, they were trapped against their will in East Berlin;...
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Berlin Wall gives a brief over-view of the Berlin Wall, its history and its fall. Provides many useful links to several other sites which offer a more in depth exploration of the circumstances surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall. This is a vital link for gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the role of the seperation of East and West Germany and the Berlin Wall itself during the Cold War era.
In the year 1961, the building of Berlin Wall called upon disasters in Germany. United States controlled the west of Berlin while German Democratic Republic held the East. Being stuck under the rule of day to day terror, people from East Berlin were making their way to the West Berlin. West Berlin was a safe spot and freedom checkpoint in the middle of terror. To stop the moving of East Berliners, the East German government decided to build a barrier that limited and halted the East Berliners from leaving. But the battle to control Berlin between, the United States and the Soviet Union, had been taking place since after the division of Germany. The German Democratic Republic wanted better control over its people to spread its communist ideas
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Thankfully, in the end there was a solution. The Berlin wall was taken down/ opened on November 9, 1989. This was due to the Communist Government falling and losing power throughout
Germany is one country now, but many people fail to recognize that Germany was once split into two, East and West. Berlin was the dividing line and they called the concrete structure that separated the two the Berlin Wall. 1961 was the day that the Berlin Wall started to be created and the new laws enforced. The Eastern Germans were tortured and starved. The Westerns had a decent life and many Eastern Germans attempted to flee to Western Germany. The wall was erected to prevent this mass escape from happening. The question asked now is “How did the Berlin Wall affect Germany?”
In conclusion Berlin Wall was an important milestone in the growth of the Cold War. It was the expansion that represented the thinking of a determined Communist system. Western Capitalism, which was more powerful, eventually defeated the system. The massive wall that did so much harm to a country was finally destroyed, and the people of Germany could now live the way they all wanted to live. They could live the life of freedom. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall East Germany has went through a lot of changes, and it still is not easy for all of the people in East Germany. But no matter how hard it is for the people of East Germany now, it is better than being alone and separated from their families, friends and rest of Europe.
The number of East Germans fleeing to the West was an embarrassment to the Communists, and something had to be done to protect the interests of the Communist movement in Germany. The differences between the vibrant economic life of Berlin and the gray, slow growth of a Communist People's Republic was particularly apparent. The number of trained professionals in particular threatens the economy of East Germany. The Wall changed this. It did stop the flow of people West, but imprisoned the ones living in the West. Since World War II, about half a million people cross the border separating different parts of Belin daily.
In 1961, Soviet Germany conceived the idea of the building of the Berlin Wall and therefore started to assemble this historical monument. Of the twenty-eight years the wall stood, it established maturity, witnessed innocent deaths and later took on annihilation, thus eventually being taken apart and demolished. Even today, pieces still stand and are on display all around the world as a symbol for the catastrophe. This took time, endless efforts, constant rioting and one very important speech. Ronald Reagan's proposal at the Brandenburg Gate was not only to take down the literal wall that partook in the division and the imprisonment of the East Berliners, but to diminish the metaphorical barrier between the suppressed lifestyles of the citizens.
The decision to create the Berlin Wall was very unsettling for Eastern Berliners. The reason that the Berlin Wall was created rested on the economic failings due to the unhappiness of the people. The Berliners looked for a more Democratic government, where their thoughts would be heard
After World War II, when Germany was defeated, it was divided into four zones, one for each of the Allies. The eastern part went to the Russians. The other Allied Powers, France, Britain and the U.S. divided the Western portion of the city among themselves.
The Berlin Wall-- The Effects on People After World War Two and the fall of Hitler's reign, Europe was in shambles. Cities were destroyed; thousands of people had no homes, and millions of people were injured. Yet due to remaining conflict among the countries participating in World War Two, a wall was built in the heart of Germany’s capital, Berlin, tearing thousands of families apart. The wall’s construction started April 13, 1961, and was torn down on November 9, 1989. This wall would come to be known as the Berlin wall and represented an event in history that had a major impact on society around the world.
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan visited the Brandenburg Gate in Germany’s capital of Berlin. In 1987, Berlin was celebrating its 750th anniversary and was host to the most dramatic symbol of the cold war, the Berlin Wall. After World War II, the Allies divided Germany among the victors, the western half under democratic control and the eastern half under communist control. Berlin too was divided just as Germany into east and west sectors and the Soviet Union erected a physical barrier in 1961 in order to quell the rampant migration of defectors to the democratic West. From the 1940’s to the 1980’s the United States and the Soviet Union had been staunch political adversaries embraced in a contest for democracy and communism (History.com Staff, 2009).
The collapse of the Berlin Wall changed Western Europe as we know it today. The Iron Curtain which had split Europe had ascended and the once divided germans were reunited under one common nation. The causal factors which resulted in the fall of the Berlin Wall were internal — communism imploded upon itself—. Gorbachev attempted to reform communism through Glasnost and Perestroika, which were supposed to incorporate economic reforms and transparency, however, history illustrates that increased liberty is incompatible with communism. Dr. Schmidtke argued that structural deficiencies led along with poor economic growth which led to the collapse of communism in Europe, and consequently the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The alienation of intellectuals and the authoritative nature of communist regimes further contributed to the failure of communism in Europe. However, the collapse of the Berlin Wall would not have occurred had it not been for Gorbachev’s Glasnost, Perestroika, and the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine. Along with German official Schabowski whose actions were the catalyst for the mass exodus of persons from the GDR into West Germany. The Collapse of the Berlin Wall would not have occurred so swiftly had Gorbachev not tried to implement reforms to communism.
The Berlin Wall symbolized the internal conflict of way Germany should be ruled. The wall separated West Berlin and East Berlin. West Berlin believed that Germany should be democratic. On the other hand, East Berlin believed that Germany should be communist. The Fall of the Berlin Wall had a positive effect on the world.