The Berlin Wall From The West German Side By Noah Ferney

Between 1961 and 1988, more than 600 people were killed attempting to cross the Berlin Wall, a structure that marks the symbol of the treacherous Cold War, and a reminder of the terrible division of the German people (Senate Chancellery, Florian Graf). After WWII, Germany was divided into two political regions, the Democratic West, and the Communist East. Many citizens living on the East Side of Germany felt the need to escape, resulting in the Soviet Government creating the Berlin Wall, a chilling barrier to ensure that East Germans stayed only in East Germany. “The Berlin Wall from the East German Side” by Sidney Brown and “The Berlin Wall from the West German Side” by Noah Ferney explain the contrasting impacts of the Berlin Wall for the

East Germans were run by a communist government that dictated their citizen’s every move. The communist government limited sources of entertainment, sources of finance, and restricted their citizen’s freedom of speech. Alternatively, citizens who lived in West Germany lived under a democracy, and had everything East Germans didn’t. Life in East Germany is described to be boring, dreary, and controlling, as this is explained when Brown states,“Life in East Germany was rather drab and dull. East Germans were cut off from the theaters, shops, and restaurants available in West Germany, and money was often in short supply. East German citizens learned to be careful about what they said and did, as the Soviet government would squash any form of protest against them” (paragraph 4). Therefore, Brown further highlights the extremities East Germans had to go through and endure. When Brown says,” East Germans were cut off from the theaters, shops, and restaurants available in West Germany, and money was often in short supply,” this emphasizes the trouble and misfortune that East Germans underwent while under a communist

Despite these differences, East Germans and West Germans shared celebrations and harmony after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this showed the start of the reunification of Germany as a whole. For over 27 years, Germany was divided by the Berlin Wall to highlight the differences between the 2 political regions that took over Germany. The construction of the wall caused strain on unifying as a whole country again, which is why when the Berlin Wall fell, Germans, regardless of what side they were on, celebrated the fall of the wall. Similarly, for East Germans, the fall of the Berlin wall created cohesion between all Germans, as Brown puts it, “Celebrations ensued as East Germans poured into West Germany, some of them reuniting with family and friends and others simply enjoying their newfound freedom” (paragraph 6). So, the fall of the wall caused all Germans to celebrate and share their joy after being separated for a long period of time. East Germans finally reunited with family and gained a new sense of freedom, all while they poured into West Germany, the land of newfound