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Did Hitler Have Anything to Do with the Berlin Wall?

by | Mar 7, 2024 | Cold War Tour Berlin

The Berlin wall is a symbol of division having been built between East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989 as part of the Cold War. Even though the construction of the Berlin Wall took place after world war II, there are few links between Adolf Hitler and the actual construction of the wall.

 

1. After World War II and division of Germany

World War II and the leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler also greatly contributed to occasion of partition of Germany. Second, Hitler’s foolish foreign polices and the start of the Second World War led to German downfall in 1945. After the defeat of Germany that was inclusive of United States, USSR, Britain, and France among others divided it into four zones each-controlled.

 

That part of Germany including Berlin was dominated by the Soviet Union as headed by Joseph Stalin. The other three zones were occupied by the Western Allies of United States, United Kingdom and Canada. The division of the country into these zones together with the emerging differences between the wartime allies laid the foundation for building the Berlin Wall.

 

2. Cold War and the Berlin Wall

The Cold War was an ideological and political rivalry between the two worlds’ superpowers, America and USSR which took place from the Second World War until the collapting of USSR in the early 90s. The splitting of Berlin emerged into focus of this struggle since the city was situated inside the Soviet area of East Germany but at the same time was shared among the Allied countries.

 

In 1948, Soviet Union laid a blockade on the West Berlin to prevent supply of basic needs to the city. They called this event the Berlin Blockade, but they also commenced the Berlin Airlift, the Western Allies’ massive plan to help the people of West Berlin. The blockade and the later airlift simply made the gap between the East and the West wider.

 

2.1. Building Tensions

Soviet-American relations were still worsening during the 50s and early 60s period. The citizens of East Germany worker forced towards Berlin and then the West Germany in a search of jobs as well as a free life. The beginning of the mass emigration made this change possible, and the East German government together with the Soviet Union were against this move.

 

2.2. Building of the Wall in Berlin

August the 13th 1961 was the day that the East German government under the influence of the Soviet Union started building the Berlin Wall. In the beginning, the intention of erecting the wall was the explanation from the East Germany authorities that the wall would shield the citizens of East Germany from the influence from the western side of the world and check on spying through the Wall. However, its main focus was to prevent people’s exodus from East to West Germany through Berlin.

 

3. The rudiments of the post World War II Europe: Hitler’s Legacy and the Berlin Wall.

Although Adolph Hitler did not personally order the construction of the Berline Wall and may have never envisioned exactly what it would look like he was responsible for the events that precipitated it – World War II and the division of Germany. Having looked at some of the factors that led to the spilt between East and West Germany, many of them are rooted in the aftermath of world war II and especially the soviet control of east Germany.

 

The fascist expansionist approach of Hitler joint with division of Germany by allied powers was a precedent to the animosities that led to erection of the Berlin Wall. But it should be stressed that the wall was constructed due to actions taken by Soviet Union and East Germany authorities.

 

4. Conclusion

The topic of the Berlin Wall represents division of Germany into the two, the ‘East’ and the ‘West”. Although Hitler was not directly involved in construction of the wall, he and the partition of Germany after Second World War laid groundwork for the conflicts which would ultimately led to construction of the wall. Knowledge about this history is important in making a proper appreciation of the importance of the Berlin Wall and its relationship to the past events.

 

Did Hitler Have Anything to Do with the Berlin Wall?