The Berlin Wall which symbolized the split to Germany was actually a barrier between East and West Berlin. It was built in 1961 by the German Democratic Republic, East Germany as a barrier to East Germany and West Germany travelers. This symbolic division was under construction for almost 28 years but finally fell down on November 9th in 1989. Nevertheless, one has to ask, how the Berlin wall fell and how that affected the cold war.? It is required to look at this important event in history.
Background: The Cold War
The Cold War can be interpreted as the Relation of hostile interaction between the Soviet Union and the United States of America and their allies. Spanning approximately from the late 1940s to the early 1990s, this period was marked by political, economic and military confrontation and rivalry between the superpowers without war. This divide was pegged on the division of Germany into East and West and most importantly the location of Berlin deep in the Soviet controlled East Germany.
The topic for our history class this week is The Construction of the Berlin Wall.
As a result of the exodus of people from East to west Germany, especially skilled personnel, the GDR administration erected the Berlin wall. The stated goal was to protect a socialist state from ‘fascist elements’ and maintain the East German economy. Nevertheless, the wall was built mainly as the protection of the people from increasing emigration, which became an essential political and economic problem for GDR.
The Wall’s Structure
Some four kilometers of concrete and barbed wire enclosed West Berlin and the wall measured roughly 155 kilometers long. It had grey concrete walls that had barbed wire on top, watch towers and a ‘death zone’ in the middle. The death strip contained anti car traps, wires that trigger alarms where you step on them, and armed guards. In addition, there were many watchtowers on the territory of East Germany and around the wall. Challenges and movement across them were limited while guards were instructed to actually shoot people who tried to flee.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
From the end of the 1980s, a political shift started in both Europe and the Soviet Union. At the head of the Soviet Union at that time, Mikhail Gorbachev put into practice a policy of glasnost, the openness, and perestroika, restructuring which achieved the effect of forging openness across the eastern bloc. This change in direction of Soviet policies brought about conditions that fostered a greater openness and political liberalization.
Mass Protestifying; A way of Changing the Politics
People of East Germany were becoming dissatisfied with their regime because on one hand there was stagnation in the economy, no political freedom and secondly a mixture of both political and economical reasons people wanted to reunite with Western part of Germany. Since 1989, there have been large scale demonstrations to bring change. The East German government, not being able to control the protests, relented to allow limited travel for East Germans to the West.
”Live from the capital city: The way our leaders have been communicating and the opening of our borders.”
After listening to this 1989 news, East Germany held a press conference that new regulations on traveling were a go. However, some misunderstandings the media carried the information that the travel regulations enabled East Germans to cross the border without restrictions. Each day, thousands of East Berliners streamed across to the interior checkpoints where, overwhelmed by the crowds and hesitant to shoot, border policemen opened the barriers . Such a moment signified the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
The Aftermath
The collapse of the Berlin Wall also had important political and historical events.
The GDR Stasi Files – New information on East Germans fleeing to the West, German Reunification, and the End of the Cold War
The breaking down of the Berlin Wall at some point fostered the union of Germany. The actual German reunification took place on October 3rd 1990 after the end of the division that characterized the time of the Cold War. For many people, one of them was the symbol of victory of democratic system and market economy over communism which dominated Europe in the second half of the twentieth century.
Global Impact
This act motivated other nations across the world desperate for freedom and democracy by breaking down the Berlin wall. It became a symbol of hope of how change no matter how slow and unachievable it might seem is possible even in the context of political structures.
Conclusion
There could not be any greater event that changed the political map in the world than the fall of the Berlin Wall. It aided in German reunification, the breakup of the cold war and brought in democracy. Now they draw_abstracts_, both as a symbol of the past and a testament to the human spirit to those whose lives were changed forever in 1989.
From this perspective it was the fall of the Berlin wall, highlighting the importance of the man on the street in the unfolding of history. It holds a status of hope and people will have power and inspiration for the freedom lovers and those who think that such barriers can be broken down literally.