Studying world history few events can be considered historical milestones, one of such is the fall of the Berlin Wall. It marked some other things, including the ‘No Cold War’ and the Germany wall break down. However is the break down of the barrier wall in Germany attributed to the cold war? Let’s dig a bit closer into this.
The Cold War: A Brief Overview
The cold war was a a state of hostility existed between the USSR and the USA which started in the late 40’s to the early 90’s. It started from political rivalry of the two world powers where USSR was supporting communism while the USA supported capitalism and democracy.
The division of Germany after the second World War was as a consequence of Cold War. In the same year, the East was under the soviet regime while the west was controlled by the allies; the US, Britain and France.
Schaumburg: The Construction of the Berlin Wall
In a bid to discourage such mass immigrant, East Germany and supported by the Soviet Union constructed a dividing wall in Berlin. The barrier was built around West Berlin in the years 1961 and it begun on the 13th of August.
The wall’s main function was to prevent the massive loss of qualified and skilled workers, who was emigrating from East Germany to the west. Then due to high demand for specialized knowledge, skilled workers were mostly leaving the country, which put East Germany economically a-wheel – this is why people could travel only for some approved reasons and the wall was constructed.
The Cold war and Berlin Wall with some analysis
The Berlin Wall: Built only in the cold war period Due to the cold war. Cold War politics as well as a doctrine of détente imparted to the communists by the Soviet Union and the anti-communists by the United States, significantly contributed to the existing unperturbed cold relations between East and West Germany.
Cold War put a rebigger focus on rivalry between the super powers and therefore tensions and conflicts, were more severe. The creation of NATO by the west and then formation of the Warsaw Pact by the east simply cemented the split.
When the Cold War heightened, the authorities of East Germany worried about their people slipping beyond their control. They thought that it was possible to erect the Berlin Wall would to ensure that they prevent their citizens from moving to west hence maintain monopoly on East Germany.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
A few years ago the world witnessed the dramatic moment of tearing down the Berlin’s Wall and people all over the world were astonished. With the reunification of Germany it represented the end of the cold war in Europe.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was not a direct result of the Cold War coming to an end, but rather a combination of various factors:
1. Peaceful Protests
Non-violent demonstrations against this government and the repression policies started getting underway by the end of the 1980s. They wanted freedom of transport, civil liberties, and political liberties.
The protesters especially those in leipzig had a large part in ensuring that people became conversant with the measures the government was taking to oppress the citizens.
2. Changes in Soviet leadership
This change of policy was initiated by the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev to the position of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985. Gorbachev hired many changes to the socialist Soviet system through the liberalization policy known as glasnost, meaning ‘openness’ and political restructuring or perestroika ‘restructuring’.
Taking into consideration this account while Gorbachev was at the helm of the Soviet Union, there were more liberal policies at play compared to that of his predecessor which translating to a softer approach towards Eastern Europe. This led to the formations of reform movements in east Germany, and offer hope to the people seeking a change.
3. International pressure
If the fall of the Berlin Wall was not the result of International pressure, then the United States of America supported the reformation in Eastern Europe’s countries.
President Ronald Reagan in his first visit to Berlin in 1987, with famed words ‘tear down this wall’ focused the world on change and the reunification of divided nation.
Conclusion
Of course, everybody knows the historical event that hit the world, which is the event of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of Cold War and German reunion. Although the fall of the wall was caused by cold war, it had a peaceful occurrence cause by factors such as protest, change of leadership in union of Sovietic and international pressure.
