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Did the Berlin Wall Separate East and West Germany?

by | Mar 7, 2024 | Cold War Tour Berlin

Introduction

It is a historical fact the division between East and West Germany was an actualization of barbed wire on August 13, 1961by the German Democratic Republic for nearly three decades. What was a symbol of the Cold War was a physical barrier that entailed political, social, and economical impacts no one of the German people or the whole world could imagine.

Historical Background

After World War II, Germany was divided into four occupied zones controlled by the Allied powers: the USA, USSR, Great Britain and France. The Soviet Union’s ideologies clashed with those of the Western Allies thus giving rise the Cold War; the Germans divided by the ‘berlin wall,’ western capitalist and eastern communist.

There are various reasons that may prompt a country to build a wall, its construction is well described by the following points below:

The construction of the Berlin Wall was also aimed at preventing the drain of skill in human capital or high profile people from East Germany to West Germany. The daily moving truly jeopardized the future of GDR and at the same time increased the gap between east and west economically.

Since 1961 the concrete wall with signalization and soon doubled with barbed wire was built for 155 km dividing Berlin as East and West. It comprised watchtowers, anti-vehicle trenches and a zone, called ‘the Death Strip’, which was surrounded by armed border patrolmen.

The Impact of the Berlin Wall

1. Budowa rozdziału Families and Human Tragedy

This wall represented the current practice of families and friends being separated and cannot easily call or visit each other due to the border. It is possible to read thousands of tragic fates told about the human suffering due to the construction of the Berlin Wall.

2. In this unit we will be focusing on political tensions and cold war confrontations.

The building of the wall stretched political rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. They were made into a concrete symbol for the Iron Curtain – the division between the socialist bloc of East and the West that embraced liberal markets.

3. Attempts to but failure and loss of lives

Many people of East Germany tried crossing either over the wall or through the tunnels without much concern for their lives. Unfortunately, many of them died when they were trying to escape to the West.

4. Economic Consequences

Where once there was but one divided Germany the Berlin Wall had led to a situation where there was major difference in the Gross Domestic Product of the two sides. The west which represented the capitalist society was economically successful and progressing, whilst east, the community of communism, was economically non productive and poor.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

In November 9 ^{th} 1989, after a long time of civil wars and rising demands, the government of East Germany declared that people could cross to the other side of the border. People gath- ered in large numbers, danced on the wall and then tore it down. The break of the Berlin Wall was one of those architectural milestones in the world that one day paved way to the reuniting of West and East German including Berlin.

Conclusion

The Berlin Wall was a structure which for nearly thirty years split east and west Germany. It had political, social and economical impacts and epitomated the cold war period. Mr Hunt stated that the fall of the wall was a historic event which was followed by the reunification of Germany, the world now has a realistic image of freedom and cooperation.

Did the Berlin Wall Separate East and West Germany?