Introduction

The Berlin Wall that was erected in 1961 separated east and West Berlin during the cold war. It was a physical or material representation of the existing political divide between the authors of communism that formed the East bloc and the liberal democracy of the west bloc. If one wants to pay attention to the historical importance of this architectural creation, one should first learn about the Berlin Wall and the Cold War.

The Cold War

The Cold War was a state of political and military hostility between the US and the USSR following World War II up to the breakup of the USSR in 1991. The war got its name because there was no directly confrontation of the two superpowers with their armies, but instead it was fought by proxy, spying and the nuclear standoff.

The Division of Germany

Germany was after the major world war divided into four zones occupied by the United State, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France. The city of Berlin which lay deep in the area of East Germany was also divided into four zones. West Berlin was named the areas controlled by the Western powers while East Berlin was named the areas controlled by the Soviet Union powers.

The Rise of the Berlin Wall

For the first few years of its existence, the East Germans witnessed a significant immigration of their citizens to the far richer West Germans. To arrest this trend and consolidate its authority over East Berlin before it was too late, and with Soviet blessing, the East German government built the Berlin Wall. The wall was built to stop East Germans from escaping to West Germany, or as the East Germans called it West Berlin.

The Berlin Wall Importance

It was during the Cold War that the people of East Germany developed a symbol that contoned to the idea of communism while that of West Germany symbolized freedom and democracy. It was a materialization of the ‘Iron Curtain’ which Winston Churchill talked of in his celebrated speech of 1946 meant to divide Eastern from the Western Europe.

Destratification: Dividing Families and Communities

The rise of the Berlin Wall did not only split Germany in two but indeed affected thousands of their people. Suddenly, one was awake and found self, fellow family members and friends on the other side are unreachable. Childand some adults kept being separated from their parents and were unable to reunite for many years, or at all, because of the wall was built until 1989.

Escalating Tensions

The Berlin Wall also tore the relationship between United States and Soviet Union into a new level of conflict. The wall was tangible erection of communism or the steroid stands of capitalist economies. And all the time the conflict between two superpowers and their respective world views were brought right home to us.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall came collapsing down on November 9, 1989. A least those years of protests and political shifts within the Soviet Union and East Germany resulted to the establishment of the border crossings. It could be said that this奋 strikes was a turning point in Cold War history and prepared the world for German reunification.

End of the Cold War

The breaking down of the Berlin wall marked a milestone in the gradual bring down of the cold war. It was symbolic for the democratic forces and freedom against communism. Furthermore the reunification of Germany in 1990 an the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 put an end to the Cold War.

Conclusion

The division of the world during the Cold War is well represented by this architectural wonder known as The Berlin Wall. It was indicative of the stressful situation, conflicts of this period. It is now 20 years since one of the most iconic images of the 20th century flashed across the screen – the fall of the Berlin Wall.