The Berlin Wall was one of the most well known pieces of the Cold war. Constructed towering and formidouble concrete, it literally sliced the city of Berlin in two for nearly thirty years, creating East and West Germany. In this article, the reader will find out what the Berlin Wall actually was and why it played an important role during the Cold War period.
What was the Berlin Wall?
Berlin Wall was barrier built by the East Germany to divide it between East and West Berlin. It was an embankment of concrete and took a curve of thirty- five kilometers along the length of the wall. It was constructed in 1961 and therefore became a symbol or the ideological split between the Eastern Bloc, headed by the Soviet Union, and the Western Bloc headed by the United States of America.
The Berlin Wall Constructed, therefore, some important reasons that made some people to put up the Berlin Wall as follows:
Several factors contributed to the building of the Berlin Wall:
- Political Tensions: Various political tensions are as a result of ideologies between the soviet union and the United States. Situated far from the western borders, Berlin easily turned into the main epicenter of diplomatic confrontation.
- Mass Migration: East Germany appears most vulnerable because their population slowly migrated into West Germany in search of better living standards. Below, this mass migration was perceived as a real threat to the stability of the GDR.
- Socioeconomic Differences: This was a reminder of the failure of communism as the soviet east was so contrasting to the rich west. That was why the GDR tried to ensure that East Germans did not have to see this difference for themselves.
Impact of the Berlin Wall
The construction of the Berlin Wall had far-reaching consequences:
1. Symbol of the Cold War:
Berlin Wall itself was representative of the cold war – a divider between communism and capitalism. As a symbol it was the dividing line between western Europe and the eastern Bloc during the cold war.
2. Human Tragedy:
Ever since the construction of the wall, the people of Berlin have continuously suffered immensely. People where separated from families and friends and the many of east Germans would try anything within their power to get to the west side. The wall thus speaking informed the extreme Student rights that the acting communist government had placed to the people.
3. Diplomatic Relations:
Tension in diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union was made worse by the division created by Berlin Wall. It fostered tensions and paranoid in the age of the Cold War.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
What is incredible is that after the years that led to the construction of the wall other key moment that led to the change in the world was on November 9, 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down. The fall was a result of several factors:
- Peaceful Protests: Large street protests for which Leipzig became famous played their part in a mounting pressure on GDR authorities to allow more mobility.
- Political Changes: Mikhail Gorbachev is known to have put measures like the Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring) in the Soviet Union which eased a little on communism.
- International Pressure: The USA and its partners put diplomatic pressure for the GDR to improve the conditions for East Germans, to be free.
The wall and was dismantled and united East and West Germany and was blasphemous of the Cold War period.
Conclusion
Berlin Wall symbolised difference between communism and capitalism during the Cold War period. Its construction and collapse social effects were felt by the people in Berlin as well as around the world. This way, the symbolic wall tells about the value of an individual freedom as well as lessons of politics.