For this week’s blog post, we are going to dive into the Cold War and more specifically, East Berlin. In this article I will review historical events and features that make this period different from other ones. Are you a history lover or just interested in this period? Let us help you find the information you are looking for!

1. Understanding the Cold War

The Cold War relates to the history of rivalry between the two most developed and powerful states – the United States of America and Soviet Union – which commenced at the end of the World War II and continued up to the early 1990s. The two superpowers never fought a war directly but were always in a state of cold political, economical and ideological war. In this general conflict East Berlin was rather important since this place symbolized the division and all the differences.

2. The Division of Berlin

Thereafter, at the end of World War II Germany was divided into four zones each of which was under the administration of the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain and France respectively. Like most cities, the capital city of Germany, Berlin was split into 4 sectors also. This segregation was meant to be a stopgap measure but as the superpowers found themselves enemies this type of grouping was obviously unsustainable.

In 1949 Soviet Union formed the German Democratic Republic (GDR) – commonly known as East Germany with East Berlin as its capital. The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) also referred to as West Germany of was created by United States, Britain, and France. This is the first partitioning of Germany and also its capital city.

3. Life in East Berlin

Society and culture of East Berlin was completely different to the society and culture of West Berlin. East Europeans following the lead of the Soviet Union made use of a centrally planned economy and a socialist political system. This meant that by the government was intervening in most areas of life touching on everything from where one stayed to the kind of job one got or the kind of education one received.

One outstanding feature of life in East Berlin was the construction of the Berlin Wall in the 1961 . This barrier continued to divide the two sides and made it almost impossible for East Berliner to move to the western side. To get from East to West Berlin was almost suicidal and that a hazardous journey was in some cases fatal.

4. This paper focuses on realizing the life experiences of people under the Surveillance of Stasi and the State Surveillance.

The Ministry for State Security or more commonly referred to as Stasi, in East Berlin had a hefty system of surveillance. Their goal was to prevent opposition and maintain the existence of socialist government. The puppet masters were collective identity of stasi finally it was and informants across every level of society.

Thus, this spread of surveillance influenced the lives of East Berliners, making the society trustful and suspicious. People were encouraged to report their fellow citizens, their neighbors, friends or relatives for being involved in anti-Government activities.

5. The Fall of the Berlin Wall

In this competition, the Cold War had formally ended after the Berlin Wall collapse on November 9 in 1989. The reunification of what had been East and West Germany also came swiftly and the division which had keen so marriage on Berlin for decades was now put an end to.

This significant event was therefore occasioned by variety of factors such as the demand for change in political systems, emergence of affinity groups and change of operations of Soviets Union. The demise of Berlin wall marked the change of generation and enabled formation of one Germany.

Conclusion

Analyzing the conflict and achievements of the Cold War and its influence on East Berlin will help us unravel many hidden truths. East and West Berlin were distinctive not only by the wall which separated them but also by the conflict of two world powers.

Although East Berlin offers the citizens a view of the historical period that may be described as rather pessimistic, it also demonstrates their great industriousness. When individuals pay attention to their history, they can try to bring a more harmonious society.