It is true that the Berlin Wall was constructed in the Cold War era, to be precise during the Cold War, the Berlin Wall was erected by East Germany separating East Berlin from West Berlin. Construction started August 13, 1961, and represented the Iron Curtain and the division between the East, led by the Soviet Union and the West until its demolition took place on November 9 1989.

Background of the Cold War

Cold War is described as the continued state of hostility between the Western powers led by the United States of America and the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries after the Second World War. They never directly came to a major hot war, but the two global superpowers had sharply different political and economic systems, and thus engaged in an ideological struggle that often translated into indirect wars all over the globe.

The construction of the Berlin Wall.

Following World War II, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation: American, British, French, and Soviet. I was surprised to learn that Berlin was also in the Soviet occupied east Germany was also partitioned into four sectors. Relations between the Soviets and their counterparts in the west continued to deteriorate consequently; there was an unprecedented influx of people from East to West Germany, although chiefly via Berlin.

Because of the immense number of East Germans fleeing to West Germany aiming at improving their standards of living, the East Germany in collaboration with its counterpart Soviet Union embarked on building what is known as the Berlin Wall. The first Barrier was the barbed wire, the second was a concrete wall with watch towers, ditches to stop vehicles, etc.

Purpose of the Berlin Wall

The main aim of the Berlin Wall was to prevent a massive exodus into West Berlin out of East ‘Germany that was crippling the East Germany economy. The official explanation given by the East German government while erecting the wall was to safe guard its citizens from anti-socialist fascists planning for the downfall of the socialist regime. But more importantly, it was for keeping the power over the people of the Communist regime intact.

Consequences of and for Berlin and Cold War

The Berlin Wall had a profound impact on both the city and the broader Cold War context:

• Humanitarian Crisis: People were divided up from their relatives and friends sometimes for as long as forty years. The wall brought a lot of anguish, sorrow and break up.
• Symbol of the Iron Curtain: The wall, therefore, turned out to be an emblem of communism in its most simplicity as opposed to democracy.
• Escape Attempts and Tragedies: Despite many attempts some were successful, several people had been killed in attempts to cross the wall. All of these turned into reference points of protest against the wall and overall East German practices.
• Peaceful Protest and the Wall’s Fall: Gradually, the public got annoyed with the wall and protests against it began, there were talks about rebuilding the wall. On the 9th of November in the year 1989, the wall was brought down and hence the re –unification of east and west Germany.
• Legacy: The division is associated with the Cold War and the unification of the two Germanies as well as the bringing down of the Berlin Wall led to political, economical and social relations between Eastern and Western Europe.

In Conclusion

The Berlin Wall divided the east and the west during the cold war just like cutting a line through East and west Berlin. Although it was built to discourage the exodus of population from East Germany, it became part and parcel of oppression. Its relaunch in February 1989 was said to have marked the end of the cold war and the physical unity of Germany.