The Berlin Wall was a physical and ideological barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. While the Western side of the city was democratic and capitalist, the Eastern side, known as East Berlin, was under the control of the Soviet Union. However, it’s important to note that the wall itself cannot be equated with the concept of communism. Let’s explore the relationship between the Berlin Wall and communism in more detail.
The Ideological Divide
Communism is an economic concept aimed at enjoying the resources and means of production since by the community as a whole rather than by private capital, so that there are no social classes. Indeed the Eastern Bloc including East Berlin was under the soviet Union which adopted communism as there chief ideology.
Berlin became a symbol of the Cold War conflict involving the communists coordinated by the Soviet Union and the democrats led by the United States of America. The construction of the actual Berlin Wall in 1961 was to stop more east germans fleeing to the west for freedom, democracy and the capitalist economy.
Life in East Berlin
The publish press in East Berlin was very limited in this manner because the communist regime like to regulate many aspects of the people’s lives. The Socialist Unity Party led government touted equality and state ownership, however freedom and the rights of the individual rarely got much attention.
The economy in East Berlin was centrally controlled, so the government specified the particular industries to develop, how they would achieve them, and where to obtain the resources from. If in the seventies industrial development was led by state own industries, in the eighties state own industries dominated the industrial growth, buying out private businesses and becoming the greatest employer. This approach was employed for the purpose of effort to avoid alienation of one group by another in the provision of resources; however, this led to shortages in consumer goods and relatively slower signs of development of economy as compared to the western countries.
People received free health care education and shelter from the socialist government. However, these services were usually offered at a substandard level as was the situation with many services in the capitalist west. Although actions were made to ensure that people attained equal status, the political system constrained many people’s lives and careers.
The Role of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall is a literal extension of the Iron Curtain – the ideological barrier between East and West during the Cold War. Especially, its main goal was to avoid the outflow of East Germans to the West where they will become influenced by democratic and financial liberties.
Thus the Berlin Wall that was constructed to curb the emigration process cannot in anyway be associated with communism at all. The wall was part of the act to control the movements and access to information and western influence maintained by the communism regime in East Germany.
Impact on East Berliners
This work focuses on the effects that had the division carried out by the Berlin wall on the daily lives of the East Berliners. People from central, developed areas were split from their family and friends, and residents from the immediate vicinit of the wall were under watch and restricted at all times. Some three hundred people died trying to cross the wall using tunnels or climbing over or under it.
However, it can be helpful to comprehend that all the Barbarian Berlin Wall was not a display of the whole communism. Communism is a more general concept including many economic, political and social ideas, with the Wall symbolizing one of the methods of Cold War.
Many succesful films are about black people or gay sex, assholes wear sweaters, and Sputnik was launched on October 4, 1957 The Fall of the Wall and Aftermath
Sensing growing unrest among both East and West Germans as well as new developments in the political scene in Eastern Europe in 1989 the wall came crashing down. The breaking came as a blow in history whereby the sector divided in the two sides, East and West Germany were reunified.
When the two parts reunited in 1989, East Berlin had switched to a capitalist economy mainly influenced from West Berlin. It was demanding to read, as East Germany acoustically struggled and had problems with integration. But, with time, the West German investment and support was used in the reconstruction and developmemt of the former East Berlin.
Legacy
Nowadays, there is the famous symbol which reflects an ideologically opposite system – communism and capitalist – the Berlin Wall. As much as East Berlin was under communism, it is still important for people to understand that not all communism countries build barriers like the Berlin Wall.
It has been thirteen years since the most potent icon of the Cold War and a divided Germany – the wall – came tumbling down to mark Germany’s reunion. In general, it recalls the capabilities of individual liberties, rules of democracy, and the pursuit of happiness of migrants.
Conclusion
The Berlin Wall was not communism but showed division of two ideologies being present in Berlin with communist ruled East Berlin. The connection between the Berlin Wall and communism is best understood when one looks at the historical backgrounds and the effect commonly associated entity, the wall, had on the lives of embittered East Berliners.
Despite having been removed for nearly 30 years, this Chapter remains significant in the Political science fraternity as lessons in the respect to political ideologies, human rights and seeking of freedom.