Hello everyone, welcome to our blog post on one of the most important symbols of the Cold War – The Berlin Wall. Moving right along, in this article, we shall discuss the years in which the Berlin Wall was built, why it was built and the effects it brought to Berlin and the world. If you are a history geek or just interested in this particular period in history, we’ve got you covered.
1. The construction of the Wall: On the Social, Cultural, Economic and Political Institution of Division.
The barrier that came to be known as the Berlin Wall was constructed by East Germany during the early morning of Sunday 13th August 1961. The start and construction of the wall working like a barrier that split the city of Berlin into East and West.
The wall was mainly constructed with concrete blocks and barbed wire coasting about 155 km (96 miles) in length. This had look-out towers; stray dogs which would attack the fleeing East Germans; and armed guards to confront anyone wanting to go to West Berlin.
2. This is the why and wherefore of building.
The construction of the Berlin Wall aimed to address several factors:
Political Tensions: After the Second World War, the Allied powers of Germany had divided it into four occupations zones. Soviet Union was controlling East Germany any part of it including East Berlin, but other three were controlling over West Germany and West Berlin. Economic strife which existed when the Soviet Union was on one side and the western world was on the other side forced the construction of the wall.
Brain Drain: East Germany realised that its stock of skilled workers, professionals and intellectuals were departing en masse towards the west. This wall was erected to stop this brain drain from reducing the competence of the eastern bloc.
Social and Economic Issues: East Germany had faced lot of economic issues and people were not happy with the facilities they were getting. Education tertiary were intended to prevent people from travelling to the resourceful western countries, so as to retain the human resource and exercise authority.
3. Influence on Berlin and People of Berlin
The construction of the Berlin Wall had a profound impact on Berlin and its people:
Physical Division: This wall actually separated families and friends and they hadn’t seen each other for almost 30 years. It also becoming representative of the “Iron Curtain”, that divided communism from the rest of the world.
Dramatic Escape Attempts: The wall was a desuade but people try to do some risky stunts to execute their exciting escape plans. Some employed on tunnels or hot air balloon or even painted themselves like a car to make their escape from East to West Berlin.
Growing Tensions: The side of the wall got symbolic during the cold war because it separated communism from capitalism. This helped in escalating the superpowers confrontational relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
4. Fall of the Berlin Wall
Nearly 3 decades of division and suffering later the Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989. The follow up was due to the acts of public demonstrations, shift in political power and overall decline of the Soviet Union.
Families and friends separated by the Berlin wall embraced, citizens crossed over to the other side and joyously dismantled parts of it bringing an end to the Berlin division . The collapse of the Berlin Wall has always been pinned down as a seminal event in German reintegration and the post war era.
5. Relevance Today
The Berlin Wall still demonstrates Cold war and also human endurance up to date. It also is a symbol between political repression and the liberation of the people of a country.
A visit to places like the East Side Gallery which is part of the Berlin Wall help individuals hope of the past and need for general peace and understanding.
Conclusion
In parenthesis, the Berlin Wall was erected on 13th August 1961 to solve political problems, exodus of intellectuals from East Germany, and social- economic difficulties. Its effect on Berlin and the inhabitants of that city was immensely felt for almost three decades before it came crumbling down on the 9th of November, 1989. Nowadays people continue telling the tragic history which is symbolized by the wall, but at the same time, the wall reminds people about the victory over division and oppression.
We wish you enjoyed this article and got some useful information about the history of the Berlin Wall. You are welcome to search further and read more about this period which is so crucial for the recent history of mankind.