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Which Side of the Berlin Wall was Communist?

by | Mar 7, 2024 | Cold War Tour Berlin

 

Before discussing about the Berlin Wall it is important that people know that this wall was constructed to divide East Berlin which fell under the control of Soviet Union from West Berlin, which was controlled by the United States, United Kingdom, and France during the Cold War. This means that the above barrier did not only physically, but also politically and ideologically separate the city as well as symbolically separate communism and democracy. First let’s take a closer look at which side of the Berlin Wall was communist.

 

The Berlin Wall: A Brief History

The division of Berlin started by constructing the wire fence on August 13, 1961, in an effort to stem the ever increasing emigration rate from East to West Berlin. Many people of the Eastern Germany moved to the western and better part of Germany for better living and job, which left a lot of political and economical problems for the soviet dominated eastern Germany to solve.

 

High Control of East Berlin by the Communists

East Berlin and the entire GDR were oriented on the Soviet Union, and the state ideology was communism. The ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) authoritarian controlled the Government repression of political opposition and limitation of civil liberties.

 

The Iron Curtain

The Berlin Wall itself, was in fact part of the division which dominated half of Europe during the Cold War the Iron Curtain. Based on the general conception, this wall ought to have been emblematical and real wall separating communism and capitalism.

 

Dividing Berlin: The Wall’s Placement

I know that the Berlin Wall did not follow the East and West Berlin partition completely; it was slightly offset. That is why it circled West Berlin and thereby isolated it from the remainder of East Germany. This placement made it easy for the East German authorities to monitor emigration attempts easier.

 

East Side: Communist-Controlled

This side of Berlin that had East Berlin along the eastern side was governed by the Soviet Union and other allies of communism. This sector of the city linked the experiences of Soviet architecture, government-owned companies, and a centrally planned economy.

 

West Side: Democratic Allies

The American, British and French zones of the west side of the Berlin Wall which included West Berlin were responsible for it. This region was democratic with regard to human rights, civil liberties, free markets and tons of individualism.

 

Life on Each Side of the Wall

The Berlin Wall can be characterized as separation that goes far beyond washed Lincoln’s symbol – people from East Berlin suddenly found themselves in drastically different environment than people in West Berlin.

 

East Berlin: Communist Lifestyle

Life in East Berlin surrounded the regimes values of communism. Area of people’s lives such as education, work, living space, and media were regulated by the government. Civil liberties were curtailed and people’s protests against the existing authorities were severely suppressed.

 

West Berlin: Democratic Prosperity

West Berlin had more of what could be described as the Western World’s affluence and freedom. The region received a great deal of support from the democratic partners – the quality of life improved, culture and access to world markets appeared.

 

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

In Tickets for the Wind, the only solid concrete wall that has separated East and West Berliners since the end of Second World War was dismantled on November 9, 1989. It was the last world seismic shift event and based mainly on people’s demands for reunification and democratization processes.

 

Reunified Berlin

After the demolition of the Berlin Wall in August 1990 East and West Germany were brought together under reunification on 3 October 1990. Although Berlin again became a capital of unified Germany it was a completion of The Cold War epoch.

 

Conclusion

The division of Berlin was of concrete and figurative sense, as it divided the east Berlin by communism and west Berlin by democracy[5]. The socialist side of the wall which include East Berlin was insovled by the Soviet Union and had less of individual liberty and freedom of economy planning and more government interference. On the other hand West Berlin which was controlled by the democrats was featuring more freedoms to private individuals, market and better standard of living.

 

To fully grasp how the division effected the lives of inhabitants which lived on both sides of the wall, the background information becomes crucial. The breaking down of the Berlin Wall was not just symbolic for the reunification of the two German states, April 9 ,1994 avowal liberal popularity over communism was being voiced.

 

Which Side of the Berlin Wall was Communist?