That style was marked by the construction of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War which had significant impacts on politics, societies and economy. For nearly three decades it carved Berlin into two separate zones, ripping families and friends apart. In the following article, the causes of the construction of the Berlin Wall and the consequences in the world will be presented.
The Cold War: A Brief Background
That is why, understanding why the Berlin Wall was built, one cannot avoid speaking about Cold War. The Cold War began immediately after the Second World War and virtually ended in the early 1990’s with the break up of the Soviet Union. It was characterized by the struggle for world domination, the building of nuclear superpowers, and the conflict of ideologies of socialism and communism.
But after the Second World War Germany more precisely the Berlin city was demographically divided into 4 parts or what we may call 4 sectors ruled by the United States, the USSR, the United Kingdom, and France respectively. The western zones became the Federal Republic of Germany also called West Germany, the Soviet controlled zone became the German Democratic Republic also called East Germany. German capital Berlin is also split into two parts – East Berlin and West Berlin although it also occupied the Soviet zone right in the east Germany.
On the following pages, the motives for the construction of the wall will be explained.
1. Brain Drain
West Germany was getting filled with the young skilled workers and professional and this became one of the major reasons why East Germany put up Berlin Wall. Through the year 1945 up to 1961 about 2.7 million individuals fleeted the region thus reducing the human capital and the economic potential of the East German government.
To stop this brain drain, the East German government agreed to construct a barrier to ensure that those wanting to go to the west were not able to do so. The Berlin Wall was constructed on August 13, 1961, for ending the drain of people for a better standard of living in West Germany.
2. Ideological Divide
The Berlin Wall also summarized the conflict of democracy/ capitalistic world and communism/totalitarianism East. Leading the Western nations including America they prescribed democracy, markets and individual rights. However, the Soviet Union and it allies spread scenes of socialism, of central planning, of state control.
The Cold War ideological conflict was mapped onto Europe’s physical geography when the construction of the Berlin Wall began. By so doing, these acts had served to establish the might and determination of the Soviet Union as a world super power and the unification of communism in Eastern Europe as inevitable, and in equal measure they also helped to discourage any would-be adversary of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc.
3. Political Stability
The ruling government in East Germany was the Socialist Unity Party, and its objective was to tighten political control and ensure that there was no over throw. The acts of the formation of the division by the construction of the Wall serve to regulate the society and ensure that they do not follow guidelines from the Western side.
To the East German leadership, the wall gave it a cover politically by maintaining the people under a rigid state control. It also restricted contact and interactions with other countries; hence minimizing the impact of western culture and democracy.
The Impact of the Berlin Wall
1. Human Consequences
People who were divided by this wall lost much – both those who were living in East Germany; or West Germany those who wanted more from lived – those who left their families behind and those who could only meet their loved ones via a wall. People got married and had children, but husbands and wives could not see each other for years or even decades, children were separated from their parents, and some never saw each other again all their lives. This wall caused a lot of sorrow and suffering among the German people, and when they were torn down reunification became highly desired among the German people.
Any attempt to cross over was a very drastic action because the border was well guarded, this led to more and more people losing their lives while attempting to cross the border. Needless to say, quite a number perished in the quest, this showing the extent to which people were willing to go in order to be free.
2. Secondly, Geographical and Economic Impact
Politically it reinforced division of Europe into two and was the symbol of the iron curtain. It raised tensions with the United States creating a state of alertness and increasing the arms race with the Soviet Union.
In economic aspect, it is necessary to say that the Berlin Wall concerning the economy of two parts of Germany had positive results for the western states while negative for the ODisney2st}=eastern ones. Despite having free-roaming economy and volume growth of income per capita, West Germany had significantly more opportunities than the stagnated East Germany. The wall created trade and interaction barrier between the two sides and inflated the difference in economy between the two parts of the world, the East and the West.
3. The Results of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and German Reunification
The event which separated east from west was the bringing down of the Berlin Wall on the 9th November, 1989. The wall’s demolition signified a change from Cold War and the break up of the Eastern Bloc. Germany was reunified in 1990 and this brought drastic change on the political, social, as well as the economical systems.
The causing of the Berlin Wall’s fall interlinked families and provided a positive change for Germany as a whole. This it made it possible to bring to an end communism in most of the eastern European countries and redrawing of the map of geopolitical world.
In Conclusion
berlin wall was built during the cold war for many reasons some of which includes control of brain drain, more of reinforcing ideological barrier, and retaining political order. They affected human suffering, worsen the geopolitical environment, and played their part in economic division.
In conclusion, the signal event of the last years of the twentieth century provided evidence of people’s desire for freedom and reunification of Germany. As it stands it is a timely reminder that individual liberty must be safeguarded and that unity is strength than division.