The cold war might be described as a long standing rivalry between the super powers of the world, the United States of America and Soviet Union from the close of the Second world war to 1991. A prominent representative of this period can be crowned by the Berlin Wall. Constructed in 1961, The Berlin wall divided western Berlin from the eastern part and was an indication on the division between the free world and communism during the cold war period. To understand why the Berlin Wall was important to the Cold War it is relevant to take political, social and historical considerations into account.
This paper examines the roles and impacts of the Wall manned and guarded by East Berlin police, on global politics, with a focus on the major powers of the world during the Cold War period.
At the end of World War II, Germany was divided into four zones, each occupied by one of the allied powers: the US, the USSR, Great Britain and France. But in spite, Berlin that was in East Germany under the control of the Soviet was also split into four sectors which cause much conflict between the Soviets and the others. As the cold war set in meaning the so called first world or the capitalist world against the second or socialist world people from east Germany especially young people started moving to west Germany and West Berlin in search of a better life away from communism.
Many skilled workers had left DED to find higher paid jobs in the west, therefore the East German government with backing of the Soviet Union constructed the Berlin Wall. The wall was constructed to be a concrete barrier that would stop East Germans from getti ng to West Berlin. It was surrounded by barriers such as, walled towers, barbed wire besides having check-points to prevent controlled movement.
A discussion will also be made concerning the Social Impact of the Berlin Wall.
Socially the construction of the Berlin Wall greatly affected the lives of people in Berlin. Overnight, people were separated from their families and friends, many became homeless, and/or lost jobs and businesses. The wall literally divided families and friends and it length represented the lack of freedom those living in East Berlin had.
Gradually, such attempts became increasingly adventurous and urgent. Some threatened their lives for a chance to climb over the wall or to drill tunnels in the ground. The East German government hired guards who were allowed to fire bullets at anybody who attempted to escape and many lost their lives. The wall also created high emotional stress to the parties, heightening the hatred and the gap between east and west.
Analyzing the Berlin Wall in Terms of World History
The work of the Berlin Wall was to influence the course of the Cold War in one way or the other. It makes it a symbol of extensive thinking of communism versus democracy. In line with the potrayal of the wall it showed the stand that the soviet union was not going to let the east go beginging to mimic the west. For its part, the America and its allies of the Western States seeing the wall as a relocation of the past emblem of repression and no liberty of the people behind the ‘Iron curtain’.
The Berlin Wall became symbolic of global interest and a representation of freedom and human right activist. The division it represented – this race car became a symbol of the global struggle of ideologies between superpowers. It was exemplified the oppressive regime of the soviet bloc as compared to the freedom essays of the western world.
: The Regime Transition and the Impact on Global Politics
This is in respect to the new dynamics that arose in the last few years of the Cold War in late 1980s. The Soviet Union had problems of the economy and politics, peoples’ dissatisfaction increased in the satellite countries. The East Germany experience was in 1989, protests included calls for political freedom and the right to travel.
When it is remembered that Gorbachev provoked significant change by his liberalization and Glasnost policies, the ease by which the East German government crumbled could not have been anticipated when the following statement was made on the evening of November 9, 1989. Those restrictions to West Berlin were removed while people had an unrestricted right to freedom of movement across the border. People rushed to the wall, in joyous events happened. The residents starting to demolish the concrete wall and in several months later, the division that has been there since 1989 was pulled down.
The rebuilding of the Berlin Wall was one of the most important events in world history. It meant that Europe was no longer divided between the East and the West, but it was a new start of Europe MkII. The reunification of Germany came soon after that, and the breakdown of the wall played its part in leading to the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Conclusion
The wall in Berlin as quickly became the symbol of the cold war between the communistic east and the democratic west. It was highly charged with political, social and historical implications of the determination of the Soviet Union and its allies to hang on to power. The idea of the wall coming down was monumental and had a strong impact on the way Cold War drew to a close. Thus the significance of the Berlin Wall may be used to gain understanding of the processes and consequences of this period of Cold War confrontation.