The Berlin Wall was a wall on purpose that divided East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Think you know its meaning: It was its fall in November 1989 that marked a significant turning point in history, but did it really mark the end of the Cold War? In this blog post, we will look at how the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War ended.
- Understanding the Cold War
The Cold War was an era of hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union, when hostility between them technically became a Cold War as late as the mid -90s. It was a ‘battle’ between democracy and communism, and the two superpower superpowers jousting for worldwide influence.
The main components of the Cold War were:
- Nuclear Arms Race: The U.S. and the Soviet Union had an arms race: each built up stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
- Proxy Wars: Other conflicts of which the U.S., and Soviet Union were involved but supported opposing sides, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
- Space Race: Campaigns to achieve spaceflight superiority, such as when the Soviet Union put Sputnik into space.
- Political Tensions: Such as ongoing political disagreements such as dividing Germany and placing a Berlin Wall.
- Berlin Wall and its Purpose
The Berlin Wall, built by the Soviet backed East German government in August 1961, was a wall meant to keep East Berliners from escaping to the democratically controlled Western Berlin. It was a wall, with guard towers and barbed wire.
The Berlin Wall was a barbetwom of that which was democratic and capitalist, and which was communist. Along with being a nosebleed from the heady years of Cold War ideological conflict, it reminded us how far Eastern Bloc governments were willing to go to take away our personal freedom.
- The Causes of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
It wasn’t just one thing that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was the culmination of various factors:
3.1. Internal Pressures
They wondered inside East Germany, inside East Germany dissatisfaction was growing with the government’s policy and their desire for freedom…. More and more people were looking for ways to go beyond the restraints of their communist regime.
Protests and demonstrations, like those in Leipzig on Monday, took hold. The population of East Germany was further angered by the performance of the East German economy, which was also a problem.
3.2. External Factors
The fall of the Berlin Wall also had brought international changes. Reforms introduced by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) made for a mood more relaxed in Eastern Europe.
Also, the commitment of U.S. President Ronald Reagan to strong defense, and his famous 1987 speech in front of a wall in Berlin with lines: ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall’, raised international pressure on change.
3.3. It was the East German Government that made this Mistake.
An unintentional statement in a Nov. 9, 1989, press conference went awry when a miscommunication caused the East German people to be told by the country’s leader that citizens would be allowed to travel to the West. News of soaring numbers poured in, but thousands of people descended on the border crossings to demand passage.
Finally, border guards opened the gates and East Germans were able to pass unmet and overwhelmed. The unintended consequence was to generate the famous images of people celebrating as they slipped over to the West.
- The Berlin Fall and the End of the Cold War
The fall of the Berlin Wall is a great event and it is worth pointing out here that it was not the end of the Cold War.
The tearing down the wall was the sign of changing dynamics and crumbling of the Iron Curtain. The rise of democratization was also taken up by a wave of movements in the East which, eventually, spelt the end of several communist regimes.
The Soviet Union dissolved on December 26, 1991 and the Cold War was officially over, but the United States still remained as the only global superpower.
- Conclusion
For the late 20th century, the fall of the Berlin Wall was a major landmark because it marked the switch in the political map of the world. It did not, by its own hand, bring down the Berlin Wall nor end the Cold War, but it was an important part of the breaking down of the Eastern Bloc and the coming apart of the Soviet Union.
This was a very historical event, reminding us for what people are prepared to do in order to have freedom and change the most difficult political conditions.