The Berlin Wall one of the most recognizable symbols of cold war, exerted great influence to the relations between East and West Germany. A physical bar way constructed in 1961, the well divided the city of Berlin into two parts, each representing the socialist and capitalist world during the Cold War. In this blog, we shall take our readers through a brief historical background of the Berlin Wall and why it was built, the events that led to the tearing down of the Wall, and the consequences of the event.

1. This marked the beginning of the construction of the facility known as the, Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall was built on the night of August 12, 1961. The authorities of the Soviet Union, which dominated East Germany, built the Wall in order to stop thousands of East Germans from crossing the border and moving to West Germany and West Berlin. There was a concrete wall, barbed wire and guard towers that separated two parts of the city completely.

2. Purpose and Structure

The main reason the wall was built in Berlin was to seal off the east side, and ensure that East Germans do not escape to West Germany. The wall also served the purpose of preventing people’s attempts to cross the border, both in a literal, as well as a metaphorical sense. There were also guard dogs and watchtowers stretching almost the entire 96 mile distance and soldiers bearing arms.

Eventually, the structure developed even further and thus it became more challenging to penetrate the wall. One was a wall that contained watch towers, flanked by two walls with a room known as the death strip between with sand, anti-vehicular trenches and trip wires connected to alarm systems. The height of the Wall averaged 12 feet and the structure turned into a real symbol of the division called Iron Curtain.

3. Life with the Berlin Wall

This paper aims to examine the effects of the presence of the Berlin Wall to the lives of those who are living in the two sides. Individuals were administratively displaced, families were split up, and people became unemployed, and their property was confiscated. It produced a relatively split city wherein significant distinctions can be made in the political climate and the standard of living as well as in the economic system.

In East Berlin they aimed to control and dictate all aspects of the people’s lives to a certain extent. There was a large amount of spying and word filtering regardless of who tried to say something against the government. On the other hand the East Berlin had to face the worst part of the communism where there was restricted liberty, chances of better employment was less like the west Berlin where there was more freedom and more jobs opportunities.

4. How the Berlin Wall Came Down

Thus the break down of the Berlin Wall was not a event that occurred overnight. It was due to political transformations, the demonstrations and, changes in the international relations.

4.1. The Ostpolitik Policy

Early in the period 1970;West Germany’s Chancellor Willy Brandt began to prescribe a policy called Ostpolitik. This policy was sought to be used to restore diplomatic relations with the east Germany and for that matter other east European nations. It was a major event that helped to bring the two spheres closer in order to reduce the level of confrontation.

4.2. Soviet policy and the change of leadership

And through the 1980’s the Soviet Union went through leadership changes with Gorbachev at the helm. Gorbachev undertook a number of changes known as glasnost, meaning openness, and perestroika, meaning reorganisation. These policies resulted for easing of tensions of the Cold War rivalries and putting more pressure on East Germany to come up with changes.

4.3. Nonviolent Protest and Domestic Violence

Amid 1989 marked by mass demonstrations in East Germany people appealed for the changes in government, for its policies to be repealed that limited the freedom of speech and expression. Failing to stop the protests and, consequently, feeling the citizens’ demand for change, the government of the GDR experienced more and more internal pressure.

5. The Fall of the Berlin Wall

1989 November 9 following weeks of growing pressure, the East Germany regime decided that people were allowed to travel into West Germany. Tens of Thousands of East Germans gathered in front of the wall and to people’s surprise the guards opened Berlin’s crossing points.

It can recognized that the tendency of demolishing the Berlin Wall was the significant turning point not only in German history but in the entire history of the world. This is because on the requisites of ending the cold war and the reunification of Germany. It was very joyful moment, and people projected better future where there would be fewer conflicts and people would join their forces.

6. Legacy and Impact

The following discussion will show that the fall of the Berlin Wall was significant specifically and generally for Germany and the world, respectively. This paved way to the reunification of East Germany and West Germany after years of split and it developed into a strong and wealthy Germany today.

The fall of the wall too had other effects as having been noted earlier. It means the change of the world’s political equations as the Soviet Union began to lose its control over Eastern Europe leading to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. This was a victory of democracy over communism and signified the period that started the shifts in world politics.

Conclusion

Berlin Wall was more than just what separated a city, it also symbolised the Cold War world in many ways. They are major episodes of history depicting the fight between communism and democracy – in the construction of the building and in its collapse. The collapse of the Wall not only physically joined the German people but also altered the face of the Earth by changing the entire world all for the better.