Greetings to our readers to the blog post in which we will try to understand the role of the Berlin Wall in the Cold War. The Cold War was another war that being from the end of the Second World War until early 1990’s, that was between America and the Soviet Union. It was characterized by various political tension, actual or in ordinary threats, and arms race. The Berlin Wall is generally regarded to mark and emblem of the Cold War but it did not itself initiate the conflict.
The Origins of the Cold War
The Cold War could be dated right from the end of the Second World War when the Soviet Union and the United States of America assumed powers of the effected world. Their cooperation during the conflict did not last long because of principals’ differences and the desire to dominate the world. During the period under discussion, the political and economic systems of the two countries were completely different: the Soviet Union supported communism, while America supported capitalism.
The Division of Germany
After World War II Germany was divided into four occupation zones that were controlled by the United States, Soviet Union and United Kingdom as well as France. As already mentioned, Berlin, which was the capital of the country, was also divided between the Allies and was situated in the very heart of the Soviet zone.
When the conflict intensifies, occupation zones become unified and United States, Britain, and France creates an amalgamation of occupation zone that is known as West Germany today. The soviet Union got fears of such a development and to express this, it put a blockade of West Germany to West Berlin which was controlled by the western allies.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Construction of the Berlin Wall.
During August 1961, feeling the threat of decreased population due to its movement to the west, the Soviet supported government of East Germany decided to build a barbed wire barrier delineating East and West Berlin. This barrier called the “Berlin Wall” was erected at night and was subsequently developed into a concrete barrier complex.
Well, one can identify one of the main landmarks of the division – the Berlin Wall. Indeed, it was well fortified by soldiers and watch towers to ensure that the East Berliners would not flee. Families are separated and are countless the attempted escape ended in death.
The Impact of the Berlin Wall
The construction of the Berlin Wall only worsened the relations which both the United States and the Soviet Union had in the first place. The wall represented communism and socialism on one side and the capitalist on the other side, it gained a physical meaning as the iron curtain of Europe.
Even though the Berlin Wall was not the beginning of the Cold War, it did verge up the existing war. It acted as a daily sign of the political divide or the battle for hegemony between the two world powers. The western worlds in particularly the United States considered the wall as an act of oppression while the Soviet Union saw it as the right way to maintaining competence over their hard gained sphere of influence.
This paper is about the reason behind the pull down of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war.
The Berlin Wall existed for more than 28 years, the symbol of the Cold War was firmly built into society. However in 1989, as more protestors took to the streets of Eastern Europe demanding change in government the East German government opened its borders to let its citizens visit the West. This decision precipitated the event of the Germany Wall coming down on 9th, November 1989.
A sign of change in the cold war was seen with the fall of the berling wall. Others considered it marked the collapse of communism in the Eastern European state and reunion of Germany. It also prevented détente between United States and Soviet Union and signaled the end of Cold War in general.
In Conclusion
The Berlin Wall did not cause the Cold War but its construction and existence where the wall stood, represented ideological enmity between the United States and the Soviet Union. The wall emerged to represent the concept that characterized the Cold War, the ideological struggle. It was eventually involved in the reunification of Germany and the Cold War issues, thus it succeeded in those aspects. In order to explicate and comprehend the multifaceted history of this great historical division it is imperative that the history of the Berlin Wall be discussed thoroughly.
