To grasp the full story of the Berlin Wall you must first understand what its creators intended and why they built it during that period. During the Cold War years of 1961 the Berlin Wall created physical segregation between East and West Berlin. The goal of the barrier was to stop East German people from leaving their socialist country to enter more free Western zones.

Most people mistake the Berlin Wall as completely enclosing West Berlin when it actually protected only certain areas of that region. It ran around the western part of Berlin to symbolize and separate the political sides. The United States and Soviet Union built different parts of Berlin because they had big political disagreements about how to organize society.

The Divided City: East Berlin and West Berlin

Following World War II the major powers split Berlin Germany’s capital into four military control areas. The Soviet Union ran East Berlin but West Berlin had joint management by the United States, United Kingdom, and France. The differences between East and West political systems plus different control areas led to Berlin Wall development.

The Berlin Wall Began to Exist and Had Specific Goals

On August 13, 1961 building started on the Berlin Wall which divided families along social units. The Berlin Wall served as a main defense to stop East Germans from leaving their country toward the West due to public shame for East German socialist leadership.

Experts built the wall by stacking concrete blocks with barbed wire fences creating defense posts to stop people from crossing over. The barriers built by the government to divide West Berlin ran 95 miles or 155 kilometers long.

Checkpoint Charlie earned worldwide fame yet remained among other border crossings during the Cold War.

During the Cold War Checkpoint Charlie stood as the most popular border control between East and West Berlin. Diplomats had the right to move forward alongside military personnel from allied nations and selected foreign guests. Everyday East German residents found it extremely difficult to move from their side to West Berlin.

Public crossing points to West Berlin were offered at Friedrichstraße, Bornholmer Straße and Heinrich-Heine-Straße. Two German border forces supervised all traffic between state divisions.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall that represented the end of the Cold War ending became history. The opening of Germany’s borders happened because East Germans demonstrated for freedom while political changes unfolded in their country and the Soviet Union.

After the wall’s collapse Germany started working on linking East and West Germany together. On October 3, 1990 official political events marked the conclusion of East Germany and its addition to West Germany as a new member state.

Conclusion

Though West Berlin faced no actual border restrictions it felt fully influenced by the Berlin Wall’s implementation during Cold War Europe. It visibly showed how different societies lived under opposite views while maintaining personal control limits.

On November 9, 1989 history changed forever as the Berlin Wall fell which marked both an end to one time period and the start of something new for Germany and all of Europe.