Before going any further it would be relevant to note that when speaking of the Berlin Wall these were not the Westerners but East Germans who built and sustained the barrier, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR). This structure was a concrete barrier that divided East and West Berlin for more than twenty years and only came down in 1989.

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to divide east from west as well as west from east but the main purpose of the Berlin Wall was to The Purpose of the Berlin Wall getByIdoptional optional.

The Berlin Wall was constructed by the GDR in an effort to stop the booming escape of its people to West Germany. In the early years of the Cold War there was a massive leakage of young people from East Germany in the hope of getting a better life and enjoying political freedom. This huge influx of people became a substantial problem for the GDR authorities.

This paper will focus on the Construction of the Berlin Wall.

The construction of the Wall at Berlin started at night of the 12th of August in the year 1961. In one day, tangled wire fences were set and later, a concrete wall was built. The border was watched by East German soldiers, and a broad strip of no man’s land was provided to make it impossible to infiltrate the barrier.

Features of the Berlin Wall

To elaborate the Berlin Wall was not just a wall but a system of barriers. It consisted of:

Concrete Walls: The main structure of wall was built of the reinforced concrete with height about 12 feet.

Guard Towers: Towers or look out points were placed at great intervals along the length of the wall for monitoring.

Anti-Vehicle Trenches: To prevent any attempts to breach the wall, the East Germans side was accompanied with deep trenches.

Death Strip: The strip between the walls was called Death Strip it was riddled with mines and booby traps, flood lit and thus it was near impossible to cross the strip.

Checkpoint Charlie: Today, it is known as one of the few checkpoint stations that divided East and West Berlin.

The Impact of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall had a significant impact on the lives of those directly affected by it:

Social Impact

Eventually, apart from the physical barrier that the wall created and maintained separate cultures, economy, and politics of East and West German States. Life has indicated that many east Germans who tried crossing the border wall were arrested, jailed or even shot.

Symbol of the Cold War

The construction of the Berlin Wall to finally crumble years later became a symbol of East and West during the Cold war period. It was the power democracy would always fight for against totalitarianism.

|theme 1: The peaceful revolution The peaceful dismantling of the Socialist German Democratic Republic and the opening of the Berlin Wall

During the same period, due to excessive pressure from the citizens and change of policies in Soviet, there happened non-violent procession in East Germany. It culminated into the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 followed by the reunification of East and West Germany on October 3, 1990.

In Conclusion

The Berlin Wall was built by East Germany in order to stop people from escaping into West Germany. They stood for almost 29 years, and the actual, as well as the emblematic statue came crashing down in 1989. The Berlin Wall symbolizes one of the many colours of socio-political reality and the need and yearning for integration.