The Berlin Wall represented Cold War tension for three decades as it divided East from West Berlin. Soil work to create the Berlin Wall started August 13, 1961 until citizens pulled it down on November 9, 1989. When East Germans wanted to leave East Germany for the West they built the wall first but the structure became crucial during Cold War times. We will analyze the role the Berlin Wall played when political tension and ideological conflict ended.
1. International member nations supported pressure against East Germany after they built the border wall.
International reaction increased when authorities built the Berlin Wall. Western nations blamed East Germany for denying basic rights when it stopped people from walking between countries. The Berlin Wall drew stronger international actions against East Germany from many countries and from the Soviet Union which backed the wall.
During the years that followed many nations worked together to ask the government of East Germany to take down their famous barrier. The united international resistance made people realize the moral cost and political problems of keeping the wall active.
2. The Berlin Wall Demonstrated That Communist Rule Wouldn’t Work
The Berlin Wall indicated why communist systems had not worked. The wall stood as an obvious picture of how communist East Germany differed from western capitalist Germany. In the Western part of Germany people had comfortable lives with freedom while residents of Eastern Germany suffered financial problems plus tight control of personal freedoms.
By showing how East and West German life differed the Berlin Wall weakened communist ideas both domestically and globally. Over time people recognized that communism failed as a governing system because East and West Germans faced an unbridgeable divide while fighting for basic freedom.
3. People demanded their freedom through courageous demonstrations
Residents of East Germany under the Berlin Wall wanted to escape their control. Numerous people chose to take risks when they spoke out about their opposition. Their strong reaction to government control made people worldwide see their courage and stand with them.
On November 9 of 1989 East GERmans showed their support through a quiet demonstration. A major crowd of East Germans assembled to call for their right to visit other nations. By mistake an official informed East Germans that all travel barriers were removed right away despite the government’s planned ease on travels.
Border officials faced such high volumes of migrating people that they had to open up checkpoints so East and West Germans could see one another for the first time in years. People across East Germany demonstrated peacefully through their actions and created a turning point in Cold War history.
4. Collapse of the Soviet Union
During the late 1980s the Soviet Union started experiencing serious domestic problems. Under Mikhail Gorbachev’s leadership the USSR adopted its openness and restructuring principles to solve its economic problems and political oppression. Undergoing major transformations the Soviet Union’s leadership reduced its involvement in neighboring countries.
The breaking of the Berlin Wall showed how lesser Soviet power became. The people’s determination for better leadership forced Soviet control over neighboring countries to end. The Soviet Union lost its grip on Eastern Europe through events at the Berlin Wall which made the Cold War end.
5. Reunification of Germany
After the Berlin Wall fell Germany became a united nation once again. On October 1990 East and West Germany united following 45 year-long partitions. After this landmark moment Germany and the world entered a brand new period of development.
The population of Germany brought down Communist rule and united East and West to show democratic leadership against divisions. Everyone saw that peace would finally replace conflict in the international arena.
Conclusion
Although the Berlin Wall began as a tool for East-West Berlin control it actually contributed significantly to ending the Cold War. The wall’s collapse came from heightened international scrutiny plus end of communism combined with peaceful protests and GNU dissolution. The Soviet Union’s end and German reunification completed the period’s tensions. The fall of the Berlin Wall shows us how people want freedom always defeats forceful division and control over them.