The Berlin Wall was a 30 mile (48 km) wall, or more accurately a barbed wire barrier with a wall behind it, which ran through East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The wall, constructed by the German Democratic Republic (the GDR, or East Germany) was a barbed wire fence built in 1961 standing as a stark icon of the Cold War and the West Berlin against East Berlin separation. A history, construction, and significance of the Berlin wall, as well as its eventual fall will be covered in this blog post.
1. Berlin Wall: The History.
Such clashes made the United States and the Soviet Union hostile towards each other over the division of Germany after World War II into East and West. Initial plans for a unified Germany were undone when political ideologies divided the population between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the west and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the east.
To try and stop the mass exodus of East German citizens over the border to the west the GDR built the Berlin Wall. Begun on August 13, 1961, the wall ran 96 miles long separating West Berlin. Barbed wire fences, concrete segments, watchtowers, and a “death strip” were part of it. The wall was meant to prevent Easterners from flying westward.
2. The Berlin Wall’s Significance
The Berlin Wall was politically, socially and emotionally very important for both East Germany and the western world. It was a first and foremost the symbol of the division between capitalism and communism in the Cold War. And the wall became a potent reminder of how deeply ideological differences and the Iron Curtain that separated Eastern and Western Europe.
More importantly, the wall was a literal splitting barrier that separated families and friends, as well as kept people from getting an education, a job, or all the other opportunities that a wall can take away. So many East Germans risked their lives to cross the wall, sometimes with tragic results. The stories of bravery and tragedy that came out of this wall became even more international attention, pushing the symbol of cruelty and cruelty of the wall even further.
3. The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Nearly three decades later, the Berlin Wall stood for in the winds of ‘change’ that swept through Eastern Europe in 1989. Political changes resulted from major changes in other Eastern Bloc countries with mass protests. On 9 November 1989, East German officials announced that borders could be crossed freely.
Spread of the announcement news was rapid, and jubilant East and West German crowds gathered at the various checkpoints along the wall. Those people scaled the wall, hammered and chipped away at it with hammers and chisels, to celebrate the long awaited reunification of Germany. It marked the beginning of the end of the Berlin Wall.
4. The Legacy of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall fell at the end of the twentieth century and marked not only that in Germany, but also the end of the Cold War. Hope was kindled that a new European age of peace and unity was beginning, following the destruction of the wall.
Remnants of the Berlin Wall and the history that they represent are a reminder to the city of all that it went through in the past and that its people are able to overcome anything. This section of the wall, called the East Side Gallery, is covered in vibrant murals from visiting artists from all over the world. The Checkpoint Charlie Museum is full of museums that let you know the deep history of the wall and what happened to the people it touched.
In Conclusion
The Berlin Wall was a symbol of East and West Germany as well as of the Cold War. Its fall and construction are things of awesome historical importance, and these events shaped modern European history. The sharp reminder of the freedom, unity, and the human spirit’s ability to doggedly persevere in the face of hardship is a wall.