The Berlin Wall was an iconic symbol of the Cold War, and when they stood tall from 1961 to 1989 they were the Berlin Wall. The fate of the wall and its construction and impact was of huge importance not only for East and West Germany, but for the world of the Cold War. This article will go into the different ways that the Berlin Wall affected the Cold War.
Berlin Wall Construction
On August 1961, East Germany (GDR) built a wall between the city of Berlin that divided the city of Berlin into two separate sectors. The move was made to protect East Germans from ‘fascist influence’ from the West Germany, and prevent a mass exodus from East to West, according to the Soviet Union, which occupied East Germany.
It also had immediate consequences to the sudden construction of the Berlin Wall. People living in East Berlin were separated from loved ones in West Berlin and families were separated. It was heavily guarded by watchtowers, armed soldiers, dogs, minefields and concrete barriers and barbed wire fences. It became an impenetrable barrier that separated communism and capitalism.
On East and West Germany.
1. Political and Ideological Division
The Berlin Wall sealed Germany’s division into two separate, different political systems. Democracy and a market based economy were adopted in West Germany, and in East Germany such a regime remained under a restrictive communist dictatorship. The wall symbolized not only the ideological division between the two systems, but served to state the ‘Iron Curtain’ dividing Eastern and Western Europe.
2. Economic Disparities
The Berlin Wall played a main part in East and West Germany’s economic prosperity. While East Germany languished under a centrally planned economy which stifled innovation and productivity, West Germany enjoyed rapid economic growth widely referred to as the “Wirtschaftswunder” or economic miracle. In fact the disparity in living standards between the two sides of the wall became more pronounced the West Germans became famous for their prosperity and freedom.
Impact on the Cold War
1. Symbol of the Cold War
However, during the Cold War, the Berlin Wall represented the divided world per se. A physicality of communism against capitalism and power struggle between the US and the Soviet Union. A powerful symbol of oppression and repression for the wall emerged.
2. Escalation of Tensions
Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were heighten in the construction of the Berlin Wall. The United States joined with its Allies in condemning the wall as an aggressive act by the Soviet Union, a violation of human rights. But the dispute further widened the gulf between the two superpowers, raising the prospect of military escalation.
3. (De-)Stabilization in Europe
There was an instability of Europe during the Cold War with the Berlin Wall being present. It deepened the chasm between Eastern and Western Europe, making it harder by the day to close the divide between the two blocs. In addition, the wall also acted as a physical barrier to counteract the wind of destabilizing and ideological ideas from the West out into the Eastern Bloc.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall finally fell, after a peaceful revolution in East Germany had taken almost three decades. It was the opening of the wall that ended the Cold War and helped reunify East and West Germany.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a great moment, forever restructuring the political map of Europe and ending communism in the region. It brought the Cold War to an end and changed the way power worked throughout the world.
Conclusion
The Cold War had a big impact on the construction and subsequent fall of the Berlin Wall. It served as a symbol of the East versus West Europe, it enhanced at an extent tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, these repercussions were felt on East and West Germany. The fall of the wall was a point of history for the coming and going of a new time for a cooperation and unity. Berlin Wall reminds us who much division cost, and who fights for freedom and unity since long.
