The Berlin Wall, constructed in Germany between 1961 and 1989, was a physical barrier dividing the city of Berlin into two separate parts: East Berlin and West Berlin. This iconic structure did not only represent the physical Cold War divide between East and West, it symbolized that divide between Eastern and Western ideologies.
The Historical Context
However, to fully understand the importance of the Berlin Wall, one needs to know the historical context in which the wall was built. After World War II, Germany was divided into occupation zones controlled by the victorious Allied powers: the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France. It was even divided up among these powers in the city of Berlin, which was located within the Soviet zone.
In addition to the division of Germany, there were differences in government and territory between the Soviet Union and Western powers, and this contributed to tensions between the Soviet Union and Western forces. To this divide, many Eastern Germans moved to West Germany for the right of political freedom and for better living conditions. The Soviet Union was concerned with this mass exodus.
The Construction of the Berlin Wall
To prevent mass emigration the Berlin wall was constructed in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in Soviet control. On the night of August 13–14, 1961, barbed wire fences and concrete barriers went up, splitting the city in two. The wall was fortified to near impossibility and could not be crossed over time.
The GDR originally said that the wall was erected to prevent Western imperialism from entering into East Germany. But actually it was to stop East Germans defecting to the West. The wall was patrolled by guards, and anyone trying to cross the wall illegally was ordered to be shot.
The Symbolism of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was more than physical wall. Over time, it traded in all of these assemblages of meaning of the Cold War, standing in for the clash between communism and capitalism, for the division of Germany and for the suppression of individual freedom.
1. Political Division
This wall was unmistakable divided from East to West until the political wall. One side was East Germany, under communist rule, and the other side was West Germany with democracy, capitalism. At once the wall was a vivid symbol that the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, were ideologically at odds with each other.
2. Suppression of Freedom
And yet the Berlin Wall was a concrete example of suppressing freedom of the individual. It prevented East Germans from exercising freedom of movement, or from seeking better arrangements in West Germany. Personal liberties were restricted, families were separated. The wall represented oppression and the restrictions of totalitarian regimes, a tragic symbol.
3. Cold War Tensions
Tensions between East and West were huge during the Cold War. The Berlin Wall became symbolic of these tensions, rooting them too on the unwillingness of the Soviet Union to accept West influence in East Germany. For the remainder of the 20th century, it became a focal point for political stand offs between the United States and the Soviet Union.
4. Fall of the Wall and Reunification
On November 9, 1989, 27 years after the Berlin Owall was divided, the wall finally came down. This was the end of the Cold War, and ultimately, the beginning of the end of West and East Germany being separated. It is often depicted as a symbol of freedom, unity and victory of the democracy over communism.
Conclusion
The Berlin Wall, with its complex historical significance and symbolic representation, serves as a reminder of the lasting effects of the Cold War. It shows how physical structures can have such enormous power controlling the course of geopolitics and how barriers have the ability to bend history at its whim. While the wall has been dismantled, the memory of it will lasted, reminding us of the significance of freedom, unity and the consequences of those same elements splitting.