If you’re talking about the Cold War, you can’t talk about the Berlin Wall without it. The wall was erected on August 13, 1961, a literal and symbolic dividing of East and West Germany in place. Was it the beginning of the Cold War? We will take the time to go deeper on this interesting topic.

The Origins of the Cold War

The Berlin Wall proves to be an excellent case to explore the origins of the Cold War. During the Cold War (1945-1991), the US and the Soviet Union were each other’s superpower opposed in a geopolitical struggle (geopolitics: the broad study of how a country interferes with the policies of another in its own interests). It was rather a condition of political, economic, ideological tension, but seldom actual military conflict.

The Cold War roots reach back to the last year of World War II when the ideologies and goal of the Soviet Union and the US began to diverge. Both the US and USSR were promoting democracy and capitalism as a means to stop the spread of communism, the US to prevent communism; and USSR to extend its influence and create a communist bloc.

Building the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was itself the physical manifestation of the gulf between East Germany (the German Democratic Republic) and West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany). It did not, however, inaugurate the Cold War, although it increased the underlying strains and perpetuated the dividing of ideology.

After World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones, held by the US, Russia, UK and France. As well, Berlin (taking place in Soviet-occupied territory) was also divided into four sectors. But Allied and Soviet tensions grew, and in 1948 the Soviets blockaded West Berlin.

In 1961 the Berlin Wall was begun in response to the increase in the number of East Germans escaping to the more prosperous West. It was a barbed wire fence that began but turned into one of concrete walls, guard tower and anti-vehicle trenches. The purpose was to halt the mass emigration and to improve the economy of East Germany.

Berlin Wall: cold war implications

The Berlin Wall had significant implications for the larger Cold War conflict:

Division of Ideologies

The wall visually stood for the gap between the Western capitalist democratic society and the Eastern communist regime. Instead, it symbolised the East v West divide.

Escalation of Tensions

All of this heightened tensions between the US and USSR. What it meant was that it further opened up the lines of division between the democratic Western bloc and the communist Eastern bloc, resulting in higher numbers of proxy conflicts and an arms race.

Humanitarian Crisis

The walls had terrible impact on people of Berlin. Families were shattered; people were repressed, and there was little freedom of movement. Numerous deaths followed attempts to escape, and the Cold War was always a reminder of who paid the price most heavily.

Conclusion

Although the Berlin Wall was not the origin point of the Cold War, it proved to be a major cause of the increasing divide between East and West and finally became a lasting an enduring symbolic marker of the ideological division between the two superpowers. Whatever their origins or implications, an analysis of the Cold War and its legacy through the genre of the Berlin Wall is valuable.