The Cold War involved the division of East and West Berlin by the Berlin Wall which divided the two cities between 1961 and 1989 . The was built by the German Democratic Republic GDR to discourage people from fleeing to the West Berlin occupied by western allies. In this particular post, the author endeavors to discuss the background, rationales for building and consequences of the Berlin Wall in the course of the cold war.

Cold War Period155 The Cold War is the historical period that marked the United States’ post Second World War confrontation with the Soviet Union …

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The cold war was a period of super power contest between the USSR and the US and their respective allies immediately after the world war II. Due to the intellectual dissimilarities, the world, especial Europe was divided into two regions of influence by two superpowers. West Berlin was in effective focus since it was demographically encircled by East Germany, which was a Soviet satellite country.

Reasons for Construction

1. Brain Drain

Brain drain formed another compelling pretext for the erection of the Berlin Wall: numerous skilled workforce and professionResidents in the east were fleeing the nation for the wealthier west. The GDR authorities had their worry on demography as their citizens fled and took with them their expertise that cut deep into the economy and sessation of the state.

2. Escaping to the West

The Berlin wall was built with a purpose of stopping east Germans to move to the Western part which was a capitalist zone. The life in East Germany was rather oppressive in freedom of speech, liberty, economic uplift and overall political climate. Some tried to escape to West and change their lives in search of a better standard of living which was embarrassing the GDR government.

3. Ideological Conflict

The Berlin Wall also had an implication on the fight between the communists and the capitalists in the world. It extended the cleavage between the socialist camp of the Soviet dominated East and the democratic camp of the West. The construction of the wall ensured the control of USSR in East Germany and checking of the influence of west in East.

Impact and Significance

1. Symbol of the Cold War

The Berlin Wall did become an emblem of the deeper division of the Cold War East and West. Symbolized cold war ideologies of communism and capitalist, authoritarianism as well as democracy and oppressing and freedom respectively. The wall symbolically represented the uneasiness of the two superpowers and the cold war ideology was an essential rational of the wall construction.

2. Human Tragedy

When philosophies began imposing division and construction of the Berlin Wall, families and friends were split. Since the Wall was erected, friends and relatives of the two sides became physically separated, and could not easily telephone or visit each other. The wall generated tremendous distress and sorrow that define the lives of individuals behind the wall permanently.

3. Success of West Berlin

The wall represented the division; however, West Berlin blossomed, or at least was portrayed, as the perfect example of democratization and economic growth in the middle of ideologically charged Cold War period. The contrast of different areas described the situation in the city and showed that western values are better than the non-western ones, that is why people are eager to support democratic systems.

4. Fall of the Wall

Since the political change and these fearsome protests, in 1989 the Berlin Wall came crashing down. This event was the start of the cold War’s end. The end of it meant victory for democracies over communism and initiated discussions regarding reunification, Germany was reunified by 1990.

Conclusion

Of course, the wall meant much more than the wall; it symbolised the volatile stand-off between democratic powers of the West and communism of the East during the Cold War. It was constructed with the hope of curbing emigrations, containing political difference and to continue to hold East Germany in check. The breaking of the wall symbolised hope and was a cause for the reunification of Germany which also played a part in the break- up of the Soviet Union. Knowledge about the berline-wall makes people realize that how complicated Cold War time was, and what long-term effects there were.