The Berlin Wall was a wall, physical, that separated East and West Berlin during the Cold War, built by the German Democratic Republic (shortened to GDR). It was constructed beginning on August 13, 1961 and standing until November 9, 1989. Germany and the Cold War period had a lot to do with the wall. What we know about its function, construction, consequences and collapse.
1. Purpose of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall’s main purpose was to keep people from defecting out of East Germany into West Germany. It was created to prevent skilled professionals, intellectuals and those seeking a better life or political freedom, from leaving the country in droves. It was the difference in communist East and democratic West ideologies.
1.1 Splitting East and West Berlin
A wall divided East Berlin – under communist control – from the Western democratic Federal Republic of Germany and the part of Germany that was West Berlin. For about 155 kilometres, the Berlin Wall sliced its way through streets and neighborhoods, bending and turning — even in between families — until it reached the Rhine river.
1.2 Symbol of the Iron Curtain
Where the Berlin Wall stood (and still stands for that matter) was a metaphorical dividing line between Eastern and Western Europe called the Iron Curtain. The symbol was a powerful indicator of an ideological conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War.
1.3 Escalating Tensions
The wall’s construction increased East vs West political, emotional divide. It strengthened the already present hostilities and alienation among the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. They grew both more entrenched and more terrified during the Cold War.
2. Berlin Wall Construction
The Acting East German authorities erected the Berlin Wall using a combination of solid concrete walls, barbed wire, security posts and the like. A formidable place that, keeping it heavily guarded, was designed to prevent any unauthorized crossing.
2.1 Inner and Outer Wall
The wall was comprised of an ‘inner and outer wall,’ with a ‘deat strip’ in the between. Both the inner and outer walls faced East Berlin and West Berlin. In the death strip, obstacle range includes tripwires, trenches, anti-vehicle defenses and guard dogs. Anyone trying to escape was to be shot by guards stationed in watchtowers.
2.2 Checkpoints and Control
By the mid-1980s, East Germans’ crossing points through Berlin were heavily fortified checkpoints andCheckpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, were used to funnel East Germans through at designated crossing points where they can pass only if authorized. Movement was strictly controlled for people and escaping in punishment was extremely harsh.
3. Impact of the Berlin Wall
Both in social, political and economic sector, Berlin Wall was critical to both Germany, Europe and the world.
3.1 Separation of Families
The worst result of the wall was tearing families apart. Lots of families got split up with love ones in the wrong part of the wall. I endured an almost three decades of separation from my love including the emotional pain and longing.
3.2 Economic Consequences
The wall cut off all trade and economic relationship between East and West Germany. There was isolation from the vibrant West German economy, and it was bad for East Germany’s economy. It also highlighted to the wall the chasms in living standards between sides.
3.3 Symbol of Oppression
It represented oppression, and stifling of personal freedoms, of dissent. This was what communism was capable of, and how the Germans lived behind the walls of the east. It also helped fuel resistance and prompted liberation and reintegration movements.
4. The Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 9, 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall was the beginning of Cold War and the end of the reunification of Germany.
4.1 Peaceful Protests
Change came with massive protests demanding political reforms and freedom, the East German way, in East Germany. It was the pressure from the people mixed in with a changing political landscape in Europe that discouraged demolition and forced the opening of border checkpoints.
4.2 Reunification of Germany
The fall of the wall was a trigger for German unification (East and West). There was hope: a united and democratic Germany. However, the reunification process officially took place on October 3 1990.
4.3 End of the Cold War
The fall of the Berlin Wall was the end to one of the Cold War era. Tensions between East and West were starting to thaw — it was a turning point in European history. This was a major geopolitical event, with far reaching consequences; the splitting of the Soviet Union and the crashing of international boundaries.
Conclusion
There were many walls, of course: The Berlin Wall was a physical and a metaphorical one in the Cold War. It managed to leave its construction and eventual fall on history. Today the wall’s remaining ruins are a reminder of fundamental contrast between freedom and servitude. But the event is a reminder that people and what they want: freedom and mated.
Perhaps, this article will bring you this information about the Berlin Wall and its importance to Germany, Europe and the whole world.