The wall that would notable represent the cold war era and was a physical one splitting Berlin into two parts, East and West from 1961 to 1989. Knowledge about the past events, and construction of the wall let alone helps one understand the other historical period in Germany. In this blog post we will look at when the Berlin Wall was constructed as well as some of the reasons for that construction.
What events led to construction of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was officially constructed on the 13th August, 1961, more precisely in the early morning. It took the people of Berlin by complete awe, and when they opened their eyes they were greeted with the new face of their city: barbed wire fences, concrete walls and watchtowers. The construction of the complex continued almost over night.
The direct cause for this wall was to prevent the immigration of thousands of East Germans west of the east-west Berlin border. Between 1945 and 196 1, about 2,6 million people escaped from East Germany and migrated to West Germany in search of employment and better living standards leaving behind a brain drain and a big loss to the economy of the east Germany government.
The Cold War Context
It was visible the antagonism between of the two superpowers of the world at the time, United States and Soviet Union. After the second World War Germany was split into four zones of occupation, the Soviet Union getting the eastern zone, the rest of the Allies sharing the western zones.
When the confrontation of the ideas gradually increased between the two sides, East Germany turned into an socialist state and Soviet satellite, while west Germany became a capitalist country related to the Western alliance. The division then led to the emulation of the western standards of living and access to opportunities by east Germans by any means, popularly known as ‘watershed’.
Consequences on Families and the City
By putting up the Berlin Wall, what was also separated was political views but most importantly, family and the society. Some of the families were immediately split and barred from visiting their kin in the other No-Go zone.
Over the years different attempts were made to cross the wall and many of them were fatal. It then cultivated meaning as a wall of oppression and a segregation of the world as it was during the period of the Cold War.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall lasted for 28 years as a line that separated East Berlin from the West Berlin. But this fell on November 9, 1989, after much pressure was applied by the East German citizens.
The history of the twentieth century changed dramatically with the tearing down of the Wall in Germany that symbolised the division of Germany as well as East and West. The action of removing the wall was therefore liberty, freedom, neutrality and unity.
Conclusion
The berlin wall was an embodiment of the separation and repression for approximately twenty eight years. It was built in 1961, the historical epoch in Cold War, and had influenced the lives of the people in Berlin. The down fall in 1989 marked the new reform, reintegration ending of the cold war and cleanup of ideology. For people to be able to have an idea of what it entails to be alive during this period of the Berlin Wall therefore, its history is very important.