The Cold war was a symbol of division of East with West Germany and the Berlin Wall was one of the symbol. East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Soviet Union, a democratic enclave of East Germany. Key events in the history of the Berlin Wall tell a fascinating and important story about how the world as we know it has come into being.
Berlin Wall Construction
On August 13, 1961, the Berlin Wall was literally born. The East German government decided to build the wall both to stop mass exodus of citizens to West Germany and to foil spies and agents from penetrating East Berlin. At first, the wall was a barbed wire fence, then it became something more powerful — concrete walls, watchtowers.
The Impact of the Berlin Wall
However the Berlin wall had a lot of impact in both West and East Germans. Families and friends lived apart overnight and were separated for decades not seeing or speaking to each other. The wall was a physical manifestation of Cold War, a symbol of the ideological divide between communism and democracy.
Life in East and West Berlin
East Berlin was the place where life was in tight control, life was tightly limited and there was a wide surveillance. Travel by East German was tightly regulated, Western media and culture was restricted and covered by strict censorship. On the other hand, West Berlin had democracy, free speech, and an economic boom—East Germans were eager to get out, and to do so they found West Berlin an appealing place to move.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall came about due to a variety of reasons after nearly three decades as friends did not see each other. Mikhail Gorbachev led the Soviet Union as part of the reformist movement that brought in an openness of glasnost and restructuring of perestroika. But these policies had a bigger effect: They encouraged political and social change in Eastern Europe that inspired people to demand ever more freedom and democracy.
Peaceful Protests, and Mass Demonstrations
Mass demonstrations and peaceful protest flared in East Germany in 1989. It was because, ultimately, East and West Berlin citizens were putting too much pressure onto the government to suppress these movements, and the government could not do so, that again opened up the border checkpoints between East and West Berlin on November 9, 1989. It was the final flourish of the Berlin Wall and the start of German reunification.
The Reunification of Germany
The fall of the Berlin Wall was more than a year before German reunification, which ‘officially’ took place on October 3, 1990. The two German states — East and West — were reunited to form one, democratic nation. The reunification led to many changes in the people of Germany, for instance, political, economic, social changes.
The Legacy of the Berlin Wall
The end of this era, the fall of the Berlin Wall, was also the end of one of the good guys, a victory for freedom, a victory for democracy. That also meant that communism in Eastern Europe was over and Germany was to become reunited. Fragments of the wall are today a reminder of Berlin’s division and reunification and a continuing lesson to the world.
Conclusion
The Berlin Wall is symbolic of a moment in history, a peak over which the walls are torn down and built. They put themselves in danger for our sake — for the cause of democratic pluralism, because they themselves serve as a reminder that there are consequences to political division, that the human spirit can be resilient, that peaceful protest is a powerful thing. It’s very helpful to understand the timeline of things and the significance of these events to bring us to where we are now, with more unified and interconnected world.