This period was the Cold War, a time between the United States and the Soviet Union when there was political tension and occasional hostility. At this time, the country was divided into two power blocs, and with Berlin the capital of Germany in the middle, the world was divided in two. Throughout the Cold War, Berlin was a hot spot that represented the fight between East and West.

The Division of Berlin

Following World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones, the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Even though Berlin was far inside the Soviet controlled territory, it, too, was divided into four sectors. To the west the city was divided into American, British and French sectors, and to the east the Soviet sector.

In 1948, the Soviets imposed a blockade around the western sectors of Berlin, avoiding essential supplies necessary to keep the city alive. In reaction to this the Western Allies conducted the Berlin Airlift, to provide food and supplies to the citizens of West Berlin. It was to last almost a year before the Soviets lifted the blockade.

The Berlin Wall

At a time when tensions between two superpowers were rising, Soviet-governed East Germany built the Berlin Wall in 1961. North West, East and South West were cut off from each other; physically can you be separated from your wife, your friends, your family, and your community? A symbol of the iron curtain and division between capitalism and communism, it stood.

Fences, guard towers and a ‘death strip’ – a buffer zone between the neighbouring countries on either side – were all used to create the heavily fortified Berlin Wall. There were harsh consequences for trying to cross the wall–imprisonment, death.

Checkpoint Charlie

The most famous border crossing between East and West Berlin was Checkpoint Charlie. Cold War symbol, it marked the dividing line between the West and the communist bloc. During a 1961 standoff, known as the Checkpoint Charlie Crisis, American and Soviet tanks faced each other here.

Life in Divided Berlin

This division had its effects on the lives of its people. In West Berlin, however, it was a showcase of Western democracy and economic prosperity; in East Berlin, however, it was an economic struggle, and a struggle in which personal freedoms were limited. Others tried to escape the oppressive regime by making a dash for West Berlin.

Yet there were some Chicagoans who nonetheless managed to adapt and resist. Counterculture, artistic expression and political activism all had a home in West Berlin. People escaped out East to West and the wall became the canvas for art and political messages in the form of street art. Tunnels were dug underground.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

It was November 9, 1989, a single day, that the Berlin Wall finally fell after decades of division, with East German restrictions slowly eased and a result of years of peaceful protest. It was a turning point in the Cold War and the reason why, 40 years later, Germany was unified in 1990.

That city, Berlin, is a bustling combination of hope and unity, a reminder of a past as turbulent as a rapidly changing city. Still, some remnants of the Berlin Wall can be found at some places, as a memorial to all victims of the division.

Conclusion

During the Cold War, Berlin was the front of the city, of the struggle of the East and the West. The history of the city was marked by the separation of the city in EAST and WEST Berlin, construction of Berlin Wall and even the fall of the wall. Now visiting Berlin today is a unique opportunity to see the traces of this dramatic time and deal with the victory of unity and freedom.