The Berlin Wall that started being constructed in 1961 was a tangibility barrier between East and West Berlin in cold war. It finally fell and became an icon for the rift between the capitalist world and the communism in East.
Fortunately, now we can dedicate time to learn a little more about the history – more specifically, the goal behind building the Berlin Wall.
The key purpose of the building of this wall was to ensure that the people in East Berlin did not runaway to West Berlin. Year by year, many people from East Berlin travelling to West Berlin where life was much better simply snapped their fingers and chose freedom, that was when the East Berlin government decided to act more efficiently to prevent this.
The Berlin Wall – Two Stickers
From a geographical point of view the Berlin Wall divided east from West Berlin. But if we are to look into the subject of freedom, we have to bear in mind that the word free is variable and may hold different meanings. In this case, ‘free’, socio-economically and politically describes the state of being and situation of the people existing on each part of the wall.
The East Side: Soviet Input and Command Economy
The side of the Berlin Wall facing east was controlled by the Soviet Union, and hence was of the communism belief system. The former GDR followed in structure a command economy in which the government owned most business and industries as well as the sources of production.
Households in East Germany experienced small liberties and curb in movements and close state scrutiny. People could choose their job on their own only to find that they were limited by the state and if one revolted against the government, his actions would be swiftly punished.
The West Side: Capitalism and Personal Liberties & 10
Adjacent to the western side on the divided Berlin was West Berlin which embraced capitalist economy, democracy and freedom of individuals. West Germany formally called the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was an economic liberal country that encouraged the market economy with an open door policy on private business ventures.
West berliners had a variety of freedoms with regards to speech, mobility, religion, and politics not afforded to East Berliners. That can be attributed to improved economy and availability of products from the western world that were a notch higher than the eastern counterparts.
Comparing between Eastern and Western Culture
The famous physical barrier in the world was the Berlin Wall, which made crossing between east and west Berlin incredibly difficult. However, by observing the countless dangers inherent in the act, many East Berliners tried and succeeded in the act of fleeing to West in search of a life full of opportunities, freedoms and abundance than that provided by East Berlin regime.
To try to escape it was possible to face great danger and often the escape attempts were followed by grim outcomes. People had to apply some strategies to getover the Wall and this is included body dragging, use of concealed tunnels, cars with hidden parts, and even hot air balloons. It also symbolized the ‘Stasi’; the East German secret police whose measures are seen through the barbed wire in this structure that turned into a death trap.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The culmination of multiple years of protests and the rising discontent of East Germans culminated in the tearing down of the Berlin Wall on the 9th of November in 1989. The breakdown of the Wall was a source of the abandoning of the Cold war and served as a historical breaking point, It signified the division of East and West Germany.
After the collapse of the wall, east Germany immediately began to transform since it was joining west Germany. The reunification posed some form of hardship especially to the former GDR trying to map itself to the market economy not to mention trying politico/social systems.
Conclusion
The concrete barrier dividing East from West Berlin, different as it was from the wall erected in China, raised socio-economic and dissident political barriers of a much higher order. East received control from the Soviet Union, own limited freedom and experienced command economy. On the western side, the people endorsed capitalist, democratic and liberal bent of life. The article discusses the qualitative changes occurring in Germany since the breaking down of the wall and it may be considered as a contribution to the end of the Cold War.
The fact that the Berlin Wall no longer exists today, we are reminded of its significance and the significance of personal freedoms and the effects of ideological spectrum.