Introduction
The wall was a physical and a symbolical separation of the city Berlin from 1961 to 1989: Berlin East (controlled by the Soviet Union) versus Berlin West (controlled by the Western Allies). And it became such a feature of the Cold War, that period of international tension and cold war rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States. In this article we are going to learn why the Berlin Wall during the Cold War was important and Its amount of historical importance.
Historical Context
After World War II Germany was divided into four occupation zones each under the control of the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain and France. A Cold War era soon ensued between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the two superpowers after them beginning to chafe at each other.
The Berlin Wall.
To slow down East Germans’ mass emigration to the more prosperous West Germany the East German government, backed by the Soviet Union, built the Berlin Wall. It was officially built on August 13, 1961.
Dividing Families and Lives
Families were torn apart by the Berlin Wall overnight. There were many families that were broken up and on different sides where they’d be unable to freely be with one another or speak to one another. The wall represented the iron curtain between Eastern and Western Europe.
Symbol of the Cold War
During his time, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War: it became a powerful symbol between communism and capitalism. This was a physical representation of the ideological divide that defined the world’s political parameters during that time. Images of migrants depicted the influence of contrasting ideologies upon people’s lives.
Escape Attempts
But many attempts were made over the years to cross the Berlin Wall, all of them daring and risky. Others individuals tried to swim across canals and others attempted tunnel underneath it. The most notable thing about these escape attempts, though, was how catastrophic conditions they reveal of how desperate and yearning for freedom, those living under East Germany’s oppressive regime became.
Destruction and Reunification
The significance of Berlin Wall was lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The people of Berlin tore down the wall on November 9, 1989, causing Germany to reunite in October 1990. The triumph of freedom over oppression, the end of an era.
Legacy
The Berlin Wall is a permanent reminder to a society of the damage political division can cause. Its history is a record of human spirit and of people’s desire for unity and for freedom. Today, you can still see parts of the wall in Berlin, and they have not forgotten or forgotton their past, remembering it in that shape that can reunite all Berliners everywhere.
Conclusion
The Berlin Wall was a very important part of the Cold War, all the way from about 1949 to 1989, it was the division between East and West Germany. Importance stems from its reality as a reflection of the battle of the political and ideological fights that characterised the Cold War period. The death of the wall is the victory of unity, of freedom, of wanting a united Germany.