The Background

In the aftermath of World War II, Germany was divided into four occupied zones: Those of American, British, French, and Soviet styles. Berlin, the capital city, also had its portion divided this way even though it lay far deeper into the Soviet zone. During Cold War era there was ongoing intrigues between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union which led to the complete isolation of East and West Europe. In other parts of Europe, there was already the Iron Curtain by the time that the construction of the Berlin Wall took place and became infamous.

The Construction

Older learners would well remember that the Berlin Wall was erected by the German Democratic Republic of East Germany in August 1961 with the intention of stopping people from moving to West Berlin. Originally called the Antifascistischer Schutzwall or Antifascist Protective Wall, it was most commonly constructed from concrete blocks that were between 3.6 to 4.2 meters high, or 12 to 13.8 feet tall. It was appraised that the wall measured about 155 km or 96 miles in length with such structures as 302 watchtowers with armed personnel, barbed wire fences, trenches, and others.

The Wall was built overnight catching the eye of the world and this too led to a major shift. Families were separated overnight, and East Berliners lost their right to move between the two divided parts. There were Streets separations and buildings divisions which provided the first barrier to the separation of east and west.

The Reasons

It is also important to classify the construction of the Berlin Wall as political, economic and ideologically driven. Here are some of the key reasons behind its establishment:

1. The Brain Drain

From 1949 until 1961, about 2.5 million people fled East Germany, industrial workers, technicians and other intellectuals for West Germany and West Berlin. East Germany suffered some severe economic consequences due to losing thousands of Functionaries to West Germany with this massive exodus being referred to as the “brain drain”. News spread that the construction of the Wall would help stop further loss of the government’s valuable human capital and thus help stabilize the economy.

2. Political Pressure

The Soviet Union desired to continue to keep East Germany subordinate and do not allow any strong Western influence seep into the border of the Soviet Union. In construction of the Wall, the division became strengthened and the socialist regime of East Germany was locked into place so that it would remain under Soviet control.

3. Ideological Division

The Berlin Wall represented the division between two conflicting ideologies: communism and capitalism. The wall was quite regarded as symbol of division of two poles, the socialist east in opposition to the democratic west. They were able to show how fierce the Cold War was and that it was basically an ideological war between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Impact

The construction of the Berlin Wall had wide-ranging consequences for both Germans and the international community:

1. Human Tragedy

The separation of families, and friends was likely the worst loss due to the creation of the wall. Those who were in different positions were separated physically and could not see or talk to their families. The consequences of the disaster that involved severe injuries to many people claimed that the citizens experienced severe feelings that lingered for decades.

2. Cold War Escalation

The construct of the Wall also help to intensification of the cold war between the United States and the soviet union. It just reminded people of how the two superpowers were still sharply separated by the Cold War. Fulton’s speech translated the construction of the Wall as a turning point elevating the probability of armed conflict between the two world superpowers.

3. Symbol of Resistance

Of course, the Wall was oppressive at the same time it encouraged first expressions of rebellion. People at the Eastern sector of Germany tried to flee by even risking their lives through staking and innovative measures. It became apparent that The Wall embodied the fiction of freedom with its reality of oppression; thus, it led protest and condemnation of division internationally.

The Fall

The campaign to divide Berlin by wall existed for twenty eight years till it collpsed in a most dramatic fashion on November 9, 1989. The change to the Wall was as a result of numerous factors that affected the East Germany regime, pressure from intra and extra forces, eventual acts of civil disobedience and liberalization in Soviet policy under Mikhail Gorbachev. The symbol of the Wall tear-downing was the signal of the cold war era’s end, and the way to German reunification that occurred on October 3, 1990.

Conclusion

The construction of the Berlin Wall was indeed a significant call in the history of world, the split between East and West during the Cold War. It is a sign of oppression and defiance up to this day, which produced deep marks on the existence of thousands of people. East German citizens united with West Germans was deftly portrayed as unification with the world beyond the Wall.