During the tumultuous years of the Cold War, the capital city of Germany, Berlin, was split into two distinct parts: On one hand there was East Berlin under communism domination of the Soviet Union and on the other hand there was west Berlin, free from this oppression and dominated by the combined tripartite efforts of America, Britain and France. Reading this article, the reader will be able to read about the main milestones in the history of the division of Berlin, as well as to learn in more detail about the impact of the countries’ powers on their corresponding zones.
The Division of Berlin: A Result of World War II
After the end of the World War II in 1945 Germany was in a poor state of infrastructure and was occupied by the Allied powers. The same applied to Berlin, which was located, deep in the territory occupied by the Soviet Union, and was divided among the victors. This initial division which followed general zones of occupation in Germany paved for the division of east and west Berlin.
1. East Berlin – The Division of Soviet Influence
CPC had troops mastered over the east sector of Berlin, ready with the intention of promoting their socialism in East Germany. Soviet political influence was complete on the political, social and economic life to mold the east Berlin of its desirable socialist model.
The GDR was founded in 1949 as the Soviet’s puppet state, with East Berlin acting as its capital city. Some of the policies that the GDR adopted for their mission to create a socialist society were borrowed from the Soviet Union and they included; Nationalization of Industries, Collectivized farming and censorship.
2. West Berlin – A Guide to the Free World
On the other hand the western allies aimed at turning West Berlin into a bastion of Western civilization within the east European Soviet sphere. West Berlin was policed by the triple alliance of United States, United Kingdom and French forces with the aim of maintaining free city’s independence and to help make transition towards a democratic society.
After the introduction of Deutschmark in 1948 the western Allies tightened their grip and economic control on West Berlin. GDP/8 rose to prominence as a sign of stability, prompting an increasing number of citizens from East Germany to cross over in the pursuit of better opportunities thus shifting tension ecology to the next level between the two.
4. The Berlin Wall:
The culmination of division was achieved in East Germany when in 1961 the Berlin Wall was put into place. To stop more people from moving to West Berlin from the east side that was supported by the Soviet Union the government put up a wall that divided the town. The famous Berlin Wall was turned into an icon of the actual Iron Curtain and the division of Europe during the Cold War.
It transformed into a tall, heavily secured wall equipped with watchtowers, double layers of wire fencing, and a ‘watching and apprehension’ zone. It isolated families and friends, but also provided a daily sever reminder of the Cold War division between the capitalist and the communistic worlds.
5. Life in East and West Berlin:
5.1 East Berlin:
When the Soviets took control of East Berlin; the citizens where subjected to very strict social and political conduct. The political system of GDR was authoritarian, individuals’ rights were restricted and the government encouraged spying amongst people. When dissent arose from the artists, intellectuals and monsters, they were suppressed, and there’s the secret police, headed by Markus Wolf known as Stasi who was ever vigilant to suppress the citizens.
Despite all that life in East Berlin offered and provided – a steady job and medical care, education – it was a life of suppression and restraint politically and personally, which made East Berliners yearn for the free-spirited and creative West.
5.2 West Berlin:
On the other side the West Berlin thrived as an emblem exemplary to western world life, freedom and the culture of democracy and market economy a mid territory of East Germany under the influence of Soviet. It encouraged personalities such as artists, musicians, and intellectuals to flock the city in a bid to fetch assumptions of enhanced cultural and economic performance occasioned by the spirited political and economic support from the western Allies.
In West Berliner there was glamour, bright lights, pleasures, materialism, and liberty all qualities that were seemingly antithetical to East Berliner’s ways of life. It turned into a symbol of resistance as it reminded people of the two very different concepts that governments of the world followed.
6. Reunification: End of the Divide
The event that led to the abolition of division of East and west Berlin was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 followed by the breakup of Soviet Union. When the Iron Curtain rose, the divided city was reunified – a historic day for the people of Germany and the end of Cold War.
But East and West Berliners were socially, economically, and politically different as the respective portions of this city had been developed separately for many years. It became discernible that the reunification process was not as easy a procedure, which needed a lot of resource and hard work to join the two sides.
Conclusion
During the cold war, the control of boundary crossing points east and west Berlin wasáshared between the Soviet Union and the western Allies. East Berlin was under the dominance of Soviet while west Berlin was under allied force power of three countries which are United state, United kingdom and France. The division was a subject of the battle between communism and capitalism which characterized the Cold War era. The Berlin Wall’s construction helped to enhance the split: citizens of different sides faced quite different political, social, and economic realities. The division collapsed with the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification of the city in 1989, and this began a new age of reunification and change in Germany.
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