The Berlin Wall which stood for nearly thirty years above the German capital is a great symbol of history. While being built in 1961 the Wall divided East and West Germany and while coming down in 1989 symbolized unity.
The Rise of the Berlin Wall
The barrier referred to as the Berlin Wall was built by the German Democratic Republic whose leaders at the time were in the Socialist Unity Party. Its purpose was mainly to prevent as many East Germans from the emigrating to the free and affluent West Germany.
Before the building of the wall, east Germany was steadily losing its educated personnel to the West through what was referred to as the brain drain . By 1961 more than 2,7 million people emigrated from the country in the period from 1949 to 1961, this lead to an economic instability and distrust toward the system of socialism.
The first obstacle was an electric barbed wire and was soon followed by a number of improvements that included concrete walls with watchtowers, the ‘death strip’ containing tripwires or trenches. The wall was able to dissect families, friends and communities and gradually became a symbol that represented the cold war between communism and capitalism.
Life Behind the Wall
Besides physically speaking, the Berlin Wall itself effectively spoke with two different societies, one from the other with different beliefs in ideologies. West Berlin blossomed as a democratic island since it received a large amount of support from the United States, and other allies. However, the eastern part of Berlin was still under the heels of Soviet interms of freedom of speech and economy.
West Berliners had better living conditions, privileges to afford many consumer items and certain political freedom. The East Germans living on the other side of the wall enjoyed limited censorship, limited mobility and the tightly controlled economy. There was high surveillance with several informants which created lots of security insecurity.
Murder of prisoners trying to escape over or under the wall was not allowed. Personalities who wanted to cross from one division to the other were instructed to be shot at sight, which caused so many casualties. However, there were exceptionally courageous people who could outsmart the guards and get safely to West Berlin. Such is the case of the threat of use of tunnels and home-made hot air balloons.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The moment the Berlin Wall came crashing down on November 9,1989 was a sensational event in the world. A moment that marked a split between one historic period and another, between the Cold War and the new world that was to follow.
The wall cannot be demolished solely by GDR government actions and policies, but rather through the popular upswelling seen in the form of mass protests; The discontented East Germans; and major changes of political regime in the USSR. In 1989 when the East German government released new regulations allowing people to travel to west Germany, thousands headed to the border. To the border guards’ chagrin, the number of people would prove too much for them to control and they relented, bringing down the wall.
The collapse of the wall exploded passion and reunion; people hugged, clapped, and started removing the concrete barrier that defined their lives for quite some time. The two germanies were actually formally reunited on the 3rd of October in the year 1990, although the culmination of the cold war was already visible.
The Enduring Legacy
The facility serves as a symbol of the division and the opportunity of change: the Berlin Wall. tourists can go to the Bernauer Strasse to get a glimpse of the real world and historical background of the Wall the unite people.
The Berlin Wall’s falling is a clear indication about strength and hope that people have. It reminds that no wall is high when people will with one goal of depicting peace, freedom, and prosperity to the world.
Conclusion
There was an ideological boundary that separated East Germany from West Germany apart from physical barrier referred to as Berlin Wall. That special country is Romance, and its rise and fall was central to the making of modern European history. The wall was seen to divide families and the communities through out but when they changed this too became a symbol of triumph through people power.
Today Berlin Wall acts as a warning, where monument of division is called to remind the crucial skill of joining, to stay a symbol of hope on the post-split continent and the entire world.
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