Background Information in Historical Context
The Berlin Wall was designed in 1961 and split East from West Berlin both physically and symbolically in a time of Cold War. To stop East-to-Western mass migration, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) began constructing among other things ninety-six kilometers of formidable barriers, severing families, neighbors, and towns.
East Berlin: Existence
In East Berlin, we lived under communist control, and for that, we had a set of challenges. The GDR severely influenced its citizens in all its fields, so their daily lives were unquestionably dramatically controlled.
One of the most pronounced characteristics was based on the command economy when the government used to control production means. This brought less economic development than in West Berlin and seemed to have fewer consumer choices than one might expect.
The state-owned media was very important as they set public opinion and broadcast propaganda. Creative ability and freedom of expression were reduced by good citizen monitoring.
East Berliners seldom traveled and mostly did not know what was going on outside. It sought ideological conformity and restricted people from the outside world to detach people from global society.
East Berlin life
West Berlin lived in totally another world from the other side of the wall. That was out of a capitalist system of West Germany that fostered entrepreneurship, and private industry.
The consumer goods and services were available from a wider range of options in East Berlin due to access to a much higher quality of living which was on offer in West Berlin. Its population swelled with artistic, musical, and philosophical activity until all sorts of people flocked to the city.
Since the constitution preserved them, individual liberties of expression, press, and assembly were embraced in West Berlin. It set the stage for a creative flowering and a creation.
West Berlin residents also enjoyed the freedom to move, able to travel, and see the world as free of these same restrictions as their brothers in the East.
The Human Costs
It’s also by no means an argument for the great cost of division (and in this discussion, by no means an argument for decoupling). West Berlin had more personal freedom, it looked richer, but this is just silly.
The Berlin Wall had a construction, making families, friends, and loved ones separated. Some of them took the fatal risk; although many East Berliners risked their lives trying to cross into West Berlin.
To most people in Berlin, the wall is a physical manifestation of the Cold War, which created psychological unease, anxiety, and fear of the ‘enemy.’ Thus, it only widened the gulf between the two sides, making it suspicious and angry.
The Chang Agent
The Berlin Wall became over the years a symbol of persecution, an insult to human rights. At last East Berliners finally ran out of things to do in their quiet city and a hunger for change simmered.
Public rallies and protests in East Berlin and other GDR areas were significant determinants of the ‘fall of the Berlin Wall’. In November 1989, East and West Berliners crowded the wall as it fell to commemorate their newly won freedom.
Reunification in light of the Legacy
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a big historical turn for Berlin as much as for the world. It ended the Cold War and announced the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
The chances of East and West Germany’s reunion in October 1990 were presented as there were great difficulties. Combine two separate political, social, and financial systems in the act of reunion.
Today Berlin is a pulsing entity with a unified outlook in which historical, cultural, and creative forces meld together. Still, the scars of the past are still present, but now, the city has embraced its heritage and is a symbol of resiliency and hope.
The Value of Restoration
Think of the Berlin Wall that traumatized and divided people, the pain they went through, and the lessons we learned from them. It reminded us sharply of the influence political ideas could have on common people’s daily lives.
If we understand the complexity and ramifications of this wall then we can strive to create bridges more than we can to build walls, thus pushing toward unity, knowledge, and support of human rights.
We place tribute to those we lost to the Berlin Wall and may we never forget the power we possess in our human spirit, freedom, and solidarity.
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