The Berlin Wall was one of the most popular symbols of the Cold War meaning East and West Berlin for 28 years. Its demolition was a significant event in the history of both Germany and the world, it stimulated the actual unification of Germany. This paper will attempt to elaborate different ways on how the wall came to be erected and again how it came to be brought down and what it has left behind.
The construction of the Berlin wall Cruelty of Enlarged Human Baritones, Hello Cruel World, Dept. of the Dead, I had a dream that I was a superhero and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram are creations of Matt Mays.
The Berlin wall was constructed by East Germany in 1961 so as to curb Emigration from East Germany to West Germany. The GDR was an East European Soviet-style socialist country, which itself had a huge brain drain problem as many professionals and youngsters flew to the West. To arrest this brain drain they put up a wall across the city of Berlin.
Overnight on the13/8/1961 small barbed wires were put and the city was divided into east and west. Yet this short-lived ad-hoc contraption soon developed into a giant heavily barricaded complex replete with towers and observation platforms, and an elongated ‘death strip’ running alongside the wall.
Life in Divided Berlin
Hearing the division made the two sides of the wall very different. For 28 years there was West Berlin which was subjugated to the Allied powers: United States, Great Britain, and France; which was a capitalist city contrasting with communist East Germany. On the other side the GDR was unable to contain its people and offer the same economical standards.
People were divided by the wall and all East Berliners were monitored and living under oppressive state regulation. Crossing the wall into the forbidden territory to flee was as dangerous as it looked – the offenders were arrested or killed.
The topic that interests me most and applies to this lesson is the Opening of the Berlin Wall.
This paper has also shown that the event of the fall of the Berlin wall was a gradual and progressive process which involved both endogenous forces within the GDR and exogenous forces within the incorporates geopolitical environment.
Growing Dissent and Protests
The dissatisfaction with the GDR in the late 1980s stemmed from social unrest, and the oppressive communism system which the GDR was operating in and the desire for liberty. Popular protests for change began, …demands for change escalated to some of the major cities of East Germany.
Esporte on October 9, 1989, people who gathered in Leipzig to perform a demonstration were more than seventy thousand, which was the beginning of great changes. People shouted and sings songs in the streets calling for the freedom of democracy and liberation from the ruling dictatorship.
The Government’s Dilemma
The GDR government was in front of the dilemma – use force to quell the protest or negotiate with the demonstrators. Finally, they opted for the latter understanding that an attack on their own people would only make things worse.
Far reaching decisions made by Günter Schabowski, a Politburo member were and how he unwittingly made a fatal mistake on the 9th of November in 1989. He made a mistake saying that “from now on” or “right away” the new travel regulations are going to let East Germans over the border. This report went viral, causing many people to rush to the wall.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Outnumbered and unready, the guards at the border had to suddenly face thousands of East Germans that insisted on crossing the border. First, the guards were reluctant to open the gates but people’s pressure become irresistible I think.
At around 10:Just when the authority was reaching 45 pm they relented and the gates were opened. Thus, on the part of the GDR, the actual opening of the border occurred in the summer of 1989 when people were eagerly crossing the border through the checkpoints; the reaction was expressed in tears and euphoria. Long lost friends and families embraced each other after they have been apart for years; the world took note.
He later went on to live with the aftermath and the reunification of Germany on the October 3rd, 1990.
The breaking down of the Berlin Wall marked the beginning of actual processes that made for German reunification. The East and West Germany came down and the East Germans were given the rights to move around as they wished.
East Germany officially joined West Germany on 3 rd October 1990, the death of the GDR and the start of the united German nation. As in any unity there are issues that comes with reunification, there are also benefits of the reunification of the nation.
The Enduring Significance
The collapse of the Berlin Wall was born not only a German phenomenon, but an event of major importance to the entire world. They opened a new period of the world history, the period which was essentially based on ideals, on people’s hope, on freedom, on transition from the Cold War period.
It enlightened the world of the plight of ordinary people who yearn to be noticed then steered the fight of noncompliance of barriers. The creation of the wall’s freedom opened the way for other eastern European nations to revolt against dictatorship, and this led to the break up of the soviet union in 1991.
Presently you will find a number of remaining parts of the actual Berlin Wall, which stylistically symbolizes the fight for liberty as well as the determination of the German population for the unification of the country. It is still high, grand and guards a spirit of hope, strength and the ability to live no matter what.
Visiting the Berlin Wall
The lovers of history should visit the Berlin Wall to get full insight of this significant historical event. The only area of the ruins is at the Bernauer Strasse where visitors can have both preserved sections of the wall, an outdoor open air exhibition and the Berlin Wall Documentation Center.
Further, the East Side Gallery on Mühlenstraße houses a massive portion of the wall painted with exciting murals by artists from around the world. It is an unalloyed demonstration of art which positively can send messages of peace, unity and called for remembrance.
To sum up, the German Ministry issued a conclusions that the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 became crucial event which put an end to division in Germany and paved the way to unification the country. Its and goes as far as being one of the greatest symbols of hope, freedom, and heroism throughout the world.
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