Standing in the middle of the capital city of Germany was a symbol that tore a nation apart for 28 years. The division of Germany brought the East Berlin Wall dividing the city and elevating the city as a symbol of the Cold War by 1961. But November 9, 1989 broke this cycle and the wall which divided Berlin, and two different Germany came down.

The building of the Berlin Wall In Germany

It is well-known that once Ronald Reagan said to Mr. Gorbachev, ‘Take down the wall’. These words said by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1987, reflected the feeling of the whole world towards the Berlin Wall. However, the question that might be stuck on people’s lips is why it was constructed in the first instance?

“Open the barriers and remove the wall inside you.”

After World War II, Germany was divided into four zones; French, British, American and Soviets respectively in what was known as the Tripartite occupation. The capital, Berlin, was divided into four sectors although located deep behind Soviet lines too.

Relations between the Soviet Union and Western Allies worsened because of ideological and economical differences that saw east Germany put up the Berlin wall. The construction was aimed at maintaining East Berliners from fleeing to the democratic west that was now a talent deficient and a manpower loss for the GDR.

Soon the death strip with barbwires, watchtowers and the shoot to kill orders transformed Berlin’s Wall directly into an icon of oppression and into the representation of the gaping chasm between communism and democracy.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The opening of the Berlin Wall is connected with the reunification of Germany with east and west and end of the Cold War. The turning point was 1989 when many changes occurred throughout the Eastern Europe.

The Peaceful Protests and the Hungarian Opening

In 1989, various demonstrations for change persisted in the political front in the GDR. Such demonstrations were suppressed and there was rise in intensity of confrontation. However it needs to be noted that GDR’s neighbouning country Hungary was more instrumental in bringing down Berlin Wall.

In May 1989, Hungary began to destroy its barbed-wire border with Austria to let East Germans cross over into coldest in the West. This event dubbed the Hungarian Opening created a causal chain that would result the falling of the Berlin Wall.

It gave the Mass Demonstrations and the New Travel Regulations.

The process of democratization sustained its pace in the GDR. There were general civil protests in towns such as Leipzig for the restoration of democracy through free multilateral elections. The government which was under pressure from the public made a resolution to relieve the limit on travel to help the disgruntled populace.

East Germany’s leader, Günter Schabowski, told reporters at a press conference on November 9, 1989 that crossings would be permitted “effective now.” Word went round like wild fire and thousands of people from East Berlin trooped to the checkpoints.

The Iconic Moment: Celebrations and Unity

The border guards trying to stop them failed due to the huge number of people people that simply could not be stopped. Some started to jump over it, some trimmed it and the rest started to dance and shout, all of them rejoicing the freedom they never thought they would have. The day culminated by the citizens of the eastern and western part of the city greeting each other at the line that only some time back was a wall, people embraced, sang and danced.

Later, the actual procedure of the wall dismantlement started, or in other words it began. Loved ones were reunited and the city of Berlin began the process of becoming reunited as well.

The Aftermath: Reunification and Symbolism

The dismantling of the Wall occurred the same year and the Germany was reunify on 3 October 1990. The wall that separated the families and defined the East and West is no longer there.

It divided families, friends, and lovers; it became a grim reminder of Soviet supremacy and the reunification of two fractured countries; it inspired significant amounts of artistic and political movement, and stepped as a cusp between East and West translating oppression into liberty. They are to strong feelings which united nations and divided nations have had and can have in potentials.

Preserving History: The Berlin Wall Today

Nevertheless, some pieces of the structure were later saved and converted into memorials and extended open-air museums. The most popular part of the Wall now turning gray is nicknamed the East Side Gallery and presents murals created by different artists from different countries.

It is a great chance to ponder upon the subject and commemorate those, who began the struggle for freedom, touching the pieces of the Wall. It even acts as a Museum keeping alive the reality of the need for unity and people’s desire for freedom.

The Legacy Lives On

People of the world were urged to get ready for the new political climate after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It meant the starting point of the demystification of the Cold War period and triumph of democracy against communism.

Analyze the events that preceded the collapse of the Berlin Wall helps remember what it means to fight for a cause nonviolently, the meaning of such concepts as human rights, as well as the meaning of the existence of a better tomorrow.

On this occasion, we need to recall how the majority of people were celebrating the day that the division between East and West Germany and the symbols of the divide – the Berlin Wall – was dismantled.