When you start to explore the past of Berlin, one creation which is very well known and has a deep historical and cultural background is the Berlin Wall. The following historical outline relates to the period of the Cold War: The Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 and physically dismantled in 1989. It is now time to discuss location of the wall and how division transformed the city and impacted the world.
The location of the Berlin Wall Relevant theory They have also provided details on the Location of the Berlin wall By drawing details from the work of Beaufoy, they have been able to look at the…
The Berlin Wall ran through the heart of Berlin, effectively dividing the city into two separate parts: East Berlin being a territory of the German Democratic Republic and West Berlin part of the Federal Republic Of Germany.
The Wall was 96 miles long in total, and ran around the western area of West Berlin.) More importantly, it was not a straight-line running across the city but a zigzag with an assortment of neighborhoods, streets, and even buildings in between. It was built to ensure that human beings could not flee from the ‘East’- the despotic side of Germany, to the ‘West,’ the open, progressive, and prosperous side of Germany and indeed the world.
The Inner City Border
The Say went across the city center of Berlin; for the most part, it ran parallel to significant streets and structures. As earlier highlighted one of the most famous was the Berlin Wall Memorial situated at Bernauer Strasse. This site was rather a simple yet powerful reminder of the fact that the wall did actually exist.
Other important place is a Checkpoint Charlie which was the most visited border between East and West Berlin. The first checkpoint is gone now but tourists can visit a replica there to represent the once divided town.
Outer Areas and the Berlin Wall ”Death Strip”
In addition to the city centre, the Wall had been built across the outskirts of Berlin including Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. It split families, neighbors and even graves, leaving a very strong imprint in the lives of Berliners.
And, just like the Wall, there was a strip of land alongside it called the “Death Strip.” This area comprised a piece of terrain enclosed between two parallel walls with the area between lined with barbed wire, mines and guarded by armed personnel. It was the killing zone and a ‘warning’ to any one who wished to cross the border.
The formation of the wall around Berlin.
Late in the night of August 13, 1961, inhabitants of the eastern sector woke up to find barbed wire fences running along the border between east and west Berlin. In years later these fences were built from concrete segments and became quite an effective fighting line.
First of all the wall was just wire barriers, but with the days and weeks passing the barrier gradually developed into a stronger one. With watchtowers wired with several security measures, the wire fences, weighing several tons each, were replaced by concrete segments some of which weighed several tons.
Some 20 000 border guards were responsible for guarding safety of the wall, control over border crossing and preventing any attempts to flee to the western part of the Germany.
The license provided to the citizens of this country is both a symbol of division and unity.
The symbolic meaning of the Berlin Wall was that the Cold war period brought an extremely big gap between the East and the West. People were divided by their families, and the liberty of circulation of people and information was extremely controlled.
But in November 9, 1989 when the Wall fell down it became the single most significant moment in history. It marked the dismantling of the cold war and the German unification . The Wall then literalized and became a hope, unity, and the symbol of the victory of the human spirit.
Today they are still a part of Berlin as a constant symbol of the cold war history of the city. The most famous pieces which remained are the East Side Gallery, essentially, an extended painting of wall dedicated by artists from various parts of the world depicting freedom and victory of human spirit.
Accompanying the political generic associated with concrete and sections of the walJ o allows people to discuss the topic of the division and the following reunification which would not he possible without he loss of many innocent lives. Learning about this incredible wall gives a strong message on the need to be free, be united and the significance of coming together as the world.
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