Introduction
When it comes to discussing Berlin, it’s impossible to overlook the city’s tumultuous history and the stark contrast between its two halves: East Berlin and West Berlin. Finally, it must be mentioned that during nearly three decades of the Cold War, the city became a concrete and symbolic front line divided by notoriously concrete Berlin Wall. In this article we will discuss division of this city comparing East and West Berlin and the effect of separation of similar and diverse qualities and cultures.
The Berlin Wall: A Symbol of Divided Ideologies
East Berlin’s Wall built in 1961 augmented the gap between the two regions of the city. Although it was built essentially to block people from escaping through the border in seek of a better life in the West it resonated the tension of the Cold War East versus West world politics.
East Berlin: As a result of the sovietization process the city of East Berlin saw considerable physical deterioration and limitation on the civil liberties of its citizens. Architecture designed for a message of socialism on a massive scale disrupted Berlins identity and led to the destruction of history in order to build dish washing anonymous structures for people to live in.
East Berlin:
West Berlin:Being situated far inland in East German territory, West Berlin remained the capitalist dream, isolated from the outside by the Berlin Wall. With the backing of the western allies the city became hall mark of democracy against totalitarianism. As a capitalist city, West Berlin ‘embraced the arts, free and diverse lifestyle, and consumption’ hence clearly to be distinguished from East Berlin.
West Berlin:
Cultural Differences
Art and Culture
This rather clearly represented the prosaic cultural dimensions that characterized the two Berlins. As real Berlin continued to grow with an avant-garde art milieu that attracted internationally known artists and musicians. Thus it began to throbbing with creativity and was the incubator for by and large, different art movements including but not limited to Dadaism and the Neue Wilde. East Berlin philosophers, artists and musicians found themselves stifling under heavy government censorship and conformity, thus responding by starting the underground art and music.
Nightlife and Entertainment
The night life in west Berlin was fantastic the legendary clubs such as the Dschungel and the E-Werk were popular with the people of Berlin and Other visitors. The whole ambiance of the city was liberal as well as permissive and this facilitated the exciting party life. In contrast, East Berlin offered much fewer choices of entertainment at night for there were simply not enough resources available or allowed by the state.
Architecture and Infrastructure
Both aural cities are also architecturally different from one another in ways that encapsulate the themes of the two Berlins. East Berlin began to present monumental socialist architecture starting with the despised Fernsehturm and the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park. Precisely, West Berlin embodied a range of architectures, ranging from historical, such as the Brandenburg Gate to modern architectures especially those developed after the Second World War.
Impact of the Division
Thus there were severe implications for the inhabitants of the divided city of Berlin on the basis of the historically(). Many people lost their clients, their social relationships, personal and professional contacts, and much more. People were living their daily life more and more as if they entered two different ideological worlds of the city. It also resulted into the emergence of large differences with regards to infrastructure investments and economic activities-route was passed through the Western regions. East Berlin was less developed and boring while west Berlin was a revelation of western standard of living.
Reunification and Beyond
The events of October 1990 saw Germany divided for 28 years split in two but the Fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 saw the eventful reunification of Germany. Although there is no longer a physical partition that separates the two parts of the city, people affected by this division still carried its lesders along with them through generations. Berlin is an active and intact capital today, but parts of the physical barrier are still present, and citizens of Berlin experienced quite a lot throughout history.
Conclusion
The East and West Berliner are shown when comparing the two sides to explain the differences that still persist even after reunification. These factors prominently defined the architectural presence or the cultural as well as life standards that emerged to form two halves. Knowledge of this division helps to take understanding the process of unification and recognizing the endurance and inventiveness of Berliners during these tempestuous years.
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