If you want a historical event that greatly affected and represented a certain period in history, the Berlin Wall is at the top. Raised during the most critical turn of the Cold War, this impressive building represented not only the physical separation of parts of a city, but of the two potentially opposing halves of the world. In this article, we will also be looking at the unknown fact that when the Berlin Wall was put up, primarily during a certain period in history and how this substantial creation has left its mark to this day.
The Historical Context: The Cold War and Berlin’s Divided Fate
To give any perspective on the construction of the Berlin Wall, knowledge of the larger conflict of the Cold War era is necessary. After the end of World War II, Germany was divided into four zones controlled by the victorious Allied powers: the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and Frances. Berline the nationals capital was also shared among this powers despite being situated right in the core of the Soviet controlled east Germany.
When the conflict between the Soviet Union and the Western powers developed, so did disputes as to the state of Germany. In 1949, two separate German states emerged: German: BRD- Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Westdeutschland) DDR- Deutsche Demokratische Republik (Eastdeutschland).
The Escalation of Tensions
These two states developed differences gradually, with West German pulling towards a capitalist economy and East Germany moving to communism. Except for the fact that east Germans were complaining over the policies of their government and they wanted to have a better standard of living, they started moving to West Germany.
Thus, as the number of people immigrating to the West grew, the Soviet-led government of East Germany looked for ways how to solve the problem. The result was the establishment of the Berlin Wall, concretization of the city and aimed at stemming the flow of East Germans to the West.
The Construction of the Berlin Wall: A Divisive Barrier
; A peculiar detail related to the construction of the wall was that the start of the construction was on August 13, 1961, at night. Instead of barbed wire there were simple wire fences at first and were replaced overnights by more definite protection barbed wire fences were erected, concrete walls, watchtowers, and a no-man’s land called the “death strip.”
The first purpose of the wall built was to halt the unauthorised passing through from East to West Berlin or vice versa. People, regardless of the relation, got separated and all of them did not get any prior warning or a word about any possibility of separation let alone a proper farewell. The Berlin Wall became yet another sign of the confrontational division between communism and capitalistic systems, the Cold War never let people forget about it.
The Impact on Berliners
Both the result of the construction of the wall as well as the effect it had on the people of Berlin were dramatic. It became clear overnight that people were enclosed either on one side or the other. It destroyed families, people lost their sources of income and dented their aspirations. Thus, the visual symbol of the wall departed physically and psychologically people from relatives and contributed to not allowing the east and west sides of a single city to develop.
People still had to find ways to deal with their new surroundings they wake up one day and all of a sudden there is a wall dividing their city or country. To be more precise living and daily activities were built around the wall. People talked to each other across the wall; they used rudimentary tactics to smuggle themselves through the border. However, the East German authorities followed rigid measures that limited the chance of individuals to escape such measurings were very rare.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall: A Symbol of Hope and Unity
It was for nearly three decades that the citizens in the two parts of Berlin were separated by a symbol of concrete barrier known as the Berlin Wall. But changing trends were underway and there was something making people look at the new dawn ahead of them. The destruction of the 27-year-old icon symbolizing the division between East and West, began on November 9, 1989.
People of East Germany got thirsty of their governments’ restrictions therefore started coming up with mass movements demanding for freedom of movement. Surprised, the East German authorities faced increasing turbulence, and thus began to fail in curbing them. At some point the people rose to pressures of the government and in new travel policies the citizens would be free to cross borders.
A Symbolic Reunion
When the news filtered in, a number of people thronged the Wall in East and West Berlin in order to be reunited with their loved ones. High-spirited people jumped on the wall that once separated them: they hugged each other, and with the rocks they took off the concrete that for years kept the Balkans divided.
The breaking apart of the Berlin Wall had also brought marriages together so as symbolize the demise of the social system. Hitherto existing partitions that clearly demarcated the East from the West were dismantled and with this many opportunities in the cadre of Berlin and for Germany in particular became attainable.
The Lasting Legacy: Remembering the Berlin Wall
What has remained of the Berlin Wall may only be memories, but these memories remain ever so festering. Today you can only find parts of the construction that existed in order to separate the city and is a memorial and a reminder of the past? Variations, such as museums, memorials, and installations prevent the human memory from forgetting and make the visitor aware of tremendous difficulties that Berliners experienced during this dramatic period.
Further, the decommissioning of the famous Berlin Wall, and ultimate reunion of two divided German states bears several impacts not only on Berlin but also in larger Germany. It was a symbol of triumph for democracy over dictatorship and it was the start of the end of Cold War.
A Lesson in History
Breje was about the Berlin Wall and any historian telling the story would want to emphasize the fact that it was a time individuals showed great courage and did not give up on their dreams. It acts as a counsel of competitions and disagreement that everyone has to learn different lessons to become united with their fellows. The Breaching of the wall sent a message across the globe that Adversities can be overcome and that hope ended-wall of despair.
While commemorating the construction and the destruction of the wall let us make a point of remembering the lessons it was teaching. I hope that we shall always work towards the improvement for mnace, the construction of bridges instead of walls, to have one world if not in difference then at least in care.
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