Understanding the Historical Context

More specifically it is possible to note that one of the main historical events of Germany and the entire world was the construction of the Berlin Wall. Originally built in the cold war period it was a wall which physically and politically divided East and West Berlin, communism and capitalism.

The Construction Begins: August 13, 1961

The Berlin Wall was fashioned by East Germany in a bid to reduce the movement of people from East Berlin to West Berlin . Construction started on August 13, 1961, following instructions from the East Germany authorities headed by Walter Ulbricht. They were physical structures in the form of concrete walls, barb wire fences, watch towers and anti vehicular mole trenches.

As seen from the purpose the construction was motivated by reservationism and protection of the domestic markets.

The construction of the Berlin Wall was a response to several factors:

Brain Drain: Eastern Germany was getting a hold of skillful labor force or professionals who were emigrating to the western side. This brain drain was an unmitigated opposite to be threatening the very stability and cohesion of the East German regime.

Symbolic Battle: The Wall was also symbolic of democracy and communism where the vast of majority of people who opposed communism were separated from their families. It was designed to stop East Berliners from fleeing to the more affluent the West and it also became an icon of the Cold War.

Securing the Border: The East German government attempted to increase the supervision of its population and to ban the penetration of western culture in the GDR territory.

Brain Drain: East Germany was realizing a bleaching of experienced workers and professionals who were migrating to the West in massive numbers. This idea weakened the stability of the East German regime because more educated citizens emigrated from the state.

Brain Drain:

Symbolic Battle: Wall was also liberty versus communism; freedom of the inhabitants of West Berlin and prosperity against the highly regulated and suppressed society of East Berlin. It was designed to deter East Berliners from trying to improve their lives at the expense of the socialist state of eastern Germany it became an icon of the seperation between east and west.

Symbolic Battle:

Securing the Border: The East German government sought to bring about an even stricter regime, so as to prevent penetration of ideas from Western countries within the territory.

Securing the Border:

The Impact on Berliners

The division of Berlin by the building of the wall had a deep social impact on the people of Berlin. This caused the break up of families and the disruptions if friendly relations among the people in the region, education, employment and generally the entire process of personal development was affected.

Disunity of Family and Friends

Actually, many families were divided by this wall. One fine morning people were cutoff from their kith and kin, from their friends and relational och aching across the border out of possibility of going to see any relative living on the other side. The social relationships were contentious, but they suffered separation for almost three decades.

Immobilization, or Quarantine and Banning of Economic Activities

To the living in the East Berlin it acting as barrier and what could be approved as confinement. They were deprived of the perquisites of employment and relatively free existence which to them was synonymous with the West. Transport barriers kept East Berliners and citizens of the other DDR regions from being able to travel to other parts of the country or to any foreign country.

The End of the Wall: November 9, 1989

The physical barrier of division in the city of Berlin came crashing down after twenty eight years when the Wall was brought down on November 9, 1989. The failure of the Berlin Wall was due to political transitions, social tension in two separated parts that desire the unity of two countries.

Peaceful Revolution

The Berlin Wall also fell without any military intervention and the people of East Germany were protesting for free speech and better governance. It spread throughout east Germany and culminated in an event that made history or marks one.

Unification of Germany

The collapse of the Berlin was followed by political reunification of East and West Germans. In East Germany the day of reunification arrived on October 3, 1990 when the Federal Republic of Germany effectively incorporated the German Democratic Republic.

Remembering the Berlin Wall

At the present time there can be seen pieces of the Berlin Wall, which has the meaning of the past and the hope to the present and the future. Another subject of that historical period is the Berlin Wall and the East Side Gallery are among the best places where people may get the information.

Today the Berlin Wall no longer exists, but it is still unforgettable, what it has given to the world and people who suffered from its creation.