The Birth of the Berlin Wall

The wall famously known as the Berlin shameful wall, was erected for almost 28 years, and acted al a barrier in the city of Berlin as well as politically segregating East and West during the cold war period. The infamous wall was built on August, 13, 1961 to divide families, friends and a country divided by political systems.

This massive construction works covering a distance of 155 kilometers or more represented both physical and political divide which defined the period. The building of barriers, the construction of the Berlin Wall in particular, was an act of providing a message – the world was divided and Berlin became its symbol.

The Symbolism of Division

The Berlin Wall acted as a symbol of the Iron Curtain that divided the East Germany known as the German Democratic Republic from the West Germany known as the Federal Republic of Germany. It was part of the Cold War; this set global power blockage comprising of the Western countries headed by the United States of America against Eastern countries led by the Soviet Union.

In physical form, the wall was a structure of several guards’ towers, barbed wires and concrete blocks. It served as the most effect means of containing the movements of people from one side to the other. The wall endowed power, arrest of the freedom of the people, human rights abuse, and high-authoritarianism characteristics.

A Search for Freedom

For people of East Germany the actual wall was something more than just the concrete barrier; it was the prison whose bars limited their freedom. Residents wished to live freely and tried to leave the harsh conditions and lack of work in the East. The wall was a constant symbol of their restriction pertaining to their rights to use as move or speak as they wanted.

It is hard to imagine the number of people who tried and died during their attempted crossings, through burrowing under the wall, climbing out of the windows at night or crossing nearby rivers at night only to be shot at dawn. The tales of triumph and valor turned into symbol of human spirit of fighting for freedom.

Invisible Walls

Furthermore, more than the concrete barrier the Berlin Wall symbolized the continuation of an ideological division between friendly nations and families. Every family was separated, some had husband and wives and children living one side of the wall and had not been able to see them for years. This particular kind of detachment elicited feelings of despair and loss.

One must not forget that the results of the Wall did not stop within Berlin’s borders either. Consequences of the division of Germany Stretch out to all the economic, social and political lives of the country.

Symbol of Reunion

The breakdown of the Berlin Wall on the November the 9th in 1989 was an icon of hope, oneness and transformation. The reunification of Germany that followed, brought back hope among the people of Berlin and all around the entire world.

The collapse of the Berlin Wall led to changes at the political level showing that the suppressed can triumph – the end of the Cold War. In a way having a distinct opsite reflected the reality that division is not an impossibility.

A Beacon for Unity

Today other parts of that wall can be seen as a symbol of the hist orical past of Berlin and the spirit of the people of Berlin who had to fight for their freedom. The wall is no longer a divider but maybe the permanent monument of unification, which should be known to many generations in future.

At least in visiting the Berlin Wall Memorial, a person has a chance to think over the past and watch people in the process of forgiving one another. Museums, memorials, and sections of the wall remain in place today partly because they offer a snap-shot into the ugliness of separation and the victory of integration.

Pinned to the working days of the week are lessons for future generations.

There is a lesson to be learnt from the structure that separated East and West Berlin – dialogue, diplomacy and fight for freedom. It also teaches those ever so important lessons that no matter the differences all people should come together to build a better tomorrow.

Real change has not happened while we forget about the lessons of history and still build walls in our society as physical, ideological, or social barriers.

Today people remember the Berlin Wall first of all as a barrier between people, but at the same time as a symbol of the reunification and a common destiny of the human kind. It also can be used to remind audience that with great difficulties, people always can overcome and keep hope and join together.