Introduction
The Wall called Berlin wall was a physical barrier that separated Berlin in East from West Berlin from the year 1961 to 1989. It was built in the midst of the Cold War representing ideological divide of the East and West. This blog post will discuss whether or not the creation of the Berlin Wall was successful in its aim.
The Berlin Wall: Its Construction and Its Destruction
The major function of building the wall was to ensure that more people did not cross over from the East to West German. While they saw anyone with skills or education especially those of young age, as a potential loss to their manpower as more and more population moved over to western Germany.
Effectiveness
In fact it must be noted here that despite the fact that the Berlin Wall did adopt the objective of curbing emigration from East Germany to West Germany, the efficacy of this wall in other goals much remain a topic of debate.
1. Reducing Emigration
But the most apparent impact of the construction of the Berlin wall was the decrease in emigration rates. The wall depicted here had armed soldiers, alarms and other antennas meaning that it was very hard for the east Germans to move to the western side.
2. Political Control
The same presents the Berlin Wall as a tool with which political control and domination of the East Germans were achieved. It led to the creation of barriers, which gave the government a distinct perception of the society and thus facilitate realization of its polices. The wall also played the role as setting up a barrier between capitalist west and socialist east, thereby ensuring the citizens back home that the west is a dangerous place to be.
3. Propaganda and Symbolism
From the construction of the Berlin Wall, the Soviet Union gained a public relations success. That was painting the West as the enemy and that only the Eastern Bloc was a safe socialist home. The wall also obvious representation of oppression that divided east and west.
Failures and Downfalls
Even though this method seemed to work for some time the Berlin wall that was built did not stop everyone from trying to escape and became an icon of the dictatorship of East Germany.
1. Escapes and Tunnels
However, the authors note that individuals began to learn how to counter the mighty security systems. Mining tunnels were considered and, in some cases, sub-surface passages were made to the other side of the wall to the West. These escapes not only exposed its flaws but also wanted others to try the same as well These escapes not only exposed its flaws but also wanted others to try the same as well.
2. International Pressure
The Berlin Wall was a symbol of oppression throughout the world and a constant reminder of Germany’s split in two. It fueled many demonstrations and led to more demands for the East-German authorities to bring it down. The destruction of the Berlin wall in 1989 was a historians moment significant enough to culminate in the reunification of Germany.
Conclusion
The Berlin Wall despite having exerted control over the amount of population that was allowed to emigrate out of East Germany and despite having been an efficient barrier it had failed in its goal. Lack of success in the international level and determination of the people against the wall led to downfall of the wall. Today the Berlin walls represent the fight of man and freedom from the bondage of whatever.
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