Berlin Wall Analysis

On the night of August 13 th , 1961, police officers strung barbed wire across the border of

THESIS: From research and historical analysts, we can conclude that in many cases the people of Germany have been effected socially and economically by the building and construction of the Berlin Wall.

In President Reagan’s speech regarding the Berlin wall entitled “Address at Brandenburg Gate” delivered on June 12th, 1987, Reagan takes the position as the rhetor with the sole purpose of convincing the city of Berlin to unite and get rid of the wall separating the city in two. The wall is described by Reagan multiple times and is described to be both a physical and non-physical wall. Most of the city is separated by the physical wall and those that aren’t are heavily guarded and prevent travel to the other side. The discourse was intended to not only be heard by the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, but by most of Europe and North America. The exigency in Reagan’s

In Berlin, the Iron Curtain had many purposes. It was there to protect, to separate and to enforce a way of life for East Berliners. Firstly, The Wall gave meaning to people’s lives in different ways. It defined where they were to go, who they were to see and who they were to be. For the countless Stasi and informers, it gave them a purpose and an importance in society, and after The Wall came down, that purpose was lost and yearned for. Secondly, The Wall and the controlling ways of the Stasi loomed over the lives of East Berliners, and its implementation was just one of many extreme measures to minimalise Capitalism and encourage Communism. Thirdly, although The Wall

The berlin wall was a big aspect of the cold war that greatly impacted on the everyday lives of german citizen and also caused immense inconvenience to them in many ways but, by the wall being up a potential world war three was avoided, so many could

The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall by Mary Elise Sarotte explains the causes and events leading up the opening of the Berlin Wall. By first describing the state of Eastern Europe, Sarotte leads the reader into descriptive chapters about the people and events that lead up to November 9, 1989. The story of the opening of the Berlin Wall, or the Iron Curtain as some call it, is compelling told by using a profusion of sources and actions that all play a major role in this watershed moment in history.

The wall was a symbol that represented communism and a deprivation of freedom around the world. In West Berlin the wall was known as the “wall of shame”, while the East side claimed it abolished the discord in Europe. People all around the world had different names for it, but one thing was for sure as long as the wall was up peace was not at rest.("Remembering the Berlin").

The Berlin Wall is a historical symbol of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall is a symbol of the end of the Cold War. And also, the Berlin Wall played a great role in the life of millions of people and defined the fate of German people, which put them apart by the Wall for a long period of time. Sixteen years after the end of World War II, the communist government of East Germany began building a wall on (August 13, 1961), that would divide the city of Berlin into East Berlin and West Berlin. The purpose was to keep fascists from entering East Germany, but mostly to keep West German citizens, primarily people of valuable professions such as doctors, teachers and engineers, from Changing side to the West. People of Berlin Called the wall Schandmaur, which actually means " The wall of shame". Over the years of the wall being constructed it took at least 3x times to rebuild it, but each time bigger than the last one.

These blockades later became the infamous “Berlin Wall”. The wall was infamous because it “stood as a grim symbol of totalitarian socialism” (“Berlin Wall” 2). “The soviets tried to control all of berlin by blockading the roads.”(“Berlin Wall 2). After the building of the wall the Westerners responded with the Berlin Airlift. The Airlift was was series of helicopter flights that supplied the country with food and supplies. The Airlift not only helped them in their food situation but also caused success for the economy in western Germany. The wall was later destroyed after the Eastern Cabinet resigned. On “November 7… hundreds of thousands of Berliners took to the streets, breaching the wall in frenzied celebration.” (“Berlin Wall” 3). This was a momentous day as the effect of the wall was essentially imprisonment for the people on the eastern side. The wall was armed with guards that were instructed to kill anyone who attempted to escape. The destruction of the wall was significant because it displayed how things can be accomplished without violence. Then 21 days later “West Germany outlined a proposal calling for the reunification of the nation” (“Berlin Wall” 3). All in one year the wall that stood as a sign of separation was destroyed and the two sides were

On August 1 1961 the communist government of the German Democratic Republic had begun to build a wall of concrete between East and West of Berlin. The whole purpose of the berlin wall was to keep Westerns fascists from entering East of Germany. Undermining the socialist state but it served as on objective of stemming mass and defection

Two photographs, one captured at the beginning of the wall and the other at the demise of the wall, paints a picture of Berlin’s struggles to become one. Paul

On the night of August 13, 1961, the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic and volunteer construction workers of East Germany began to seal all points of entrance into West Berlin with miles of barbed wire, concrete, and stationed soldiers. “Antifaschistischer Schutzwall”, as they called it, or the “anti-fascist bulwark.” The purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western fascists from entering the socialist state of East Germany, and to prevent Easterners from pouring out of the USSR-occupied zone. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, many refugees fled from the east to reunite with family in the west, and to escape the oppressive government that had developed in East Germany after Germany’s defeat in the second World War. Soon, the wall was extended to divide all of Germany, spanning over 96 miles across the nation, dividing the Communist East from the Western Federal Republic of Germany. The Berlin Wall stood for 28 years. Finally, on November 9, 1989, the head of the East German Communist Party announced that members of the GDR could cross the border as they pleased. Celebrating citizens of Germany brought hammers and pickaxes, and began to chip away at the cement that had divided friends and families for nearly three decades. To this day, what’s left of the Berlin Wall remains one of the most powerful symbols from the Cold War.

The Berlin Wall had a major impact on humanity’s views on how society should be ruled. Berlin is the capital of Germany. After the ending of WWII, Berlin was split up into East Berlin, and West Berlin. East Berlin was communist, suffered from the repressions of the Communist Party. West Berlin had a better lifestyle, and had financial aid from the United States. From the years between nineteen forty-nine to nineteen sixty-one, approximately 2.5 million people from East Berlin escaped to West Berlin. This toll included skilled workers, professionals, and intellectuals. Because of the loss of these people, the economy in East Berlin was threatened. On August twelve-thirteen, nineteen sixty-one, the Berlin was built in order to stop the people of East Berlin from fleeing. The Berlin wall was a major point during the Cold War, and many opposed it. It gave another reason to detest communism.

Before this class, I only thought of the Berlin Wall as a week-long lesson in my history classes that was lumped in with World War II and the Cold War. Because it wasn’t technically American history, I was never taught about the Wall in a way other than how it related to America, which is why I was excited to see this FYOS listed as an option when I registered for classes. History has always interested me, and this topic was especially intriguing because I knew so little about it. Coming in to the class, I don’t think I had too many expectations; conversely, I honestly didn’t know what to expect having never truly breached the topic before. Despite my lack of expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by all the information that I learned throughout the class. I especially enjoyed reading Anna Funder’s novel, Stasiland, and getting the human perspective of East Germany. So many times, I’ve been guilty of reducing East Germany into a country comprised of oppressors and the oppressed without considering the complex emotions and rationale of the actual human beings that inhabited the nation; the novel helped to reshape my beliefs. Although I still firmly believe that the East German government

Frederick Kempe’s biography Berlin 1961 explores the events leading up to and following the construction of the Berlin Wall in August of 1961. The biography discusses both the American point of view as well as the Soviet point of view. Most striking, however, is the factors discussed by Khrushchev in his perspective in the reasoning behind building the Berlin Wall. In the Soviet perspective, the Berlin Wall was a preventative measure that simply kept the East German government from collapsing. Khrushchev recognized that the East German government was struggling on its own and by identifying the factors causing this economic strife, he composed a plan that would reduce the negative effects of the economic trough.