The Berlin Wall The years following the fall of the Berlin wall brought Germany closer together as one country. The east side of Berlin was communist, whereas the west side was socialist/democratic. The Berlin wall was often referred to as a symbol of the cold war and the inner conflict of Germany. It showed the different ideologies of the USA and USSR and their systems of government. Officially known as the “Anti-Fascist-Protective Wall” by the east, and the “Wall of Shame” by the West, it physically divided the city of Berlin from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989. The fall of the Berlin Wall was beneficial for the economies of Germany and the US.
The reunification of Germany happened on October 3, 1990 when East Germany joined the Federal Republic. Guenter Schabowski announced the opening of the Berlin wall, putting an end to the 28 years of division. He announced this offhandedly during a press conference, by saying that the East was lifting the travel restrictions across the border to the West. He then looks down at his notes, stammering “As far as I know, this enters into force...this is immediately, without delay” (East German announces Berlin wall open). Upon hearing this, East Berliners stormed to the wall and demanded to be let through. Although border guards had not been given this order, they let people through after seeing the numbers. Soon after the opening of the walls, the Soviet Union fell apart. Representatives from eleven of the fifteen
For thirty years, an iron curtain lay across Germany. This iron curtain was called the Berlin Wall, and it represented the divide between East and West Germany. It also represented the loss of East Germany’s freedom and democracy. The Berlin Wall separated families and friends. This resulted in children growing up without a father and wives losing all communication with their husbands. The Berlin Wall poorly affected many people and businesses, and caused an ugly dent in Germany’s history.
German sides reunited, and by the end of the year the Berlin Wall was the most recognizable
The eastern and western parts of the city were divided ideologically. Symbolizing the differences between the western democrats and the eastern communists and the way they thought Germany should be lead. It also meant the inner conflict of Germany and the division between “free” or democratic. Some historians believe that another reason the Berlin Wall was raised was in an attempt to foment relationships between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. The Berlin Wall’s fall enforced the ideology of the Western countries (capitalism) and symbolized the failure of what was supposed to be a government which brought equality for all.
Berlin Wall, known as the Iron Curtain, divided and separated the entire Europe in two. Berlin Wall was meant to stop people from escaping to the West. Many people didn’t have a chance to react before the wall was set up. No one was allowed to cross to the other side without permission. Tens of thousands of people were separated in just one night. On both sides, separated brothers, sisters,
Stalin’s control of East Germany produced nothing but poor living conditions. With the Allies managing West Germany, the state prospered and attracted many people of East Germany for the job opportunities provided. Stalin did not see West Germany as the people did and resurrected a wall in the dead of night between August 12th and 13th, 1961, separating families with no warning. There were four versions of the wall, each built to be stronger than the last. As Coldwar.org stated in their Berlin Wall timeline, the final one was twelve feet high of concrete and almost four feet thick, topped with a steel pipe and barbed wire. Men in over a hundred and fifteen watchtowers guarded from people crossing over the wall, several hundred of whom died. The Berlin Wall served as a constant reminder to the western world of the hand of communism. Yet, through all of the threats, the American people held faith that the military would protect them from communism. Americans of the 1980’s thrived on a patriotism for their free country and did not fear The Iron
The Berlin wall was put up in 1961 to prevent the spread of communism and to separate Germany from Berlin. Mass protests and revolutions led to a chain reaction which caused the wall to fall. On November 9th, 1989 the wall started to fall, the military eventually began to help taking down the wall, this was the beginning of German reunification.
At the beginning of the Cold War, the communist government in East Germany (GDR) and the Soviet Union agreed that a wall, restricting the people’s free access to the west (Allies), was the only way to solve the mass exodus that threatened the East German economy and made the Soviet Union look inferior to their rival the United States. The Berlin Wall, which enclosed West Berlin, was constructed, and the East Berliners were trapped behind a desperate and failing Iron Curtain until a revolution finally led to their freedom.
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.
The wall split germany in half with the united states and its allies on the west and communist russia on the east, starting on august 16th 1961 the communist government would build 76 miles of fence and 11 foot high walls attempting to keep influence of free market capitalist nations out and their own communist ideals in, Over 100 people died trying to cross the wall surrounded by guard towers and barbed wire. People who lived inside the wall knew nothing but what the state told them or what the state wanted to tell them. Until the fall of the berlin wall in november of 1989 around 45 years since world war 2 ended, families and communities were finally able to be brought together again without a wall separating them. Many also mark this as the fall of the USSR considering they dissolved two years later in
The Berlin Wall is an outcome of the tension between the US and the USSR. After losing the Second World War, Berlin was occupied by four different sectors; ¬¬ America, United Kingdom, France in the West and The Soviet Union in the East. Before the year 1961, East Germany could move
The Berlin wall was a wall that was up to 15 feet high, which separated East and West Berlin during the Cold War. It lasted 28 years from 1961 and 1989. Throughout this time period, many people living in East Germany left and fled to West Germany because they had a better economic system. Since their lost in WWII, East Germany built the wall to prevent access to West Berlin. Because of this separation that lasted 28 years, many families, friends and relatives were separated. The wall slowly progressed to become even more advanced so that it would be harder for people to get to the other side. About 5,000 people survived, 5,000 people got caught and 191 more were killed. People were willing to do anything at any means just to get over the wall
The world was shocked when it learned of the entrapment of of citizens of East Berlin. The wall was put up by Walter Ulbricht, forcing East Berliners to live under communist rule. Built in 1961, the Berlin Wall separated the communist nation from the rest of society. Friends and families were divided by the wall, prompting thousands of escape attempts that left at least a hundred people dead. Eventually, in 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down, two years after President Ronald Reagan demanded it. For twenty eight years the freedom of East Berliners was encircled by a wall that stretched for ninety one miles, limiting the encounters of East and West Berliners. Lack of exchanges between East Berlin and the rest of the world left many economic
This wall was current and in use from 1961-1989, constructed by the German Democratic Republic. The Wall completely separated West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989. The wall was created in order to separate the communists from the Anti-fascists, because after World War Two the country seemed to split and believe to follow two completely different leadership styles. The wall was technically two walls, spread out from each other with a large amount of land between them that was called “no man zone”, and the “death zone”. The construction of it was made of concrete, topped off with barbed wire and numerous trenches. Throughout the length of the wall there were many armed watch towers and armed trucks to prevent any emigrants from crossing the border. This wall is a very negative event in history. It caused many tragic and unneeded deaths, and it hurt the relationships of Germans in future years to come. In this case, the wall itself was not the deterrent from crossing the border, it was the armed forces on the other side. The Berlin wall caused distraught and uncertainty for many, provoking tension for both east and west Germany. This wall was not beneficial to the country, and thankfully it was recognized and the demolition began in the summer of 1990 and was not fully completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall sparked the way for German reunification, which was formally established on October 3, 1990. This wall had severely negative affects from the moment it was built, until the moment it was destroyed. It was not beneficial, and was well deserved to be destroyed and not preserved. The Berlin Wall is one wall in history that did not serve to the benefit of
As we know, the Berlin Wall was majorly known as a symbol of the Cold War. However, the cause of the Berlin Wall was also an international issue. The Battle of Berlin, with the death of Hitler and complete military defeat on the Eastern Front, resulting in the Soviets occupying Berlin with services and distributing food to the population of the city’s inhabitants. After the soviet saw a mass decrease in population of the east side of Germany they threatened the United States zone in the west side with the use of nuclear weapons over this issue, but the United States alone with many other western European countries were committee to defending the land of West Berlin. Throughout the night of August 12-13, 1961, the soviets on the east side built