The Berlin Wall: A True Learning Experience

On August 15, 1961 the Berlin Wall was built. I was only ten years old at the time. I was separated from my family, so all I had was my life long friend, Leo. I've always wished the wall to be destroyed, so I could see my family again, but my wish has never came true.

“The fall of the Berlin Wall is very much a sequel, a continuation of the story about Eastern Europe emerging from war and communism. The nation of presenting history as a story also appealed to me very much, since that is the way I look at the events I cover as a reporter.

Wall was a turning point in world history because it kept the East German population from

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.

he Berlin Wall was not only a physical divide between the Soviets and the Americans, but was also a cultural divide between communism and democracy. This split between ideologies, as well as numerous political squabbles, was the very definition of the Cold War itself. Ever since the end of World War II in Europe, a new battle had begun which would not be fought directly with bullets and tanks, but rather with ideas and words. However, there were some instances where it would almost seem that war would be impossible to avoid. With the signing of the Potsdam Agreement that split was even more transparent than it had been. Germany being divided into the four sections proved to be a much better alternative than fighting over control. Eventually, the Soviet government in Moscow, tired of having western influence in the middle of the East Germany, made several threats demanding that the Americans, British, and French leave

The Berlin Wall was significant to lives of many people through many ways. It was the centre of the lives of every person living in Germany.

The Berlin Wall symbolized many things for different people. For the Germans it served as their punishment from World War II, this punishment divided up their country and separated many people from their families who might have lived in different parts of Germany. Everyday things that were accessible to them like going to the grocery store or visiting family members were now made harder since in order to cross to the other side of the wall people would have to go through security checks. The Wall also represented death because if someone were to try to escape to the other side of the wall they would be shot dead. To other countries the Berlin Wall represented communism as well as division between two different forms of government. During

History seems to remain in an endless cycle of repetition. In the world's most contemporary issue: walls. History has proven to us that walls either protect, in the case of the Great Wall of China, or divide, as proven by the Berlin Wall. Depending on the intended purpose of walls and borders, they can protect or ruin lives. Any sort of barrier creates restrictions, and if caught beyond those limits can result in banishment, exile, separation, estrangement, and displacement. Nevertheless, with great effort walls can be brought down.

While studying about Europe in the twentieth century, it became clear that the cold war had a lasting impact on the history of Germany as well as America’s view on communism. In our text book the Allies, especially the U.S., are always presented as being strongly opposed to the building of the Berlin Wall. So why had the Berlin Wall been allowed to last for twenty-eight years? During a search to find out more as to the reason for this lengthy existence, I came across the website for the magazine History Today, or www.historytoday.com. There was an article entitled “The Berlin Wall: A Secret History”, its author Frederick Taylor states a dissimilar point of view concerning the Allied leaders’ response to the construction of the Berlin Wall than that of the text book. History Today’s website offers many articles about several eras throughout history, as well as, unique perspectives on historical events.

When I started looking for topics a few weeks ago I wanted to learn more about the Berlin Wall. I have since realized that to study the history of the Berlin Wall in one semester is something that would only allow me to skim through various sources and information, there is simply too much information to learn and so much of it available that I have chosen to focus my research so far on the Fall of the Berlin wall. The events of the mid-to-late 80s that changed the political atmosphere enough to bring the wall down.

The Berlin Wall was a very devastating time in history. This wall separated East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The wall was so large that it took two years to take down. They would have guards, around three hundred watchtowers, over two hundred and fifty guard dogs, twenty bunkers and sixty five miles of anti-vehicle trenches. If you tried to pass/go over the wall you would be shot on sight. Although that was the case sill over five thousand people made it to freedom, but over hundreds of people died from attempting. How would life change if this event never took place?

About 25 years ago, precisely on November 8, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell leaving Germans and Americans deeply distressed. Even though it was clear heavy changes were coming in the Soviet Union, the divider descending amongst East and West Berlin just became so clearly upset that Americans saw just how destroyed the communist world had become. Societies soon pronounced that peoples were allowed to cross the frontier whenever they wished to, this delighted countless folks. Massive groups of people came with beer and chanted together. Some took mallets to completely rid of the walls remains while countless amounts of citizens crossed over copiously. Over two million people crossed over to West Berlin that weekend sparking a huge celebratory event,

the demise of communism has continued since the nineteenth century The same could be said of the concept of the failure of Communism, in terms of dictatorship, perfection, dissent, the turn to capitalism and betrayal or ‘Fall’ narratives. But when pressed, a critic will fall back on the simple point that communism in many places came to an end. The toppling of the Berlin Wall is the symbol and the rolling back of communism in Eastern Europe and even in parts of Asia (such as Mongolia) is the reality – or so it is argued. The reply is equally simple: let us leave aside the continuing socialist countries in Asia, let alone the South American versions of socialism, and ask: why is longevity, or indeed eternity, a criterion for success? The fact

On November 9,1989 the German rulers finally allowed the Wall to be taken down. The Berlin Wall was according to Rosenberg “a physical division between West Berlin and East Germany in order to keep East Germans from fleeing to the West” (Rosenberg). History always seems to repeat itself because even in modern times the usage of a wall to keep people from moving in large number is still viable. Nonetheless, like the Berlin wall and the Great Wall of China before that, walls are just that walls and unfortunately they are not enough to keep individuals from getting to the other side.

1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed. This important thing changed Merkel’s life. She was active in political activities, and participated in the organization in East Germany. After that, she became the deputy spokeswoman for Prime Minister DE maiziere.