The Berlin Wall And The Cold War

The Berlin Wall was originally a source of division in Europe for the Cold War. The East Berlin region announced that citizens would be able to cross the border into Western Europe. The dismantling of the wall had major significance because it reinstalled the peace between West and East Europe that wasn’t there for over 40 years. Ronald Reagan even encouraged the Soviet Union leader, Gorbachev, to bring down the wall in 1987 and many Americans believed that his speech impacted the tearing down of wall. The dismantling signified the reinstallation of human rights for those that were stuck in the border for years.

The cold war started in 1947 between the USSR and the USA.The berlin wall was one of the most significant symbols in relations to the cold war. Although the wall was a crucial factor that helped in bypassing what could have turned out to be world war three, many would agree that it impacted on the lives of german citizens in both positive and negative ways. People had their families split up because of the wall and there were also very limited supplies getting into west berlin due to the blockade.

The Berlin Wall displayed the different ideologies between two government systems, how they worked and what the people thought about them. On November 9th 1989, the Berlin Wall finally came down and transformed from a symbol of Cold War communist oppression to an icon of freedom and revolution. It was a very important event in history that displayed change and brought

On November 9, 1989 the Berlin wall was built. The wall was ordered to be built by East Germany’s communist leader, Walter Ulbricht to stop

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

After the World War 2 East Germany was destroyed the Berlin wall was put up almost overnight. The Germans did not procrastinate, and was the Berlin Wall put up without warning. Orderly overtime the wall was reinforced with mine fields, dog runs, and even machine gun trip wires. Families were shattered and homes were destroyed as The Wall snaked across the borders of East Berlin. For years people thought that The Wall would never fall, and East Germany would be trapped inside forever, but after hundreds of riot and plans to escape, the borders opened and people flooded out of East Berlin. The excitement and the amazement of the dream for their freedom coming true were possible Because of the Fall of the Wall.

Could you imagine a large wall being built right in the middle of a city to split it? Well this is how the Soviet Union and the United States had to deal with during the Cold War. The Cold War was a broxing War between the Soviet Union and the United States that lasted from 1947-1991. This paper will be written about the Berlin Wall. I will be writing about why they built and what they made this out of, people escaping, and why the wall ever actually fell. Well, first of all In 1945, at the end of WWII, Germany and the city of Berlin were divided into four zones, each controlled by one of WWII’s victors. America, France, and Great Britain had west Berlin, also known as the Federal Republic of Germany, and the

The Berlin Wall was a symbol of division between two different political beliefs and two different ways of life. The population during this time was about 3.4 million. This started the Cold War and ended it. Just because of one mans (Nikita Khrushchev) approval to raise the wall; the citizens of Germany were forced to live twenty- eighty years without freedom. Berlin Wall also known as the “Iron Curtain” was ninety six miles long and twelve feet high. The Berlin Wall erected in the dead of night. Just past midnight, while Berliner’s were sleeping, crews of soldiers tore up the streets dug holes to set up concrete posts and fixed up barbed wire on top. Telephone wires were cut off between the wall. The Berlin Wall had very few openings. For example, the main access opening was called “Checkpoint Charlie”. It was used for allies personal and westerners to cross the border. It was decided during World War II when Germany lost, that Berlin was to be divided between America, France, and Great Britain. The Soviet Union started the war and wanted to spread communism around Eastern Europe and West Germany did not want that. This turning point was a physical symbol of the Cold War.

East Germans were unhappy being walled off from the world. As the wall was erected the counterclaims of the East German Government were broadcasted over loud speakers for the citizens to hear. They claimed that need for the wall was caused by the West and that it would make East Germany stronger. As years past of life behind the wall, this was proved to be untrue. Families were separated. The site of the wall on the eastern side was harsh with barbed wire, guard towers, and bright spot lights. Thousands of East Germans tried to escape the wall. They tried to tunnel under, climb over, even cross

I have always been interested in the background history behind the Berlin Wall. Since I started school in the 80s and was in High School while the Cold War was winding down, I don’t have a great personal understanding of many of the events leading up to the Cold War, other than from history classes and watching movies in school about it. I remember watching the movie “Night Crossing” in middle school when we were studying about the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall divided people from their families, neighborhoods, work and homes between the years of 1961 and 1989, and was constructed by the German Democratic Republic or GDR, which divided Berlin into two divisions, East Germany and West Germany. The wall completely cut off West Germany from the surrounding East Germany, until November 1989 Government officials opened it, and then the official demolition began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992. The wall had barrier consisting of guard towers placed along the large concrete wall, which circumscribed a wide area that had contained anti-vehicle trenches, as well as other defenses. The Eastern Bloc (Communist states of Eastern and Central Europe) had claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from the fascist elements, conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany.

Berlin wall 1961-1969 The Cold War: The Berlin wall will become a symbol or mark of division and suppression of human rights during the cold war. In June of 1961 President John F. Kennedy traveled to Vienna, Austria, for a conference with the soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Devastatingly the conference was unsuccessful in trying to build trust but also made tension between the two superpowers mainly when discussing the topic of the divided city of

This paper examines the reasons for the construction of The Berlin Wall, and the inner and outer factors that resulted in the destruction of The Berlin Wall. This paper will furthermore assess the consequences for the East Germans when The Berlin Wall was destroyed.

After its construction, The Wall separated the two sides, but also created more issues than it solved. For instance, between 1961 and 1989, “the East German guards’ shoot-to-kill order against refugees resulted in about 250-300 deaths” (“Berlin Wall”). Those killed were most likely the artisans who desired to leave in the first place, or the people who were separated from their families in the initial construction of the Wall. Seeing as it also stretched through the center of the city, anyone caught on the wrong side was trapped there. They were stuck, forced to spend their days separated. If they attempted to leave, they could become part of the “200 people who were shot dead while attempting to scale the wall” (Raichelle). However, despite this, “thousands of East Germans still managed to escape across the barrier” (“Cold War”). They left East Germany for the West; as the West had different ideals that allowed these citizens to have more freedoms.

On November 9, 1989, as the Cold War began to thaw across Eastern Europe, the spokesman for East Berlin’s Communist Party announced a change in his city’s relations with the West. Starting at midnight that day, he said, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country’s borders. East and West Berliners flocked to the wall, drinking beer and champagne and chanting “Tor auf!” (“Open the gate!”). At midnight, they flooded through the checkpoints.