The Berlin Wall: The Fight For Political Freedom

"Good fences make good neighbors." Some people may think that they should have fences to keep other people/things out, but I think that people should be able to communicate and work together. Three reasons why I believe that the Berlin Wall is unfortunate is because it blocks freedom, separates families, and it causes problems between neighbors.

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.

The Berlin Wall was built in August 1961 during the Cold War. The Wall that separated East and West Berlin came to show the different ideologies between different systems of government, Communism and Democratic supported by the USSR and the USA.

My poster, entitled “OPEN THE DOOR TO FREEDOM,” is anti Berlin wall. My poster depicts the wall that stood between Communist East Berlin and capitalist West Berlin. The door shows the view from East Berlin and the struggle that lies outside of it to reach the freedom offered in West Berlin. If one even dared make the attempt to leave Communist East Berlin, one would have to endure the torturous and terrifying path through revealing sand, across hidden stakes and over barbed wire all while being the potential target of a sniper. The nails flying through the air from the open door hinges represent the strong emotions the residents of East Berlin felt towards the wall, and how they wished they were strong enough to rip the door off the hinges

The aim of this essay is to evaluate and understand the effects on the city of Berlin with the creation of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall has played an extremely important role in the life of millions of people. This 155km Wall has defined the fate of German people that have been separated by the Wall for a very long time.

The Berlin Wall was built on August 13, 1961. It was built because millions of East Germans were defecting to the West via West Berlin. In the documentary it was said that before the wall was built one person every three minutes was defecting to the West. This was threatening East Germanys labor force and its economic survival. The GDR said the official reason for the wall was to keep out anti-socialist influences.

“Escape hatch”no more. The Berlin wall consisted of barbed wire and concrete, it was built to prevent East Germans from fleeing for their democratic freedom. Once the communist government realized that their people were fleeing the country they were outraged. According to History.com, the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) constructed the wall on August 13, 1961. Now because of this there is no more departing. Everyone on the East side of Germany could no longer flee without their life being seized. They were stranded. There was no more escaping the Communist Government and they . It was a wall of shame or as they say Wand der Schande.

The ending of World War II was the start of the building of the Berlin Wall. The United States and Great Britain helped provided West Berlin with food and supplies to help them survive. This was extremely hard because the Soviets decided to build a wall between East and West Germany to keep the people separate. The Soviets decided to do this because the future of Germany and Berlin was a major point in the postwar treaty talks, and tensions grew when the United States, Britain, and France moved in 1948 to join their occupation zones into the Federal Republic of Germany. In response, the USSR launched a land of blockade to West Berlin in an effort to force the West to abandon the city. However, a massive airlift by Britain and the United States kept West Berlin supplied with food and fuel. In May 1949 the Soviets ended the defeated blockade.

November 9, 1989, the wall finally came down and the party started. This was a critical time for East and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall was finally removed, making this date known for eternity! A new beginning formed for the people that were bound by the evils of communism.

The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 to separate West and East Germany. The wall was to keep East Berliners’ from leaving to live in the West. The impacts of the wall were far greater than keeping people in. The Berlin Wall kept Eastern Europe from prospering after WWII. While the West (West Germany, U.S., U.K., France) under capitalism flourished, East Germany and all of Eastern Europe fell behind. Individual citizens were unhappy, technology lagged, and there were shortages of basic necessities.

After the conclusion of World War II, Germany was split into four sections, each occupied by the respective nations of France, Britain, America, and the Soviet Union. The Western nations of France, Britain, and the United States joined together and formed West Germany, while the communist U.S.S.R. maintained its own grip on East Germany.

In 1977, East Germany was horribly confining. The city was communist and had the Berlin Wall surrounding the entire city, isolating and trapping its residents. Little to no people could get in or out. Two families: the Strezyks and Wetzels, thought they could escape in a hot air balloon. It took them two years to build, because they had to work in secret, but it payed off. In 1979 they lifted off and flew over the massive Berlin Wall, by 8,200 feet, into West Germany, which was safe. It was kind of like Daedalus and Icarus and their great escape, but no one died.

Europe’s distinguishable – but perhaps not always positive – history has been shaped most monumentally by two events. In 1945, the end of WWII, breakup of the fascist German state, and subsequent plunge into the Cold War makes the year undoubtedly immensely significant. However, I would argue that the other provided date, 1989, holds even greater clout in terms of change upon the European continent, as well as the world. The falls of Communism and the Berlin Wall as well as the thawing of Eastern Europe marked the year 1989. However, it is important to state that I am in no way diminishing the importance of 1945, simply comparing and contrasting with 1989 to show vital differences. I understand a “turning point” as drastic change that

Democracy is the “victor” of the the Berlin Wall. Family and friends that had been separated for years came together to celebrate the event that ended communist rule over Eastern Europe. Tim Weber describes West Berlin as “transformed into a giant fairground, and the Wall was its biggest ride.”Months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Poland held its first semi-free government elections since the institution of the Communist Party’s rule, and the Solidarity Party, a non-communist party, won. Leader of the Solidarity Party, Leszek Balcerowicz, “The Polish model served as an example for next countries and in this way it might have speeded up the peaceful transition from a bad system to a better system based on democracy, market economy and civil

As a consequence of Germany losing World War II, the countries victorious of the war divided Germany into four sectors. Those victorious countries, which were: France, United States, Britain, and Russia also divided the capital of Germany Berlin. The war left poor relations between allies and soviets, two political ideals were created, two currencies, and at the end, it left two Germany’s totally contrasting one another. By the year 1949, the Western sector was renamed the Federal Republic of Germany and its Eastern counterpart was named the German Democratic Republic. The night of August 12, 1961, soldiers from the East were ordered to build a wall and take immediate action and close all entry points between the East and the West. One of the