The Impact Of The Berlin Wall

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.

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.

Usually walls are put into places to avoid people to cross borders and keep peace but they destroy peace. Recently one could have heard in the News that Trump wants the Mexicans to pay for a wall between Mexico and the United States. This Wall should make it impossible for people to cross the border unofficially. As one could know from history classes, we had a wall in Germany for many years which was built by the winner countries of the second world war for a similar reason. Before the Wall, many people from East Germany tried to escape to West Germany where they had obviously better living conditions. It divided Germany in East and West Germany. Additionally, there was a part of Berlin, what was in the East German part, isolated from a huge wall that belonged to West Germany. This wall made it hard for the citizens of East Germany to visit West Germany. The Government of East Germany had other principles than the government of West Germany and it was not in the interest of the East German government to show their citizens how good their life could be in West Germany. After the falling of the Wall, it was possible for everyone to travel in Germany whenever they want without standing in line at the borders. But there was a big gap in wealth between East and West Germany. Even today the loans in West Germany are lower and the federal states have less money than the ones in West Germany. But in Berlin, one can visit ruins of the Berlin Wall which are colored and painted. As one could know from visiting Berlin, there is only a small part of the Wall left but at other parts, one could find the position of the wall with marked flagging on the ground. Additionally, one could buy a piece of the wall as a souvenir. Standing in front of the ruins of the Berlin wall inspires this realization: Peace is about breaking barriers not building them.

Following the fall of the Third Reich at the end of WWII Germany was split between east and west into two different countries. In the east the German Democratic Republic was under communist rule and was supported by the Soviet Union. The Federal German Republic was a democracy that was part of NATO. As part of the division of Germany following WWII, Berlin, the capital of Germany was divided evenly between the two nations. However, the entire city of Berlin was deep inside of the GDR, so the Western half of the city was democratic but it was surrounded by communist territory. This made West Berlin a place where many East Germans would try to escape to. As a result of this the German Democratic Republic built a wall surrounding West Berlin to stop its own people from escaping to freedom.

In 1989, one event occupied the spotlight around the world. The Berlin Wall, which for twenty-eight years had separated families and friends came down as thousands of people began crossing Bornholmer Bridge in northern Berlin. NBC’s Tom Brokaw could be seen on television throughout the United States saying, “A historic moment tonight. The Berlin Wall can no longer contain the East German people. Thousands pouring across at the Bronholmer bridge” (Dodds, 2014). This single event changed many things in Europe and around the world. The fall of the Berlin Wall that night, which was the ultimate symbol of the Cold War, was a major turning point in the collapse of communism leading to the unification of East and West Germany and was influenced by political leaders from both the Soviet Union and the United States. The fall of the wall affected the Communist world and eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union allowing countries under their control to become independent and free.

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.

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.

The Berlin wall was built in 1961, but it was not just one wall, it was three generations of a structure. It had been 16 years after the end of world war two, Berlin had been divided into two parts, east and west. The east was controlled by the German Democratic Republic and the west was controlled by the Federal Republic of Germany. The west was the side of Berlin that has Capitalism and Democracy while the east side was the side with Communism. This essay is going to answer the question as to why did the Berlin wall get built in 1961, and the three reasons of why are because of emigration, fascism, and communism.

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 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

Marvelously, this timeline of life has continued and the birth of a research paper is in commencement. The very core of a historian's goals, directions, and desires are in motion. The people's right to discover and learn about these phenomenal events in history is possible because of the western democratic values that govern this and many other republics today. "Plato constructed his republic on what he considered the basic elements or characteristics of the human soul: the appetitive, the spirited, and the philosophical," ("Plato", Encarta). Distinctively, as Germany's philosophical element began to transform under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler during the 20th century, the world was plunged into the Second World War. By May of

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.

These various mechanisms are utilized to manage any means of divorce by an individual, wether it be in the instance of a home, or a country. As portrayals of the respective individuals in East and West Germany reacting to the Berlin Wall, these affected characters lapse into: isolation, be it personal or cultural, negative esteem, conflict of past to present ideals, and a difficulty understanding purpose in this new life from spilt foundations. While these coping techniques are employed to make sense of what has happened to them before and after the fall of the wall, their harsh nature raises questions. Why does Damiel choose to fall from immortality, to experience these gruff, mortal feelings first hand? Secondly, why do Alex and his mother choose not to cross the

“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.

In the essay, “ Editorial on the Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall,” the author portrays bias on the side of Gorbachev in his role in the Cold War. For example, the author says, “Today Mikhail Gorbachev is a political pariah in Russia and increasingly forgotten in the west. But history will remember him generously for his crucial role in ending the Cold War and pulling back the Iron Curtain.”(Lines 2-5) The author really expresses his bias right of the bat in this essay but announcing the importance of Gorbachev. He tells the reader how the public has forgotten Gorbachev but history never will. He also says, “He deserves to be remembered for what he did and, perhaps what he refused to do. With a wisdom and decency that is sadly rare