West Berlin : The Economy Of West Germany

Western influences in East Germany were not just visible in the renamed streets and towns, or the renovated apartment houses, new shopping malls and stores; it was also in the exploitation of East Germany as a tourist attraction. West German’s ventured East so that they could see artifacts of the old GDR that they’d heard and read about. Even Hensel’s memories had been westernized in their retelling and commodified as part of the tourist experience, as she told token GDR stories that she thought Western visitors would want to hear even though they shed no light on the everyday life in East

East Germany, its demise relayed through the mass media of recent history, has in popular consciousness been posited as negative, a corrupt bulwark of the last dying days of Communism in Eastern Europe, barren and silent. The other Germany to its West, its citizens free, was striding confidently ahead into the millennium. Recent cinema has sought to examine re-unification, the Wolfgang Becker film Goodbye Lenin! (2003) a recent example of such an investigation into the past through cinema. In this essay I will look at the film and the narrative techniques it uses, probing whether it portrays the East German nation as positive or

wire and fences (Fall of the Berlin Wall). Life for the Eastern and Western Germans was

East Germany is a mysterious environment, created by the yearning to camouflage into the greyness of ones surroundings. Intense control limits a human’s capacity to think, without ownership over your thoughts - determining a future and making sense of a tainted and oppressive environment can become paralysing. Therefore, throughout East Germany a truth did not exist as fear had given people the inability to formulate opinions to their full extent. Everyone had an idea as to what had occurred as their minds continued to play the scenarios on repeat - if a recognisable lifestyle disappears it is possible that you will recreate the only life you knew due to the sense of uncertainty present towards existence in an unfamiliar environment. An

Despite how hard the communists tried to rebuild the economy, they failed and were distrusted by the citizens. People became Anti-communism as the Reichstag Fire happened with the rise of

In Berlin, the Iron Curtain had many purposes. It was there to protect, to separate and to enforce a way of life for East Berliners. Firstly, The Wall gave meaning to people’s lives in different ways. It defined where they were to go, who they were to see and who they were to be. For the countless Stasi and informers, it gave them a purpose and an importance in society, and after The Wall came down, that purpose was lost and yearned for. Secondly, The Wall and the controlling ways of the Stasi loomed over the lives of East Berliners, and its implementation was just one of many extreme measures to minimalise Capitalism and encourage Communism. Thirdly, although The Wall

Section three of Patrick Major’s book Behind the Berlin Wall: East Germany and the Frontiers of Power published in 2010 from the Oxford University Press Inc., called The Fall of the Wall: 9 November 1989 is about developing the reasons for the fall of the wall. The author starts with describing the political, financial and economic situation in East Germany and the other eastern

The map shows Germany was divided into West Berlin and East Berlin as a result of the cold war because the West Berlin was democratic while East Berlin was communist. In document 3b, an image is shown of the Berlin wall being built as a result of tension from both believing they sent spies and soldiers into one another’s territory. In West Berlin, the United States and its allies used its money to make West Berlin a good advert for democracy and capitalism. Citizens in West Berlin had good living conditions and earned good wages while the citizens in East Berlin were

The majority of my prior knowledge was confirmed by the movie. I knew that with the fall of the Berlin Wall, capitalism soon spread itself over East Germany, which was clearly shown. Also, although the majority of the German people rejoiced after the Berlin Wall was opened, many socialists were bitter and felt betrayed by the GDR, such as the socialist colleagues of Christiane. However, the movie could have portrayed the politics and German government more so the audience could have a better understand of what political life was like during the time. Also, the film could have shown how people, like Alex’s father, crossed the Berlin Wall and how difficult it was to make it across.

In Where the World Ended, Daphne Berdahl explores via ethnographic study the creation and evolution of identities in the town of Kella. Located within the 500-meter Schutzstreifen along the Grenze (the inter-German border during the Cold War) residents of Kella experienced strict surveillance from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and lived with additional regulations. Berdahl presents Kella as floating between the East and West; however, the impenetrability of the inter-German border from 1952 to 1989 instituted Eastern economic and cultural practices in Kella until the entire GDR experienced the fall of socialism. In this paper, I will demonstrate that Berdahl operates under the flawed assumption that Kella’s geographic location within

Standing resolutely at the Brandenburg Gate, President Reagan begins his speech by defining his audience and drawing them in using patriotic appeals to unite the “American Presidents” (Reagan) and “Berliners” (Reagan) which served to increase his pathos and emotion in the audience. For instance, Reagan, speaking to the people, claims that he came to “join your fellow countrymen in the west, in this firm, this unalterable belief” (Reagan) establishing a companionship with the Berliners, “... Es gibt nur ein Berlin. [There is only one

After World War Two, Germany was war ravaged and destroyed. The Allies, Britain, France, United States and the Soviet Union occupied the war-torn and defeated Germany. Germany was split into two sections. The Western part controlled by the U.S., France, and Great Britain. The Eastern part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union. Tensions between the West and East emerged during what became known as the Cold War period (1945-1989). The difference in ideologies and ideas led to close calls to war between the west and east. Within the Eastern part of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), society was being controlled ruthlessly by the government. In Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall, Anna Funder discussed the struggles East Germans

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.

East Germany demonstrated the failures of Stalin, while Western Germany demonstrated the successes of capitalism. Berlin was the best example to present a clear view of the Cold War. West Germany was able to show how a through the acceptance of aid from others and producing a stable economy can lead to prosperity and stability. East Germany on the other hand, had no say in its matters due to the USSR’s rule over it; thus East Germany suffered major hardships.

The aftermath of World War I in Berlin is that their government overthrown and became a Republic country. The country is now ruled by the Weimer Republic. During the time the Weimer Republic was ruling, they went go through a time called the Golden Age, like the rest of the other countries. Soon after, the Weimer Republic is overruled by the Third Reich, which became the Nazi Party in Berlin.