In 1989, the wall separating East and West Berlin came down, symbolizing the demise of communism, which had controlled much of Europe for more than 40 years. The speed of communism's collapse in the Soviet Union surprised everyone, from analysts to Soviet rulers. The communist governments of Eastern Europe gave way to free-market economies and multi-party political systems, and Communist parties in Western Europe lost members and influence. Many former communist countries are now members of NATO and the European Union, but some have realized that a capitalist democracy can be difficult to sustain. The Revolutions of 1989 were part of a revolutionary wave that resulted in the Fall of Communism in the Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe
The Revolutions of 1989 during the late 20th century were events which resulted in the end of power under Communism throughout Eastern and Central Europe and parts of Asia. Several nations such as Poland, Ukraine, and East Germany abandoned a communist government and control of the Soviet Union. It was a period where the global superpower was slowing its pace in global dominance. Several reasons being that under a communist system people were persecuted for religious worship and had to face authoritarian rule by typically a dictatorship or a particular dominant party due to repression. The other reason also being poverty within the populations.
This was a leading climatic event in towards the end of the 1980’s marking the end of communist regimes around the world, making it evident to even average citizens that change was coming. The Berlin Wall stood as a symbol for the two opposing sides of the Soviet Union and the United States. In 1949, Germany split into two different nations. Germany was a central hub for Cold War politics, with the West side allying with democratic states and the East side allying with the Soviet Union. The end of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Soviet Union’s status as a reigning power in Eastern Europe, with the Soviet Union falling not long
President Reagans vision was finally achieved when the end of Soviet control of this region and eradicated communism throughout Eastern and Central Europe, entering an age of freedom and democracy. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall located in East Germany –a symbol of Soviet tyranny nearly three decades–was torn down by the German people. The peaceful reunification of Germany followed in 1990 and this was the end of communism in Eastern and Central Europe.
The American Revolution was only “revolutionary” to some extent. While the movement was fueled by new thoughts about the rights of man (initiated by the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment), the revolution’s origins can be argued to be economic. The colonists revolted against the English king not solely because they were not being represented in Parliament, but because they were losing money. After the French and Indian War and the Proclamation of 1763, the British began taxing the colonies more to make up for the price of their wars. Until then, the colonists had little cared how they were being represented. But because of the new taxes, the colonies were practically forced to pay more money for even the most basic goods. This taxation ultimately
Years prior to the rebellion of the colonists against the British, there was uncertainty and agitation in their relationship. There was a build up of grievances before the war, due to the actions that Parliament passed and took upon as a way to take advantage of the colonists. Unfortunately, this included limiting how the colonists lived their lives. From act to act, this consequently led to a sudden act of bravery, a start of a revolution. The American Revolution was an ongoing fight for the colonists’ freedom and independence from the British rule. However, although that we understand the basics of what was the American Revolution, we must go in depth as to why there was a revolution. To be more exact, why a war in the first place? What
The 1990s were a relatively peaceful time of prosperity. For most of the 1990s, Bill Clinton was president, the first baby boomer to live in the White House as the commander-in-chief. The Berlin Wall, the prime symbol of the Cold War, fell in November 1989, and Germany was reunited in 1990 after 45 years of separation. The Cold War officially ended with the fall of the Soviet Union on Christmas Day 1991, and it seemed as if a new era had dawned.
In the 1970s both sides were interested in creating a more stable and predictable international system, starting to put up advanced strategies to benefit themselves over the other side. As a result of riots throughout Europe and Asia, the Communist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe was overthrown. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union lost control and was banned in August 1991. In turn this all led to the overall collapse of the USSR in December 1991 leaving the United States as the only remaining superpower.
Ronald Reagan advocated for the removal of the Berlin wall, as best portrayed when he famously said on June 12th, 1987, in his speech before the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin Germany, “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” President Reagan strove to bring freedom to all people, not just to his own. He strove to abolish big government systems like communism and bring justice to ordinary citizens. Along with President Reagan’s efforts, statements Gorbachev made and the East Berliners rioting in protest of their government contributed to the fall of the wall. Still, the fall of the wall shocked the world. On November 9th, 1989, the government of East Germany declared that the wall would be open. At first, people of East Berlin could not believe the news, but after the truth settled the people rushed to the other side. Some five hundred people crossed before the Berliners began tearing the wall down to be reunited with West Germany. Meanwhile, America watched the event on television, celebrating the freeing of a repressed people and the dissolving of a totalitarian system. Though the fall of the Berlin wall did not affect the majority of the American population on a personal level, optimism for the future surged. After forty-four years of Cold War, the
Mikhail Gorbachev had taken power of the Soviet Union resulting in the introduction of GLASNOST, or openness, meaning that a greater willingness on the part of Soviet officials would allow for western ideas and goods into the USSR. (U.S.History.org, n.d.) By way of contrast, had the Cold War not have ended the United States would continue paying trillions of dollars with the great possibility of nuclear war. Bomb shelters along with nuclear silos would be in every backyard following more regional conflicts with smaller countries. Less we forget the taking down of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 allowing East and West merge freely in Berlin. The impact of that historic moment was felt across the seas to America’s soil, relieving our citizens and acknowledging that the Cold War was finally
With its fall tumbled down the idea of a divided Europe. When it had stood, the Berlin Wall had kept East Berliners from moving from the communist zone of the city to capitalist West Berlin. To those who watched events from the west, the Berlin Wall symbolized the restrictions of those living under a communist government. After World War Two, the Soviet Union imposed communist governments in many Eastern European countries. In addition, to keep western capitalism out of these places, the Soviets built a barrier between communist eastern countries and capitalist western ones. This barrier, which was ideological as well as physical, was termed the “iron curtain” by the west. The barrier between West and East Berlin was known as the “Berlin Wall”. Behind the “iron curtain” lay countries where the communist state ran the economies. Germany represented the divisiveness of an “iron curtain” as it was one country split into two states – a communist one and a capitalist one. This is one of the countries most crippled by World War Two found itself at the center of a stand-off between capitalist and communist forces after the war ended. In addition, the capital city of Berlin was divided down the middle, with half the citizens owing allegiance to capitalism and the other half to a communist regime. In 1961, East German communist forces erected the Berlin Wall to stop capitalist thoughts from spreading into the communist state. The Wall officially
After that, the leader ordered not to offer military aid in defense of former satellite states. The situation only got worse as various communist regimes gained control in these highly important states. Later on, West Germany and East Germany settled their differences, which led to the destruction of the Berlin Wall. In the later years of the 1980s, several constituent republics demanded sovereignty. In August 1991 Latvia and Estonia announced complete independence. Ukraine, Belarus and Russia signed The Belavezha Accords. This pact established the Commonwealth of Independent States, the union, which replaced the disappeared Soviet
A surge of antipathy appeared between the Soviets and the Allies, and the Berlin Wall came to symbolize separation of the Soviet Union from the West (“The Fall”). West Berlin acquired wealth and obtained more freedom. People crossed the border day after day, subsequent to the extensive amount of time in which the wall remained supposedly sealed, but junction between the two sides grew into a more difficult feat as the rules became enforced and the number of border guards dramatically increased. Ensuing from the eradication of the barrier between East and West Berlin, as mentioned in the article titled “The Fall of the Berlin Wall,” “At first the country was hampered by vast cultural and economic differences, but most of these differences dissipated over time, with Germany emerging as a strong democratic state and member of the European Union.” In 1990, East Germany once and for all voted the communists out of office to shift into a democratic state that would pave the way for the reunification of their once elated country. After a number of sizable changes in governmental status, finding political and economic stability in multiple countries had proven as an issue, and permanent division amid ethnic groups developed as a result of the civil war in
It provided many people opportunities such as more business opportunities for Germany. It collapsed the soviet union and symbolized the end of the cold war, increasing globalization. The capitalist West celebrated their superiority. It gestured an intense change in global affairs and the main catalyst for rapid regime change across Eastern Europe. “The Cold War that followed World War II created a bipolar world, in which relations between countries and contests for state power everywhere were subsumed by the binary conflict of a U.S.-led West versus a Soviet-dominated East.”(Tony Karon) Poland became an ally of the West and established strong ties with EU and NATO. NATO and alternative U.S.-led alliances currently realize themselves a part of a multipolar world with power centers and groupings each additional multitudinous and compound.The berlin wall was more than a barrier it was a boundary between communism and capitalism. The fall of the berlin wall bestowed to the fall of the soviet Union which stopped its developing domination of Eastern Europe, which affected the Arab
Did you know that the Berlin Wall was a big deal world wide? The Berlin Wall came up during the Cold War and the Cold War ended shortly after the Berlin Wall fell. The Berlin Wall separated East and West Berlin. Many people died trying to cross the Berlin Wall to see family or friends. In 1987 Ronald Reagan (United States president from 1981 to 1989 ) demanded Mr.Gorbachev (general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union) to tear down the Berlin Wall to unite the Berlin people.
11/9/89: The Berlin Wall for many years served as a barrier between West Berlin and East Germany. It prevented a global view of the future as well by forcing the population of East Germany to be totally secluded from the rest of the world. The fall of the Berlin wall on 11/9/89 changed everything. Not only did this weaken communism, it tipped the balance of power across the world towards democratic advocacy, consensual governance and a free-market economy. The effect was