The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was constructed between 1961 and 1989 by the German Democratic Republic. The Wall separated the West and East Germany and to keep the city of Berlin (the Eastern side) protected from the western half. The concrete Wall was equipped with guard towers and trenches with beds of nails as defense mechanisms. The primary reason why the Wall was erected was to keep people in East Germany from migrating to the western side, thus undermining the social state of East Germany. However, the soviets and government of East Germany argued that the Wall was to keep capitalism out. The Berlin Wall caused pain and anguish to the people of East Germany by separating them from their families and resources in West Germany. This essay discusses how the Berlin Wall affected East Germany more than West Germany and led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The split of Germany
Despite the alliance during World War II, tensions rose between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. Tensions in Great Britain also intensified rapidly. As the war came to an end, leaders decided what to do with Germany. Negotiations took place in 1945 in two conferences; one before the end of the war and one immediately after the war. These conferences were the ones that set the stage for the emergence of the Cold war and the division of Europe. After the conferences, Germany was divided into four zones: Great Britain, France, The United States, and the Soviet Union. This made Germany split into two: the East and West Germany. Although the initial plan was to reunite German into one country, this did not happen for a long time.
Berlin was Germany’s capital city, even though it was located in the far East of Germany. This capital city of Germany controlled all the four powers of Germany: the Soviet Union, the United States, France, and Great Britain. When East Germany people realized that they did not want to live under the Soviet Union and the communist state, many began to flee to West Germany. This group of people was referred to as the defectors. East Germany people tried to keep their people from leaving East Germany, but they were unsuccessful. This is because it was easy for people to leave Berlin’s city through permits given to them in the city. The city was controlled by all the four regions’ powers, not the Soviet Union power alone.
Disagreements occurred between the Soviet Union and the Western zones. The Western side of German wanted to merge French, British, and US zones in 1947. They had an idea of reviving the German economy by combining all the zones into “one Germany.” The Soviet Union feared that this combination would make one zone potent than the rest. On June 23rd, 1948, West Germany introduced a new currency that would improve the economy. West Germany flourished economically, and this attracted Germans from East Germany. On May 8th, 1949, 2.6 million German citizens fled from the East to the West. These forced East Germany to impose a blockade on the night of August 12th, 1961.
This one was to keep the people of East Germany in and to prevent them from fleeing to the West. This Wall divided the German into communism and democracy. West Germany established the Federal Republic of Germany; will East Germany established the German Democratic Republic government. The two German governments followed different parts. West Germany allied with the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. This made them a capitalist country with a flourishing market economy. East Germany, on the other hand, formed allies with the Soviet Union. This made them a centralized community. Many Germans from East Germany tried to flee to West Germany with little success. They tried to flee because West Germany had a better economy and more freedom.
The East German government referred to the Wall as the anti-fascist protection rampart, while the West German government referred to the Wall and the Wall of shame. Over 20% of the people of East Germany left East Germany while the Wall was being erected. There were many guards around the Berlin Wall. The West Germany government was informed that the guards were to protect their people and use limited force to prevent people from crossing to West Germany. However, the guards were ordered to shoot anyone trying to flee from East Germany to West Germany. The world was also associated with the Cold war. The government of East Germany did not want to be associated with West Germany, and they tried everything to be separated from them. Many people tried to escape through various methods such as going around the guards, going over the barbed wire, or through the trenches filled with nails.
The consequences of the Berlin Wall on East Germany
The Berlin Wall had significant effects on the people and the government of East Germany. For starters, the death toll between 1961 and 1989 was high in East Germany. In the 28 years, the Berlin Wall was operational, and more than 200 people were killed trying to cross over to West Germany. Also, 800 more people were killed who successfully crossed the Wall to West Germany but were caught. The government of East Germany recorded not all deaths. Therefore, the death toll might be higher than 1000. Those who were caught but were not shot dead were sentenced to five years imprisonment. The first victim was a lady, Ida Siekmann, who fell from her window and landed on the territory of West Germany. The Berlin Wall led to many killings and the disrespect of where human rights to life. Many people lost their lives trying to flee from East Germany to West Germany in search of a better life.
Many people were disconnected from their families through the Berlin Wall. Once the Berlin Wall was erected, no individual was about to close West Germany. This put a strain on families who lived on both sides of Germany. The families were unable to visit each other. Also, the government of East Germany would not listen to their people who wished to cross the Wall and be with their families in West Germany. The people of East Germany who secured employment in West Germany were cut off from their jobs. This made the people of East Germany starve due to unemployment. Many people are locked in East Germany by the time the Berlin Wall was erected. The state of unemployment put a strain on the people of East Germany and their families.
The Berlin Wall strained the economy of East Germany. The Berlin Wall was erected to prevent floods of refugees running to West Germany. However, the Wall enclosed many unemployed Germans in East Germany. The number of people in East Germany strained the struggling economy, while people in West Germany had an improving economy due to a few Germans. There were several criticisms and complaints made to the government of East Germany. For starters, the government of West Germany complained that the Berlin Wall was hostile, and it was worse than war. The mayor of West Germany, Willy Brandt, led demonstrations against the Berlin Wall. The people of West Germany also criticized the United States for failing to respond to East Germany’s government’s hostile nature. The government of East Germany created a bad reputation and image due to how they were treating their citizens. The massive killings of people trying to cross the Wall made many allies of both East and West Germany condemn the government of East Germany. East Germany lost supplies and allies due to the bad reputations.
The government of East Germany lost its currency. West Germany introduced a new currency and combined many regions into one. This made West Germany prosper quickly. To date, Germany’s western side is ahead in the economy compared to the economic situation of the eastern side of Germany. The economic downfall of Germany was as a result of separation from allies and being is communistic capital. It was also as a result of taxes made to the government of West Germany.
The consequences of the Berlin Wall on West Germany
In contrast to East Germany, West Germany had limited negative consequences associated with the Berlin Wall. To begin with, West Germany lost its employees due to the Berlin Wall. Many of their employees were from East Germany, and many could not report to work once the Berlin Wall was in operation. This forced the government of West Germany to introduce a new currency and to form relations with allies to improve the economy. The Federal Republic of Germany also lost some resources due to the Wall. Landmines were located in East Germany. Therefore, the people of West Germany could not access minerals from the land mines.
The Berlin Wall had positive effects on West Germany as well. For starters, the Berlin Wall made the Federal Republic of Germany realize the hostile community surrounding them. The Wall depicted the aggressive nature of the government of East Germany. It was an illustration that the government of East Germany did not wish to be combined with other regions to form one Germany, and they were willing to do anything to prevent that. It also showed that the people of East Germany were “not okay” with the tremendous developments of West Germany. This made the government of West Germany seek interventions against the hostel nature of East Germany. Through their allies, they pushed for the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unity of Germany.
The Berlin Wall presented floods of refugees from running to West Germany. This was a positive effect because; it provided room for the economic improvement of West Germany. The economy of East Germany was deteriorating, and many people were fleeing to West Germany in search of a better lifestyle. The Wall gets the people of East Germany in, and this prevented refugee programs to be created for immigrants in West Germany.
The fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall’s demolition began on June 13th, 1990, and it was completed in November 1991. However, in June 1989, Hungary’s government dismantles the barbed wire on top of the Berlin Wall. In September the same year, over 13000 Germans from East Germany fled to West Germany and refused to return to East Germany. The flood of refugees fleeing from East Germany and West Germany increased gradually every month. When the number of people fleeing from both sides of Germany became difficult to control for both countries, the countries decided to allow crossing between West and East Germany through normal border crossing points. On November 9th 1989, many East Germans surrounded the Berlin Wall entry points to West Germany, and they forced the guards to open the gates. Despite the threats of revoking many Germans’ citizenship, the pressure from the people forced the guards and their superiors to open all entry points. Also, Germans from West Germany jumped on top of the Wall to join protesters from East Germany. This led to the fall of the Wall in 1989.
There are little remains of the Berlin Wall today. Most of the Wall was destroyed during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Only three sections of the Wall remain standing; the section of the topography of terror, the section along the Spree River, and the section at Bernauer Strabe. Structures of The Berlin Wall is left to remind the people in Germany how hostel governments can become. It is a reminder of the extent to which the Soviet Union would prevent the people of East Germany from fleeing to West Germany, despite their ailing economy. It is also a reminder of how East Germany prevented their people from living the lifestyle and being with their family members.
In conclusion, the Berlin Wall was in operation between 1961 and 1989. The Berlin wall was destroyed in November 1991. It was constructed by the government of East Germany to prevent their people from fleeing West Germany. The government of East Germany was the Soviet Union, while West Germany allied with the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. West Germany had a prosperous economy used as a result of the new currency. Over three million Germans were fleeing from East Germany after Germany’s split because of the deteriorating economy in East Germany. However, the numerous refugees fleeing from East Germany forced the government to erect a wall. The government and the soviets made the people believe that it was to keep the communists and democratic separate and keep capitalism out. The Berlin Wall caused pain, death, anger, frustrations, and a cripple economy in East Germany. The Wall separated the people from their families, and East Germany employees were cut off from their jobs in West Germany. When the walls fell, Germany was reconnected, and the economy of East Germany improved. The Wall today remains a reminder of the length the Soviet Union took to separate its people from West Germany.