The collapse of the Berlin Wall changed Western Europe as we know it today. The Iron Curtain which had split Europe had ascended and the once divided germans were reunited under one common nation. The causal factors which resulted in the fall of the Berlin Wall were internal — communism imploded upon itself—. Gorbachev attempted to reform communism through Glasnost and Perestroika, which were supposed to incorporate economic reforms and transparency, however, history illustrates that increased liberty is incompatible with communism. Dr. Schmidtke argued that structural deficiencies led along with poor economic growth which led to the collapse of communism in Europe, and consequently the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The alienation of intellectuals and the authoritative nature of communist regimes further contributed to the failure of communism in Europe. However, the collapse of the Berlin Wall would not have occurred had it not been for Gorbachev’s Glasnost, Perestroika, and the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine. Along with German official Schabowski whose actions were the catalyst for the mass exodus of persons from the GDR into West Germany. The Collapse of the Berlin Wall would not have occurred so swiftly had Gorbachev not tried to implement reforms to communism. Europe was Schmidtke further argued that the alienation of public intellectuals further led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was extremely hard for opposition parties to form in the GDR, as dissenters were expelled, or they seeked asylum in West Germany. Communist ideology is based upon the Marxist principle of class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Those in power were supposed to be the representatives of the masses; the farmers, workers, and industrial workers. Thus, they believed they did not need to be elected to power, as they had superior wisdom (sic). Communism was supposed to liberate the workers, however, the citizens of the GDR felt distant from those in
After World War II, Germany was separated into four different sectors assigned to the triumphant Allied forces: the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. (Wolski) The capital was located one hundred fifteen miles into Soviet territory. (Kenny) The Western Allies believed this was unfair because Berlin was the only large city at the time. They agreed to separate Berlin into quadrants as well. (Wolski) The United States, Britain, and France joined their sectors together as a democratic state called the Federal Republic of Germany. (Taylor) Meanwhile, Russia kept their portion separate and it became known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR). However, this caused a problem because the democratic West Berlin was entirely surrounded by Soviet land. (Wolski)
In the fall of 1989, people all around the world were watching unbelievable scenes on their televisions. Thousands of people in eastern Europe were meeting in the streets and squares and demanding the end of the communist rule. For the first time in history, opposition to communism was publically voiced. Barbed wire border fences in Hungary were being torn down. East Germans were fleeing to the West. Overnight the Berlin wall collapsed. The start of these historical events was the Polish Revolution of 1989.
The holocaust was a time of destruction or slaughter on a mass scale caused by fire or nuclear war. During the holocaust millions of Jews were killed by the Nazis during WWII. The Berlin Wall was a time in which a barrier was constructed in 1961 to separate East Berlin from west Berlin. I believe that the holocaust and the Berlin Wall made great impacts to many and had many alikes. They both had similar situations and in both the Germans were involved as was the killing.
The end of World War II was the beginning of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviet Union had control over East Berlin, which was governed by a communist government and the United States had control over West Berlin, which was regulated by a democratic government. Both countries wanted full control over Berlin, so the Soviet Union set up a blockade on the West but was unsuccessful. The Berlin Wall was then built to stabilize the economy of East Berlin, which meant that fewer people could escape the east to live in the west. In the article “The fall of the Berlin Wall: what it meant to be there,” by Timothy Garton Ash, he highlights the feelings of no longer having a “iron curtain” segregating both sides of Berlin.
For many, the fall of the wall proved the triumph of capitalism over communism. East German communist leaders were forced out of office. Negotiations began for the complete reunification of Germany. West German Chancellor H. Kohl assured the world that a united Germany would be no threat to peace. In October 1990, he became the first Chancellor of a reunited Germany. The construction of the Berlin wall in Germany between the 13th of August 1961 – 1989 increased tensions to a significant extent as it was a sign of dominance portrayed by the USSR, was a follow up from the Bay of pigs and U2 spy plane crisis and the US were trying to combat the USSR by setting up the Berlin airlift and demanding peace in the east. The Berlin Wall was arguably the greatest source of tension during the Cold War due to the many significant events happening before and after the construction of the wall. Finally, the construction of the Berlin Wall created significant tensions between the two superpowers, USSR and the USA, which developed into other tensions arising in the Cold War Period. I have analysed the topic ‘To what extent did the construction of the Berlin Wall increase tensions during the Cold War period’ and developed 3 strong body paragraphs that support my
In conclusion Berlin Wall was an important milestone in the growth of the Cold War. It was the expansion that represented the thinking of a determined Communist system. Western Capitalism, which was more powerful, eventually defeated the system. The massive wall that did so much harm to a country was finally destroyed, and the people of Germany could now live the way they all wanted to live. They could live the life of freedom. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall East Germany has went through a lot of changes, and it still is not easy for all of the people in East Germany. But no matter how hard it is for the people of East Germany now, it is better than being alone and separated from their families, friends and rest of Europe.
Each section was controlled by a different country; United States, France, Britain, and the Soviet Union. The Capital Berlin, being inside the Soviet controlled East Germany, was also divided into two sections, East and West Berlin. West Berlin was controlled by the United States and East Berlin was controlled by the Soviet Union. Starting on August 13 1961, Berliners woke up to a barrier separating the east from the west. East Germans had closed off the border with barbwire and guards. Many families were separated. Many jobs were lost. Two days after the border had been closed off, a wall had begun to get built.
The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 during the Cold War between Soviet Russia and the United States. The wall was built to separate Soviet controlled East Berlin from US controlled West Berlin. It soon became a physical barrier that symbolized the differing political and social ideologies of the two superpowers. The Berlin wall stood for 28 years separating a city into two very different sections with differing governments, economies and social organization. The importance of Berlin in International politics stemmed from Germany’s role in World War II. After WWII ended, Berlin was divided between the victors, France, England, the US and the USSR. The area surrounding Berlin was under Soviet control making West Berlin a strange island of democracy,
Outline THESIS: From research and historical analysts, we can conclude that in many cases the people of Germany have been affected socially and economically by the building and construction of the Berlin Wall. & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; I. Background A. Beginning construction B. Closing borders C. Pre-Berlin Wall II. History A. Cold War B. World War II C. Economy III. Post- Berlin Wall effects A. Economic examples B. Political examples & nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;Conclusion In the last fifty years the German Democratic Republic has been a nonstop changing country.
Some celebrated by bashing down sections of the wall, most of the wall was destroyed in 1990. Germany was officially reunited in October 3, 1990. The crowds of people were enormous, they all rejoiced and were truly happy to see their family again. The Berlin Wall left an ugly dent on Germany’s History but that doesn’t mean that it can’t achieve greatness in the future. The people of Berlin and Germany are better now and learned from their mistakes. Over all The Berlin Wall connected to the theme Responsibilities and Rights very good since after the war governments in West Berlin and East Berlin rapidly and dramatically changed in terms of government.
The Berlin Wall was put up for one of the most historically common reasons any country would do anything radical: political and economical gain. East Germany was controlled by communist Russia. In contrast, West Germany was controlled by the U.S., France, and Great Britain. Germans who lived in East Germany wanted to move to West Germany to seek better living styles. Approximately 2.7 million Germans escaped from East Germany to West Germany. As a result, East Germany had an astonishing lack of population. Of course, that was a detrimental blow to the economy of East Germany, including a scarce work force. To put a stop to escaping Germans, East Germany constructed the 103 mile, 12 foot high Berlin Wall. To increase East Germany’s population, people were allowed entry into East Germany by means of the Berlin Wall. However, people were not allowed to depart from East Germany by means of the Berlin Wall. Basically, once people entered East Germany, they were not departing. Building the Berlin Wall was a complete violation of the Germans’ right to freedom, all for political gain.
Communism is defined as a political and economical doctrine, the aim which is to abolish private ownership of property and for-profit enterprise and to replace these with public ownership and control of industry, agriculture, and resources (“Communism”). The product of this government is supposed to be a society free of class ranking based on wealth, property, and political power. The Soviet Union was the first country to test these governmental strategies and it did not take long for the regime to collapse. The inevitable collapse of communism led to the fall of the Berlin Wall; this started the domino effect of freedom that ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The histories of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall separated the people of East Berlin from the people in West Berlin. Berlin Wall separated people from their families and people from keeping their jobs. So many people have died from not being able to eat. What happen before the wall got built, why it was built, why the wall got knocked down, and what happen after the Wall got knocked down.
The cold war was failed by the Soviet Union for many reasons, including the sudden collapse of communism (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) This sudden collapse of communism was brought on ultimately by internal factors. The soviet unions president Gorbachev’s reforms: glasnost (openness) and perestroika (political reconstructering) ultimately caused the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Gorbachev’s basics for glasnost were the promotion of principles of freedom to criticize; the loosening of controls on media and publishing; and the freedom of worship. His essentials of perestroika were, a new legislature; creation of an executive presidency; ending of the ‘leading role’ of the communist party; allowing state enterprises to sell part of their product on the open market; lastly, allowing foreign companies to own Soviet enterprises (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) Gorbachev believed his reforms would benefit his country, but the Soviet Union was ultimately held together by the soviet tradition he was trying to change. The Soviet Union was none the less held together by “…powerful central institutions, pressure for ideological conformity, and the threat of force.
At the end of World War II, the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union divided Germany and the capital of Berlin into four separate zones. The United States, Britain, and France eventually united their zones into a single entity known as the Federal Republic of Germany. In response to the unification of these countries, the Soviet Union began building a blockade between West Berlin and East Berlin in hopes that the Western Germans would abandon the city, allowing the Eastern Germans to take it over. To their dismay, almost 2.5 million Eastern Germans fled to West Berlin because they were unhappy with the communist system and saw West Berlin as a gateway to democracy. “Many of the refugees that fled to the West were skilled