Effects Of The Berlin Wall

753 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Capitalism vs communism

In the time period of 1949 to 1961, Germany was split into four parts between the Soviets on the east, Britain in the north, French on the west and America on the southwest. This was agreed on in the Potsdam conference by the leaders, in order to keep Germany under control and prevent another war starting. The western side was controlled by the Allies, and the Soviets controlled the East. The difference was the types of governments. The Soviets were communist, but on the Allies side was Capitalist, which meant on the west side there was lots more freedom. The East Germans could easily see that they were restrained and not having the same happiness and peace as those on the west side. Obviously East Germans also wanted that same freedom, so, since they couldn’t find it in communism, many left and made their abode in West Germany. Then the Soviets realized what was happening and had to put this to a stop. Berlin, which is located on the east side, was where many people escaped into Capitalist side, using West Berlin as their gateway. This led to the wall being built between East and West Berlin.
The construction of the Berlin Wall, otherwise known as the ‘Iron Curtain’, started on August 13th, 1961, at 12:00a.m. The separation finished at 6:00a.m. the same morning, with barbed wire being strung between the east and west sides of Berlin. This was actually running between East Berlin and East Germany. The wall even split houses, farms, and businesses into two sides. Streets were torn up so it wasn’t possible for anyone to drive across the border. The reason for this was that East Germans were escaping into West Germany to gain all the benefits of capitalism where everyone was free and not limited by the government. The wall was real...

... middle of paper ...

...mans as more social, closer ties, and avoid competition because of the influence of communism of all having the same pay, and living standards. Even now, the effects of the separation can be seen.
Overall, the Berlin wall was really pointless. It only caused death and division and differences politically, morally, economically, and culture-wise which all still can be seen slightly up to today. The wall was built on August 13, 1961, and 28 years later, was opened, November 9, 1989. This was to stop the East Germans from fleeing into the West, to escape the harshness of communism and enjoy the benefits of capitalism. About 5,000 people made it across safely, but an estimate of 136 people killed trying to cross. The importance of the Berlin wall was that it ended the cold war, and after being torn down it was the death to communism in Eastern Germany, namely in Germany

Show More
Related

  • Berlin Wall Dbq

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the year 1961, the building of the Berlin Wall called upon disasters in Germany. The United States controlled the west of Berlin while the German Democratic Republic held the East. Being stuck under the rule of day-to-day terror, people from East Berlin were making their way to the West Berlin. West Berlin is a safe spot and a free checkpoint in the middle of terror. To stop the movement of East Berliners, the East German government decided to build a barrier that limited and halted the East Berliners from leaving.

    Read More

  • Individualism in Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy

    349 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the 19th century individualism was prided but in the 20th century the society has changed, the new society sought out for more communities and cooperation. The main aspects of the new society were all influenced by cooperation, such as the economy, people's social life, work ethics and others.

    Read More

  • The Story of My Parent's Emmigration from Ukraine

    2379 Words  | 5 Pages

    and is still present in today’s society. When the Soviet Union had collapsed, Eastern Europe did

    Read More

  • Social, Political and Economic Effects of WWI

    2176 Words  | 5 Pages

    Social, Political and Economic Effects of WWI. Everywhere in the world heard the sound of things breaking." Advanced European societies could not support long wars or so many thought prior to World War I. They were right in the way.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of The Berlin Wall Blockade

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is 1945 and World War II has just ended with Hitler out of power however, conflict for the German people was far from over. After World War II in 1945 Germany was split up into different zones. Berlin, Germany’s capital was also divided into occupation zones; East Berlin and East Germany was run by the Soviet Union while West Berlin and West Germany was controlled by Western Allies, France, Great Britain, and the United States (Hyder). Over the next 16 years tensions rose due to defections from the East and the West this led to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. It was built to keep the ideas of a Western democracy out of East Germany’s communist government. The Berlin Wall was built in the hopes of having a beneficial outcome for

    Read More

  • Effects of World War II

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    World War II had a large effect on America, on how we were regarded in the world, on how our culture would grow and develop, and on how our citizens would develop and settle the land on their return. It brought people together for a while that were later torn apart, and changed the way Americans looked at higher education. Perhaps most importantly, it brought America to the world and served it up to them as something that could grow and become part of their culture, call it the Coca-Colonization of the world (Marling).

    Read More

  • Myth Of German Reunification

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 precipitated the Reunification of Germany in 1990. Negotiations and talks between East German’s Lothar de Maiziere and West German’s Helmut Kohl and the four occupying powers of United States, United Kingdom, France, and Soviet Union resulted in the Unification Treaty or the “Two plus Four Treaty” recognizing the sovereignty of the newly unified German state. The five states of German Democratic Republic or East Germany united with Federal Republic of Germany or West Germany and Berlin became a unified city on October 3, 1990 marking the die wende or Turning Point. “By early 1991, however, not much more than a year after the barricade surrounding the Brandenburg Gate was actually removed, most Germans, East and West, were asking themselves whether the Wall’s absence was, by itself sufficient to bring the nation together again” (McAdams 199).” Zealous attempts to restructure East Germany’s economy after reunification in 1990 led to massive debt and high taxation, sparking disillusionment and frustration among German citizens, which resulted in a divided and unequal economy.

    Read More

  • Significance Of The Berlin Wall

    2168 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Berlin Wall, built in August of 1961, was s physical symbol of the political and emotional divisions of Germany. The Wall was built because of a long lasting suspicion between the Soviet Union on one side and Western Europe and the United States on the other. For 28 years the Berlin Wall separated friends, families, and a nation. After WWII was over Germany was divided into four parts. The United States, Great Britain, and France controlled the three divisions that were formed in the Western half and the Eastern half was controlled by the Soviet Republic. The Western sections eventually united to make a federal republic, while the Eastern half became communist.

    Read More

  • Social Effects of the Berlin Wall

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Between 1961 and today, the Berlin Wall saw many changes, and so did the people that it entrapped.      Prior to the construction of the Berlin Wall, borders between East and West Germany were closed in 1952 because of tension between Communists and Democratic superpowers and the only open crossing left in Berlin. West Germany was blockaded by the Soviets and only kept alive because of air drops made by the Western Allies (Time). The Soviets had to do something about the mass amount of people leaving Soviet East Berlin for West Berlin, and the non-communist world. The most visible aspect of the Cold War was the Berlin Wall. Before the wall was constructed, East and West Germans could travel freely between the two states.

    Read More

  • Explain Why The Berlin Wall Falls

    511 Words  | 2 Pages

    The construction of the berlin wall had begun in august 13,1996, by the GDR although it started as just a concrete wall and barbed wire. The Berlin wall had been built within two weeks, by the eastern german army . Also the wall went through four stages of construction the first was just a simple fence. The second and third were replacing the wall with concrete and setting up traps. And then the final stage with was a pipe on top of the wall to stop people from scaling up the wall. By the end of construction the berlin wall was nicknamed the death strip, the “death strip was equipped with about five different traps and defences to stop anyone from crossing. They were tower, trenches, guard dogs, flood lights, and trip wire machine guns. When it was finally finished the Berlin wall was 4 feet in width and only 27 miles long.

    Read More

  • Why Did We Build The Berlin Wall Of 1961

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    On August 13, 1961, the communist government of East Germany built the Berlin Wall to divide the East and West Berlin. Building the wall caused a short term crisis in U.S. Soviet blockade relations, and the wall itself began to symbolize the Cold War. Throughout the 1950s and into the East Berlin crossed over into West Berlin to reunite with families and escape communist oppression. The government of East Germany on the night of 1961 began to seal off all points of entrance into West Berlin from East Berlin by putting barbed wire and guarding it. The Berlin Wall succeeded in sealing off two sections of Berlin. This angered the U.S., and West Berlin began to make plans to bulldoze the wall, but failed when Soviets had armored units into position

    Read More

  • Berlin Blockade

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    After World War II, when Germany was defeated, it was divided into four zones, one for each of the Allies. The eastern part went to the Russians. The other Allied Powers, France, Britain and the U.S. divided the Western portion of the city among themselves.

    Read More

  • Berlin Wall Research Paper

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1961 the Berlin wall made a difference by splitting eastern and western Germany. First, People were trying to climb the wall but got shot to their death. To Continue, Families got split. So, People would try to cross the border by going under the wall. Then, as many that tried to escaped got shot to their death to prevent them from leaving.

    Read More

  • The Cold War Decades: The Cold War

    1253 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...from friends and family on each end. The barrier was then secured by other military tactics such as wiring, alarms, dogs, and sentries among other means. It was marked to prevent the immigration of the people that would morally interfere with the split between free and communist Germany. Many attempted to escape to the other side of it to reach elective regions, but it was unfortunately too much of a risk of life to cross. The wall fell almost 40 years later with the coming protests and rebellions of the late Cold War associated with other events in the 80s, and even when it was taken down there were still limitations to crossings between the east and west. The Cold War and the UN’s initiative events on Berlin had lasted nearly to this decade, and so goes to show how far it’s spread had influenced today’s countries and served as origin for the start of the war.

    Read More

  • Berlin Wall Research Paper

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    In response to these actions, the Soviets established the Berlin Blockade, which later turned into the Berlin Wall. The purpose of the Berlin Wall was to “physically divide the country into eastern communism and western democracy. After it was built, citizens from the East tried to escape to the West because it was economically prosperous and granted its citizens more freedoms” (“Separation of Berlin”). The Berlin Wall divided Germany for about twenty-eight years, between the years of 1961 and

    Read More

More about Effects Of The Berlin Wall

Open Document