The Fall of the Berlin Wall
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The Fall of the Berlin Wall
There have been many milestone events in the human history that marked either an end of one era or a start of another one. The period between 1945 and 2001 was especially rich in such events: numerous countries and political systems went down and many new ones emerged. One of the most notable happenings of this period was the fall of the Berlin Wall. This wall was a physical barrier that divided Berlin into East and West regions for close to three decades. During this time, the West side rapidly grew in the economy, whereas the East side suffered immense poverty under communism rule. For twenty-eight years, the wall remained a physical barrier to East Berliners who hoped for better lives by crossing to the West. In addition, the wall was a symbolic demarcation of communism and capitalism rule in Europe (Brower, 2006).
The wall was destructed in 1989 and marked the unification of all Berliners into a single nation. Although seemingly of only local importance in Germany, this event actually played a crucial role in the political history of the whole globe. The demolition of the wall that separated East and West Berlin from each other also signaled the end of the communist regime in Germany and the coming downfall of communism as the ideology on the global scale (Brower, 2006). This paper will analyze the causes, interpretations, and consequences of the fall of the Berlin Wall as a significant historical event, which reformed the politics of East Germany.
History of the Berlin Wall
The account of the Berlin Wall began in August 1961, when the authorities of the Soviet occupation zone decided to isolate the West of Berlin from the outer world. Similar to other parts of Germany, Berlin was split into two regions, the East and West. While the East was ruled by the Soviet Union, the West comprised states ruled by Great Britain, France, and the United States. With the help of the ruling powers, the West created a capitalist society thus realizing rapid economic growth that was dubbed the “economic miracle.” Therefore, life became pleasant in the West as the occupants could lead better lives, buy gadgets, and travel as much as they wished.
The situation was totally opposite in the East as the Soviet Union had referred this as a war zone, thus it had shifted all factory equipment and other valuable machines to Soviet Union. The economy of East Germany dragged, and personal freedom remained highly restricted. East Berliners crossed over to the West in search for better paying jobs which were not available on their side due to the deteriorated economy. Because of the immense migration to the West, the East Germany gradually suffered labor shortage and population decline. Consequently, the East Germany sought for long-term methods of stopping the mass exodus to the West. This was done through the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961, which separated East and West Germany. The wall stretched for over hundred miles and was manned by soldiers who would shoot any person attempting to cross over to the West side (Brower, 2006).
Historical Interpretation of the Berlin Wall and its Fall
The Berlin Wall was not only a physical but also a psychological barrier that prevented East Berliners from fleeing to the West. East Berliners would no longer cross to the West to participate in social events such as soccer, plays, and operas. In addition, family reunions between people from both sides were rendered impossible. East Berliners were psychologically barred from attaining self-actualization, as they could not cross to the West and achieve their life dreams. In fact, although there were some successful getaways, many people were killed by armed wall guards while trying to escape (Brower, 2006). That is why the Berlin Wall, apart from being a physical obstacle, was also a symbol of the totalitarian regime that dominated East Germany for over fifty years.
The outward interpretation of the fall of the Berlin Wall was the end of physical separation between the West and East Berliners. However, the event was beyond physical reunification. The fall of the wall was a symbolic end of the oppressive political system and beginning of an era of freedom and unity in Germany as well as other parts of the world. On the night of November 9 1989, communist leaders from the West announced the free travel from the East to the West. Thousands of people from both sides crowded at the wall chipping it with mallets and chisels until it was completely demolished. This was followed by immense celebrations by Berliners from both sides as they united with their loved ones whom they had been separated from by the physical barrier. However, to the East, their celebration was beyond physical reunification as it was also due to end of the totalitarian rule in East Germany (Hollander, 2009).
Causes of the Fall of the Wall
The very process of deconstructing the Berlin Wall started in November 1989, when the governments of both DDR and BRD allowed their citizens to travel to and from both parts of the country. Thus, the still standing wall became obsolete and did not carry any of its former importance. Physically, the demolition of the Berlin Wall had June 1990 as its starting date: the process took many months and ended on October 3, 1990 with the formal political unification of Germany (Brower, 2006). This day is still a very important national holiday in Germany. Importantly, people all around the world also celebrate this holiday as a day that marked the victory of the progressive and democratic ideals over totalitarianism and oppression. Therefore, one can argue that the fall of the Berlin Wall changed the world, both politically and socially because it ended one era and started another one, and gave millions of people the freedom that they had dreamt about for decades.
Consequences of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
The immediate impact of the fall of the wall was the physical reunification of Germany. Germany that had been divided by ruling powers for twenty-eight years became one after the Berlin Wall was destroyed. Secondly, the fall of the wall signified end of communist rule in Europe and beginning of capitalism rule. Communism was no longer an influential party in Germany and throughout Europe following the destruction of the Berlin Wall. Soon after the end of the communist regime in Germany, other communist governments began to collapse such as Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Even the powerful Soviet Union also collapsed in 1991 following its failure in a coup against President Mikhail Gorbachev. This was the marked the end of the oppression reign that had lasted since 1917. Many European countries that had been controlled by the Soviet Union went into civil war, and the previous members of the U.S.S.R broke into fifteen independent republics thus forming the Commonwealth of Independent States (Frank, 2007).
In Africa, this event encouraged the West to be more rigid over apartheid in South Africa since it was formerly hampered with the notion that the National African Congress was allied to communism. In fact, Nelson Mandela of South Africa was released soon after the Berlin Wall was demolished. Other African states that had depended on the support of the West and the Soviet Union immediately lost such support consequently breaking into civil wars. Example of such countries was Zaire, currently known as Congo, which under the reign of Mobutu Sese Seko was supported by the West. Mobutu was overthrown following the fall of the wall and the entire nation descended into civil conflicts (Hollander, 2009).
In the years that followed, Germany experienced a rise in unemployment rates and increase in taxes in order to rebuild the devastated economy of East Germany. Prior to the fall of the wall, most employment organizations in the East were owned by the state but these were privatized following the reunification rendering many people unemployed. The dreams of East Berliners of accumulating wealth post the fall of the wall were not realized immediately as the unified nations strived to revive the East economy (Frank, 2007).
Conclusion
Germany was split into four regions after the cold war, which was ruled by the separate powers. These were Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States, and France. The Berlin Wall was erected ‘in 1961’ to act as a physical barrier to bar free crossing from East to West of Berlin. Under the influence of the ruling powers, the West was fast growing with the economy and consequently had freedom and pleasant employment opportunities, which were attractive to the East occupants. Mass migrations from the East to the West led to population decline and subsequent decline in the labor force ‘which necessitated’ the establishment of a permanent barrier between the two regions. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 and was continuously reinforced to bar crossings to the West. Those that attempted to cross over the wall to the western side were short by guarding police, and consequently, East Berliners had to persevere the unpleasant rule of the Soviet Union.
On November 1989, communist leaders from the East side ordered free crossing to the West, an event that led to destruction of the Berlin Wall. Thousands of Berliners from both sides crowded at the crossing sections and chopped the wall thus deeming its fall. Immense celebrations followed the fall as families and friends had been reunited. In addition, dreams of East Berliners to migrate to the West to secure better paying jobs would now become realities. The fall of the wall signified the end of communist rule that had thrived in Europe for close to three decades. Germany was soon after the fall of the wall struck by immense unemployment and rise in taxes to revive the economy of the East region. Until today, Germany remained a united nation never again to be separated by ruling communist powers. Accordingly, it is important to study events like the fall of the Berlin Wall in order to gather valuable knowledge about the processes that formed the modern world.

References
Brower, D. (2006). The World in the Twentieth Century: from Empires to Nations. New York, NY: Pearson Education.
Frank, D. H. (2007). The Effect of Migration on Natives’ Employment Outcomes: Evidence
from the Fall of the Berlin Wall. INSEAD Working Papers Collection, (43), 1-56.
Hollander, P. (2009). Reflections on Communism Twenty Years after the fall of the Berlin
Wall. Web source. http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/dpa11.pdf. Retrieved on December 11 2013.