Divided city of Berlin
Introduction
Berlin’s history dates back to the 12th century and by the time it was reaching the 18th and 19thh century, rapid economic growth enabled it to become the basis of the Germany’s stronghold. During World War II, the city was bombed and most of its military artillery, diplomatic and economic activities were destroyed. The initial period of the Cold War saw thousands of people from East Germany escape to the democratic West (Neyfakh). Authorities in the Communist East responded by building a massive wall that totally encircled West Berlin on 13 August 1961. For the next 30 years, Berlin became the center of the Cold War as superpowers faced each other across the city’s wall. This document critically analyzes the division of the East Berlin and West Berlin and its implications.
Nature of the Divide
The Berlin Wall was erected by the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was the eastern front of Germany. Berlin was divided by this barrier from 1961 to 1989, and West Berlin was completely cut off from East Germany. The concrete wall barrier had towers that were manned by armed guards. It was restricted by a wide area that came to be known as the “death strip,” since people who tried to cross over were shot by the armed guards. In aIDition, there were anti-vehicle trenches and different other defenses (Héon-Klin, V et al 372). According to the Eastern Bloc, the objective of erecting the wall was to safeguard its people from fascist elements who had conspired to curtail the will of the population to develop a socialist nation in East Germany.
West Berlin and West Germany in general developed and became a western capitalist society with a social market economy and a democratic parliamentary government. On the other hand, East Berlin and East Germany was governed by an authoritarian government while its economy was controlled similar to that of the communist Soviet state (Neyfakh). Despite the fact that there was huge advancement in the economy of the Eastern bloc, making East Germany one of the most advanced and richest countries in the region, most of its citizens aspired to migrate to the West. This is because West Berlin provided several opportunities for economic prosperity and political freedoms that could not be achieved in the East.
Between 1949 and 1961, huge numbers of professionals and skilled workers from East Berlin travelled to the West every day to their places of work, as other travelled to look for employment opportunities. On the other hand, several people in West Berlin preferred to do their shopping in East Berlin since prices of commodities in that region was relatively low (Héon-Klin, V et al 372). Most East Berliners who experienced the Western standards of living by either travelling to the West or accessing Western radio and television broadcasts decided to migrate to the West in order to experience a more comfortable lifestyle.
The East German government decided to restrain this migration by closing the Western and Eastern frontier in 1958. Studies show that by July 1961, more than 30,000 people from East Germany were fleeing every month to West Germany. The largest percentage of these refugees was young individuals from the East and the Communist government could not afford to lose their most skilled employees (Neyfakh). The huge migration to the West threatened the survival of East Germany and the only solution to this persistent challenge was to construct the Berlin Wall.
Restriction and Overcoming the Divide
The East German leader known as Walter Ulbricht had wanted to construct the Berlin Wall but his objectives were overruled by the Soviet Leader, Nikita Khrushchev. Nevertheless, Khrushchev decided to change his mind after the situation continued to become more desperate. Construction started in August 1961 and the East German troops and other workers brought up a barrier that blocked streets and most vehicles were unable to pass (nationalcoldwarexhibition.org). In aIDition, between the West and East Germany, the length of the border was surrounded by walls, fences and minefields.
Families were divided by the Berlin Wall and people found themselves unable to visit their relatives and friends who lived across the wall. In aIDition, most people in East Berlin who worked in the west were cut off from their workplaces (Harrison 7). Most people from West Berlin carried out demonstrations against the wall while the mayor of the city, Willy Brandt, criticized the U.S. for failing to take an action against the construction. According to the East German government, the wall acted as an “anti-fascist protection barrier (antifaschistischer Schutzwall) whose intention was to dissuade aggressive tendencies from the West. These statements contradicted the fact that the defenses of the wall were inwardly pointed towards the East German territory.
Movement across the border was virtually restricted and most people from the East tried several means to cross towards the West. The anti-fascist argument by the East German government was viewed with skepticism not only by the West Berlin population, but also by the people who were living in the East (Honseler, et al 7). The Berlin Wall caused several significant hardships to many families. West Berlin authorities viewed the Berlin Wall as a means of stopping migrants from East Berlin from travelling to the West, and this view was supported by several people from both sides of the divide.
Before the construction of the wall, people used to escape through the fence, but construction of the massive barriers made it almost impossible to cross between the East and the West. During the existence of the wall, there were close to 5,000 people who managed to successfully escape from the East into West Berlin (nationalcoldwarexhibition.org). Various statistics indicate that between 192 and 239 individuals were shot dead as they attempted to cross the wall, while a significant number of people were injured. Successful attempts during the early periods involved trying to jump over the barbed wire fence. Moreover, other people tried to jump from the windows of the buildings that were near the wall. The East German authorities came to know about these tactics and ordered the demolition of these buildings.
Later escape attempts that were successful involved movement through long tunnels, flying ultra-lights, sliding along aerial wires, and diving under checkpoint barriers using low sports cars. With time, people from East Berlin devised some ingenious tactics of escaping to the West but on most occasions, these tactics often ended up in tragedy (nationalcoldwarexhibition.org). For instance, on 17 August 1962, Peter Fechter tried to escape but he was shot dead in the presence of the Western media. Moreover, Chris Gueffroy was the last individual to be shot dead as he tried to escape on 6thh February 1989.
Implications
The Berlin Wall divided the City into two parts and this had huge implications not only on the residents, but also on planning both at the city and regional level. On most occasions, walls made between people or regions eventually end up being destroyed. In this regard, the Berlin Wall prevented people from migrating from the East to the West, but the wall was eventually brought down after 30 years. Nevertheless, the Berlin Wall left an economic, behavioral and architectural legacy on the landscape of Berlin. The partial heritage of the wall had a huge impact on the city residents, and it continues to impact on several attributes of the region (Héon-Klin, V et al 372). Berlin is deeply affected by the physical and moral scars left by the massive wall, despite of huge resources that have been invested in the area to help reunify it since 1989. Reunification process has not closely integrated the relation of the two sides of the Berlin Wall since the eastern part continues to feel the impact of the Soviet legacy. It is only recently that Berlin is striving towards developing a significant metropolitan city.
The Berlin Wall caused socio-spatial distortions, which prevented the growth and development of the city. As the economy of West Berlin thrived as a result of democratic leadership and a liberalized economy, the eastern economy continued to suffer from authoritarian leadership from the Communist government (Dumont). Nevertheless, scholars are of the opinion that Berlin has an opportunity of overcoming the obstacles by drawing on the eastern growth and development in the European Union. Expansion of Berlin towards the eastern side would draw the city away from the outskirts and place it in a position that is enviable across Europe.
Despite of the negative impacts of the wall, the role of Berlin in external geopolitical matters is increasing gradually as the international reputation of Germany continues to match its economic weight. Moreover, in the past few years, the reputation of the city has been manifested by a number of meetings that have been held between Germany and other powerful nations that hold a veto position in the UN Security council (Dumont). Moreover, Berlin has managed to transform quickly as a result of Germany’s participation in military operations across the world. Nevertheless, the internal effects of the Berlin Wall, particularly on the partial politics of the city have not been beneficial (Leccardi 29). When compared to other similar cities in Germany, such as Munich and Frankfurt, the demographic and economic success of Berlin has been limited. Despite the fact that the wall was demolished, most people still continue to feel the paradoxical existence of the separation.
Conclusion
This document has critically analyzed the division of the East Berlin and West Berlin and its implications both on the residents and development in the region. During the early years of the Cold War, most people from the East migrated to the West in search for employment opportunities. Moreover, the western side was governed by a democratic system that encouraged economic liberalization, while the East was ruled by an authoritarian communist government. Massive movement of young educated people to the West made the East Berlin government to construct the wall since migration posed a threat to the existence of the region. The wall which lasted for over thirty years not only separated families but had a huge negative impact on economic development.
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Works Cited
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Héon-Klin, V et al. “The Influence of Geopolitical Change on the Well-Being of a Population: The Berlin Wall.” American Journal of Public Health 91.3 (2001): 369–374.
Honseler, Erin, Halie Mitchell, Max Schuetze, Callie Wheeler. The Beginning of the Berlin Wall. 10 March 2009. 30 April 2015.
Leccardi, Carmen, et al. 1989 – Young people and social change after the fall of the Berlin Wall. February 2012. 30 April 2015. http://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/1667851/1989-Young_people_and_social_change_after_fall__Berlin_Wall.pdf/df3d211e-fe39-4f46-b34c-92d19490cad3
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