1961: The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall's construction began on August 13th 1961 by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany– controlled by the Soviets) to prevent East Berliners from fleeing to West Berlin, which was part of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany– the US, UK and French zones).
Why was the Berlin Wall built?
East German authorities claimed that the Wall was built to protect their citizens from Western aggression and to prevent the flow of Western spies. Moreover, West Berlin was used as a headquarters for Western governments to spy on Eastern Europe and the USSR.
Checkpoint Charlie (right) was perhaps the most famous border crossing between East and West Berlin.
Additionally, most historians observe that other (more) legitimate reasons were that...
West Germany was more prosperous than East Germany, West Germans had a better standard of living than those in the East and West Germany was an advertisement for the economic success of Western Europe. Therefore, it enticed East Germans to desire life in the democratic, capitalist countries and flee East Germany for the West.
East Germany was experiencing a 'brain drain'. Germans could move freely between East Germany and West Berlin, and from 1949 to 1960, 3 million East Germans fled to the West through Berlin. Many of these were young, talented and well-educated people.
The Berlin Wall consisted of concrete walls, guard towers, barbed wire, and minefields, and ran for about 155 kilometres (96 miles) through the heart of Berlin, splitting neighbourhoods, streets, and even households.
The Wall came to symbolise the Cold War between the East and the West, Soviet secrecy and the division of Germany. Countless attempts to escape were made, but few were successful as East German border guards were ordered to shoot on sight.
As the Soviet grip weakened, there were weeks of peaceful protests and pressure from the East German people for greater political freedoms and economic reforms leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The Berlin Wall finally fell on November 9th 1989 after East German authorities announced that citizens could freely cross into West Berlin.
The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolised the end of the Cold War in Europe and German reunification by 1991. It also marked the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia's transition away from Communism.
This video shows the heavily fortified system of the 155-km-long Berlin Wall.
Did the Berlin Wall reduce Cold War tensions?
Successfully reduced Cold War tensions:
It prevented a war because the US decided it was not worth fighting for and let the USSR have their privacy.
The Wall also reassured the West German government that the USSR was unlikely to capture West Berlin by force, as they were investing resources and creating an elaborate border system to separate East and West Berlin.
The wall gave the Soviets the safety and security they had wanted from Germany as a result of the Second World War.
Failed to reduce Cold War tensions:
The West became more suspicious of the Soviets and was unaware about what was happening
Germans in West and East Germany had begun to lose faith in the Western Countries because they were not standing up and fighting for their freedom.
The Legacy of the Berlin Wall
Parts of the Berlin Wall remain standing today and are a stark reminder of the separation between East and West Berlin that lasted for 28 years.
The photo on the left was taken by me at the 'East Side Gallery' in Berlin. It was taken on the 'East Berlin' side of the Spree River which served as a boundary between East and West Berlin.