The Historical Significance of the Berlin Wall - Case Study Example

The Berlin Wall 1961 Order No: 186755 No: of pages: 8 Premium – 6530 Introduction: “Traveling from the rise of the Iron Curtain to the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Cold War plunges us into the central story of our times”. (Jeremy Isaacs & Taylor Downing, “Cold War”, An illustrated History, 1945 – 1991) The second half of the twentieth century, is the period during which fear and anxiety was the hallmark of everyday life. It was during this period of escalating tension that the Berlin Wall was built in August 1961, separating the East from the West. The undertaking was done by the East Berlin Government who constructed this border right across the centre separating East Berlin from West Berlin. This wall was later extended right down between East and West Germany. The main reason for building this wall was to prevent the huge number of East Berliners traveling to the West and to stop defections from taking place. The period between 1949 to 1961, saw 2.5 million East Germans flee from the East to the West. These included intellectuals, skilled workers and many other professionals. This tended to weaken the economic conditions of the country. An Eventful Period – The 60’s: The period of the 1960’s was one of the most eventful periods in the history of Germany. This was the period that saw radical changes take place – some for the better and some for the worse. One such leader who contributed to this change was Rudi Dutschke, most famously came to be known internationally as “Red Rudi”, who pledged himself for the betterment of German society. He was not only a charismatic speaker but also a great intellectual who was a very important anti- establishment leader who led protests against the Vietnam War and the West German Government. During the years 1967 – 1968, protests were carried out, where tens of thousands of people followed their leader Rudi Dutschke onto the streets of Berlin. His followers felt proud to be a part of a world wide movement whose inspiration was drawn from other places of political turmoil such as Prague. The people were not satisfied with the political system that was prevalent and had a lot to criticize about it. Though the Cold war was a thing of the past, yet other major problems attracted the attention of all present such as the crisis management of the Cold war Era, Soviet -American tensions and policy making, and the conflict of the super powers, of the early 1960’s. France tried to strike a balance between the United States, Britain and itself by trying to reconstruct the NATO, while Britain tried hard to become the European leader within NATO. Berlin seemed to epitomize what took place during the Cold War - the West’s political and economic power on one hand and the repressive power of the military of the East on the other hand. Though the Americans strived to negotiate with the Soviets, yet it lost support with the NATO not only on the issues related to Berlin but also other important issues. Politics in Britain continued to suffer many set backs due to its failures in trying to improve its ties with the United States and France. The Administration led by Eisenhower resigned itself to go to war on Berlin and all other German related problems. West Germany had a coalition government that consisted of two major parties – The Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, who seemed to be isolated from the people. A highly conservative publisher controlled the publishing of most of West Berlin’s newspapers. Kurt Georg Kiesinger, was formerly an active member of the Nazi party before becoming the Chancellor of West Germany. Heinrich Lubke, who was an architect during the period of the Nazis, and had built the German army barracks, was now the President. Hence such a political set up was most unresponsive to the needs of their people. It was during this period that Dutschke became a hero in the eyes of the people and according to them was the personification of radical protests. As German essayist Andreas Juhnke puts it, “"In those years, Dutschke was something like public enemy No. 1. "He developed a charisma that made him the symbol of the protest and youth movements of the time and also an object of hatred for narrow-minded rightists." (STEPHEN KINZER, Berlin Journal, Published: April 12, 1993) Dutschke and his agitators had formed a special group named the “Extra-Parliamentary Opposition” and became national cult figures in their struggle against any type of political and cultural convention. Unfortunately, on April 11th, 1968, Josef Bachmann, a young man of 23 and a member of the far – right political party, approached Dutschke on one of the streets of Berlin, confirmed his identity and shot him in the head and chest. Dutschke succumbed to his injuries in 1979, 11 years after the shoot out. He was only 39 years old. The Historical Significance of the Berlin Wall: “Built to keep people in, the wall was dismantled in a failed gamble by the Communists to keep power”. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition) The Communists were apprehensive in losing their power and so decided to separate the East and the West. They began by erecting a huge barbed wire fence, but eventually built a solid concrete wall edged on the top with barbed wire, making it virtually impossible to get to the other side. Thousands of families were caught up in this power struggle and were separated from each other for so many years. Yet, the construction of the Berlin wall, did not prove to be too successful because scores of East Germans still managed to flee westward through Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Finally on November 9th, 1989, the beleaguered regime of the East Germans succumbed to the pressure and lifted the ban on travel restrictions and a few days later, they began to dismantle the huge wall. As soon as the dismantling had begun, the regime undertook to sell huge slabs from the Berlin wall for large huge sums of money but the rest of it was pounded by machines and made into gravel which was used to lay roads. However, by October 1990, “East Germany was formally reabsorbed into the Federal Republic of Germany and only short sections of the wall remained standing, as memorials”. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition) Speaking on how the construction of the Berlin Wall had a psychological impact on the families and on the children in particular, Anna Freud, child psychologist explains, “Those who built the Berlin Wall, and those who are horrified and disgusted by it, or try to flee past it, have in their minds what is good or bad, desirable or thoroughly unattrac­tive with respect to the world”1. (Thomas Davey, “A Generation Divided”, Duke University Press, 1987) The United States played a key role in helping Berlin resist the tyranny of the Communists because it was essentially vital that Germany gains freedom ensuring that the city stands as a good example of democratic co- operation. Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov, explains the many interrelationships between Berlin, Germany and the United States, saying: "What happens to Berlin, happens to Germany; what happens to Germany, happens to Europe”.2 (Eleanor Lansing Dulles, “The Wall is not Forever”, University of North Carolina Press, 1967) Berlin’s Landmark Topography: East Berlin and West Berlin were separated from each other by a power driven political group the Communists by erecting a massive historical wall which restricted the free flow of people from one side to the other. The beautiful topography of the city was marred by the construction of this huge wall which stood as a testimony to man’s ungracious attitude towards their own country. If one thinks of Germany, one never fails to think of the Berlin Wall and the psychological trauma it caused its own people. The present topography dissuaded Berliners from crossing over because it was very heavily guarded. The Building of the Berlin Wall and the reaction of the West: In association with the Soviets, the East Berlin Government suddenly decided to erect the Berlin Wall to safeguard their population separating or isolating the East from the West. It was a 28 mile long ominous scar that loomed large over a once peaceful country. West Berlin was taken by a wave of shock and surprise to see the wall being constructed by the Government without any qualm of families being torn apart or separated. The walls were made of thick concrete and had the “famous spray painted graffiti”3 deriding its monstrous presence. Thousands of people lost their lives trying to go past the thick concrete wall. Some of them climbed over, others tried to tunnel through while some of them tried to get past with fake documents but their attempts failed as the wall was heavily guarded. Though the guards all belonged to the secret police, they wore uniforms of the GDR Customs Service or the National People’s Army. They were called Pass und Fahndung (Passport and investigation)4 At that time, West Berlin was almost an island, having been isolated like this and hence it attracted a lot of attention from other nations to come to its assistance in fighting against such a policy. Very soon, it emerged as a symbol of Western freedom, with nations like the United States lending it full support. The Western Berliners could not believe that they were cruelly separated from their loved ones and friends on the Eastern side of the wall. Strategies were planned to put an end to this atrocity. Help and aid came in from all quarters and many countries strived hard to bring about a radical change in the Governments attitude. Then on November 9th – 10th, in the summer of 1989, a major historic moment took place for the West when, a Hungarian reformist Government breached the passage by the opening of Hungary’s border that was newly built, with Austria, thereby allowing the escape of the East Germans to the West. The History of the Cold War: The Cold War has permeated into the lives of millions of people the world over and has influenced and held sway over us for the past forty five years; the effects of which continue to mould and shape our policies and way of thinking even today. In response to the construction of the Berlin Wall, Kennedy pledged to redeem West Berlin from the onslaught of the Communist Government. He called for 250,000 reservists to come to the aid of West Berlin. At that time the president of the United States was Ronald Reagan and he made a personal visit to Berlin and pleaded with Mikhail Gorbachev to remove the wall.5 (History Today, Feb 2007, Vol. 57 Issue 2, p49-49) On analyzing some of the Cold War documents and many other political statements, author Taylor Frederick (History Today, Feb2007, Vol. 57 Issue 2, p43-49) gives us a clear picture about the political attitudes of the Americans, the British and the French in relation to the building of the Berlin Wall. He explains that even though the construction of the Berlin was not considered as a bone of contention among the allies, yet “none of the allies took action against the construction of the Wall because it helped to divide the threat of post-war Germany”. Reading Level (Lexile): 1370; In President Kennedy’s famous speech in 1963, he says, “"Ich bin ein Berliner."6 which literally meant that, he too was a Berliner. (CNN Special, Perspective Series) From time immemorial, the East Germans sought to flee from Communism through West Berlin which served as an escape route. However, the escalating tensions of the Cold War literally forced the Soviet bloc to construct such a blockade through the city and which stood as a symbol of the Iron Curtain that separated them for nearly three decades. As the time came near, they could not help taunting the guards with words like “Tor Auf! Which meant “Open the gate!”7. At the stroke of midnight, thousands of people gathered around both the sides of the wall. In the past thousands had lost their lives trying to cross its borders; but not any more because people were helped in large numbers over and even through the wall. Their shouts of joy and laughter rang out far and wide as they met and embraced each other though streams of tears and cheers. It was a sight no one could have forgotten had they seen it….at times, the wall almost disappeared beneath the waves of humanity”. (TIME magazine on November 20, 1989), People were seen waving their ID cards overhead as West Berliners hugged and embraced them. Many of them were seen distributing deutsche mark notes in honor of the celebration. People danced on top as trumpets rent the air. Many of them brought out their chisels and hammers and bored them into the detestful and hateful symbol of imprisonment breaking down chunks of it and showing them towards the television screens as they televised the whole episode. There was a special aura that surrounded the wall as people treated the broken pieces as if they were relics8 that reminded them of their “deliverance from the Cold War”.(Brian Ladd, “The Ghosts of Berlin”) They danced into the streets popping champagne bottles and spraying them in joy on all those around them. For them this was the most joyous day of their lives. People kept their vehicles honking throughout the night and into the dawn. They were free once again! For the Germans and all the nations around the world, the Berlin Wall stood as a perfect symbol of oppression which had locked in democracy within its solid walls. The West were indeed surprised when the Berlin Wall went up, but they were even more surprised when the wall came down thus putting an end to the Communist rule and throwing open the doors of freedom and democracy. References: Book Title -“Cold War”, An Illustrated History (Hardcover – 438pgs.) 1945 – 1991) Authors - Jeremy Isaacs & Taylor Downing Publishers - Little Brown and Company; Publication Year - 1st edition (August 1998) www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/books/index.htm Berlin Wall – Research and Read Books/ Journals/ Articles. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Publishers - Columbia University Press Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V. A www.questia.com/library/history/european-history/germany/germany-since-1945/berlin-wall.jsp Book Title: A Generation Divided: German Children and the Berlin Wall. Contributors: Thomas Davey - author. Publisher: Duke University Press. Place of Publication: Durham, NC. Publication Year: 1987. www.questia.com/library/history/european-history/germany/germany-since-1945/berlin-wall.jsp Book Title: Berlin: The Wall Is Not Forever. Contributors: Eleanor Lansing Dulles - author. Publisher: University of North Carolina Press. Place of Publication: Chapel Hill, NC. Publication Year: 1967. www.questia.com/library/history/european-history/germany/germany-since-1945/berlin-wall.jsp Berlin Journal; Ghost of Protest Past, Red Rudis Haunting Spirit Author - STEPHEN KINZER, Publisher – The New York Times Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Newsvine Permalink Published: April 12, 1993 Berlin Wall, or Berliner Mauer © 2007 Encyclopædia www.britannica.com/eb/topic-62202/Berlin-Wall Cold War Experience – Berlin Wall www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/09/ CNN – Cold War TIME “Freedom” Nov. 20th 1989. www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/23/ Book - Tales from the Berlin Wall (155 pages) Author – Marianna S. Katona Year of Publication- 2004 Book – “The Ghosts of Berlin” (282 pages) Author – Brian Ladd Publisher – University of Chicago Press. Year of Publication – 1997 The Berlin Wall Crisis/ Book Reviews/ Authors: John Gearson and Kori Schake Publisher: H- Diplo Year of Publication: March 2003 www.php.isn.ethz.ch/services/bookreviews/documents/gearson Read More