Berlin Wall: why it was erected, history, fall

O Berlin Wall was built in 1961 around the city of West Berlin, the capital of West Germany. This construction was intended to isolate this city and close its borders with East Germany. It was one of the great symbols that evidenced the polarization of the world during the period of WarCold.

This wall, which existed between 1961 and 1989, was built after authorization from walterUlbricht and NikitaKhrushchev, leaders of GermanyEastern and Soviet Union (USSR), respectively. During the existence of this wall, 140 people died trying to cross it. The Berlin Wall was brought down with the crisis that led to the end of the socialist bloc in Eastern Europe.

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Background

After World War II, Germany was divided into RFA (left) and GDR (right).

THE construction of the berlin wall occurred within the process of division that Germany went through after the Second World War. At the time of the Cold War, there were two Germanys in the world, each aligned with a different ideology.

THE Federal Republic of Germany (RFA), also known as GermanyWestern, it was capitalist and aligned with the United States. THE German Democratic Republic (RDA), in turn, was known as GermanyEastern and it was a socialist, therefore, an ally of the Soviet Union. The capitals of these two nations were West Berlin and East Berlin, respectively.

The division of Germany, in addition to being a great hallmark of the Cold War, was the result of German defeat in World War II. After battle of berlin, the entire German territory was occupied by the allied forces and divided into four zones: French, British, North American and Soviet.

Map of the condition of Berlin after its division. Left, West Berlin; on the right, East Berlin.[1]

This division into four zones was reproduced in German territory as a whole and more specifically in the German capital, Berlin. As the polarization of the world was defined in the late 1940s, the occupied zones were transformed into distinct nations (RFA and RDA) to serve the interests of Americans and Soviets.

THE division of germany it was the ultimate example of the polarization of the Cold War, but it was not unique to Germany. As a result of negotiations between the Allies (countries that opposed Germany, Japan and Italy in World War II), the Korea it's the Vietnam they were also divided into two distinct nations, each allied with either the US or the USSR.

• After all, what was the Cold War?

These events were a direct consequence of the Cold War, the political-ideological conflict that began in 1947. In this conflict, world hegemony was disputed, and the two ideologies that were at the center of this conflict were the capitalism it's the socialism, represented by United States and Soviet Union, respectively.

The dispute between Americans and Soviets soon made itself felt in Germany, so much so that, in 1949, Americans and Soviets declared the foundation of the FRG and GDR, respectively. The dispute over German territory was particularly important for these two countries because of Germany's strategic importance.

In the context of World War II, the domination of this territory gave access to the military and scientific secrets of the Germans. In the context of the Cold War, securing possession of this territory was an important statement of strength.

Here at Brasil Escola, we have a specific and more detailed text about the Cold War. If you are interested in accessing it, just click on this link.

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Why was the Berlin Wall built?

Quite directly, the Berlin Wall was built for the purpose of prevent the population of East Germany from continuing to flee to West Berlin. The city of West Berlin received a large influx of people from East Germany because it was a “capitalist island” embedded within socialist territory. On all sides, West Berlin was surrounded by East German territories.

The population's flight took place throughout the 1950s, and in the 1960s it showed no signs of weakening. The population exodus reflected the differences in life conditions existing in West and East Germany.

THE ocidental Germany, through the Marshall Plan, received a huge amount of American money. This money was sent with the purpose of promoting the recovery and economic development of certain countries to prevent the growth of socialism in those places.

In this context, the economic situation of West Germany proved to be clearly superior compared to East Germany. West Germany also had more skilled workers as well as greater individual political freedom.

East Germany, in turn, had a secret police (the Stasi) who coordinated a scheme of informants spread across the country. THE censorship and lack of freedom they were an indelible mark of both East Germany and the socialist bloc. Lack of freedom, coupled with a faltering economy, resulted in this population exodus.

The inhabitants of East Germany, seeking to rebuild their lives, began to look for the best conditions that West Germany appeared to have. Thus, between 1948 and 1961, approximately three million people left East Germany. In the midst of this enormous amount of people, there were professors, engineers and doctors, that is, quality labor of enormous importance.

This flight of population and skilled labor alarmed East German authorities, and so ideas for ending this exodus began to be debated. From 1958, the Stasi was mobilized, but the results were not very good. The German secret police itself suggested that controlling this population exodus would only be effective through a barrierphysics. So, in 1961, East German authorities asked for permission to build the wall.

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How was the construction of the Berlin Wall?

East German leader Walter Ulbricht asked the USSR for permission to build the Berlin Wall.[2]

In 1961, the ruler of East Germany was walterUlbricht. That year, he requested authorization to Moscow – seat of the Soviet government – ​​to build the wall as a way to stop the population's flight. The request was made in May and, in June, Soviet authorization was granted, prompted by a speech by the American president about Berlin.

The process of preparing the wall was meticulous and lasted until August of that year. The project was part of the Operationpink and only the highest echelons of the two governments had knowledge. Historian Patrick Major says that in East Germany, for example, only 60 people were aware of the discussion about the construction of the wall.|1|.

The East Germans (the government) defended secrecy as a way to deal with the Republikflucht (as they called this population flight) because, first, it would avoid panic and thousands of people trying to flee at the “last minute”; second, it could avoid any kind of negative reaction from the West that would cause them to abort the construction of the wall.

erichHonecker, at the time the head of security of the Politburo (committee of the Communist Party in East Germany) was appointed to be the leader of the operation that built the Berlin Wall. Honecker later became ruler of East Germany and ran the country from 1976 to 1989.

It was determined by Operation Rosa that the wall would be built at the turn of August 12 to 13, 1961. As part of the preparations, Soviet and East German tanks were positioned at strategic locations, and soldiers were deployed throughout the entire perimeter of West Berlin.

On the 13th, soldiers began deploying barbed wire around West Berlin, marking the border closure. In the following years, other works were carried out that completed the Berlin Wall. A very high concrete wall was built, in addition to building security towers and running tracks so that guard dogs could chase people who tried to cross the wall.

In all, 140 people were killed at the Berlin Wall.[3]

In addition, soldiers with heavy weapons were placed on the wall structure and had a controversial order, the Schießbefehl, which can be translated as “order to shoot”. This order consisted of the authorization that the East German military had to open fire on people who tried to cross the wall. This order made no exceptions even for children.

The construction of the wall was successful in its purpose. After August 13, 1961, the number of people who managed to flee East Germany was approximately five thousand people.|2|. In all, 140 people were killed at the Berlin Wall, between civilians and soldiers who tried to cross the wall and were shot dead, injured or committed suicide, according to the Berlin Wall Memorial|3|.

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Why was the Berlin Wall brought down?

THE fall of the berlin wall it was a consequence of the crisis faced by the socialist bloc in the 1980s. Taking into account the context of East Germany, the population of the country was dissatisfied as the country faced a major economic crisis. Dissatisfaction was amplified by government repression and censorship.

Protests spread across the country, and when Hungary determined to open its border with the West, thousands of East German citizens sought to flee through that opening. Only in July 1989, about 25 thousand people had asked for permission to spend vacation in Hungary|4|. With the Hungarian borders open, people who went there could go to Austria easily.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany was reunified.[4]

On November 9, 1989, at a press conference, the spokesman for the GDR government mistakenly announced that the country's borders with the West were open. On the same day, thousands of people went to the border posts demanding the right to cross into West Germany.

To avoid a tragedy, the GDR government confirmed the opening of the borders and, at the turn of the 9th to the 10th of November, thousands of people gathered to to tear downthe berlin wall. The following year, Germany reunited.

Grades

|1| The secret story of how the Berlin Wall was built by East Germany and the Soviet Union. To access, click on here.

|2| Escaping of the 5,000 from East Berlin. To access, click on here [in English].

|3| Fatalities at the Berlin Wall, 1961-1989. To access, click on here [in English].

|4| FERNANDES, Marisa. The political reunification of Germany (1989/1990): in the context of relations between the great powers. To access, click on here.

Image credits:

[1]mynierd and Shutterstock

[2]bissig

[3]flat matter

[4]nephthali

By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History