Berlin Wall Essay Example For Students

Berlin Wall Essay The Berlin Wall separated the people of East Berlin from the people in West Berlin. It separated families, kept people from their jobs, and caused people to die. It was erected in an effort to save East Berlins economy, but in the end it did so much more. The fleeing of residents of East Berlin to West Berlin affected the Soviet Union and East Berlin in two ways. The first of which was economic. By 1958, 15% of the population of East Berlin had fled to West Berlin. East Berlins economy provided much for the Soviets and among these 15% were doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and other essential figures for the East Berlin economy. The birth rate in East Berlin was higher than the death rate, but still 250,000 people were leaving every year. In 1961 alone, 5,000 doctors, 20,000 engineers and technicians, and 17,000 teachers left East Berlin. All together in the years from 1954 through1960, 4,600 doctors, 15,885 teachers, 738 university teachers, 15,536 engineers and technicians moved from East Berlin to West Berlin. Besides these professionals, 11,705 students with initial intentions of working in East Berlin left to work in West Berlin after getting their free education from East Berlin. This hit East Berlin very hard, for it needed these potential workers to rebuild the country after the destruction caused by World War II. Walter Ulbricht, the leader of the East German communist party and president of the Privy Council, was greatly distressed by the fleeing of East Berlins citizens, for it hurt his 7 year plan to bring East Berlins economy to the same level as West Berlins. Walter Ulbricht ordered regular police spot checks of anyone carrying a suitcase, but this barely had any impact on the number of East Berlin citizens fleeing. Citizens making many trips with very little baggage at once easily avoided them. Ulbricht tried very hard to convince Soviet Union to take over West Berlin, but the Soviet Union wanted to keep peace with westerners. Finally, the Soviet leader, Stalin, backed Ulbricht and declared that West Berlin must be turned into a free city in six months. The Western powers did not comply with these demands and Stalin, after six months, did nothing in retaliation for being ignored. During the six month s that Stalin spoke of, the citizens of East Berlin feared their time was running short to flee to West Berlin, so in those six months, more people fled than had previously been fleeing. Walter Ulbrichts seven-year economy plan forced farmers to share their land, which upset farmers and caused them to flee to West Berlin. Also, Ulbricht put so much pressure on factory workers to increase industrial output, that many factory workers fled to West Berlin to escape it. This obviously upset Ulbricht and he was able to convince the Soviet Union that the only way to stop the mass fleeing of East Berlins citizens was to use force. Ulbricht had earlier promised There are people in West Germany who want us to mobilize the construction workers of the GDR or build a wall. I am not aware of any such plans. No one has the intention of constructing a wall. Ulbricht ultimately changed his mind. From July 17 until August 2, 1945, a conference was held by the victorious powers that had defeated Germ any. Truman, Churchill and Stalin met at Cecilienhof castle in Potsdam near Berlin. The Potsdam agreement was established, which determined the shape of post war Europe. The Berlin wall went up in the night of August 13, 1961, while most people were sleeping. By the evening of the following morning most of the first phase of the construction of the wall was completed and the border between West Berlin and East Berlin was closed. The original elements and large square blocks were first used on August 15, 1961. It was completely up within a month. On the West Berlin side of the wall, there were 90 checkpoints on the 45-kilometer border, which is 2 checkpoints every kilometer. On the East side of the wall, there were 78 checkpoints. A second build was added in addition to the original build to prevent escaping in June 1962. These first two generations were eventually replaced by a third generation in 1965, which itself was replaced by a fourth generation, named Stutzwandelement UL, in 1975, which lasted until the wall was torn down permanently. A single segment of the fourth generation wall was11.81 feet high, 3.937 feet wide, weighed 2,750 kilograms, and sold for 359 East German marks per segment. There were about 45,000 of these segments in the Berlin wall and ended up costing 16 million East German marks. (Note: at the time a loaf of bread was 1.04 marks.) From July 17 until August 2, 1945, a conference was held by the victorious powers that had defeated Germany. Truman, Churchill and Stalin met at Cecilienhof castle in Potsdam near Berlin. The Potsdam agreement was established, which determined the shape of post war Europe. On the morning of June 17, 1953, many citizens awoke to radio news that workers in East Berlin were rioting in the streets. It soon escalated and just before noon, they were marching through the Brandenburg Gate with the intension to consolidate with workers in West Berlin. However, it all came to a quick end when Russian tanks drew up and fired into the unarmed crowd. American troops and British troops made a show of force with tanks and troops, but they did not intervene. Decades passed, however, and the fight for freedom did not weaken. Once in a while, someone tried to get through to the west. Only a few made it, and in all, 70 people lost their lives trying to get to the other side. In the mid 1980s there was a change in east-west relations. The freeze of the cold war started to thaw. Ursula Dixon, a citizen who experienced the fall of the Berlin wall first hand. Mikhail Gorbachev became the new leader in the Soviet Union, and voiced his opinion about the need for reconstruction of his own country and the world in general. It is not easy to change the approaches on which East-West relations have been built for fifty years. But the new is knocking on every door and window. -Gorbachev. On October 8, 1989, a group of pacifists held a candle light vigil in a church in the city of Leipzig. Thousands took to the stre ets shouting, No more violence! and Join us, Join us! More and more people were joining in as the sounds echoed through every street. By October 16, the number of protesters had reached millions. Loudspeakers could be heard throughout the city, says Dixon. The protesters words of opposition were as follows: We have worked our fingers to the bone for this country, and we are not standing by to see it all fall into ruins. The truth has come to light. A nation that cannot keep their young at home has no future. We, the people, Demand:1.)The right to free access of information. Tony Robbins Case EssayChoosing the site for the capital of Germany was a heated issue that was debated across the country. The debate was centered around the question of keeping the government in Bonn, the provisional capital, or to move back to Berlin, the former capital. The chancellor, the Bundestag, and key officials would make the move to Berlin while thousands of lesser officials would continue to govern from Bonn. Finally, in the year 2000, Berlin became the capital of Germany for good. Other issues such as abortion, which was very liberal in East Germany and demands for educational reform, were brought to the government. In answer to the contradiction between East and West Germany, the bundestag finally passed a compromise bill, loosening the law to allow more abortions, while still keeping certain restrictions. The demands for educational reform were not as quickly answered as the demands of the easterners about abortion. Western schools, filled to capacity before reunifi cation, were very crowded with easterners looking for better education. The country really needed money to set up new education and training programs for new teachers. Kohls government was able to set aside DM 7 billion to meet the most urgent needs. As the Germans had different outlooks on different issues, they had grown to feel more differently towards each other than they did when the wall first came down. The obstacles were more than economic and political issues. Over the past forty years, many differences had developed between the two countries. Many easterners were unprepared for a life in a free society. The westerners were a modern and fast-paced society, while on the other hand the easterners were decades behind the West. Westerners were tired of the easterners who constantly whined about their trouble and did nothing to change them. They felt that if reunification were to succeed, it would be because of their western support, western ingenuity, and western money. Easterners complained that the westerners were extremely arrogant because they had so much money and would come to East Germany to purchase goods because everything is cheaper there. They felt that the westerners were possessive and viewed themselves as superior to the easterners. Eastern Germans had never dreamed that reunification would bring this many differences and division. This left them disillusioned just as freedom itself. Living in a democracy was not as carefree as they had imagined. Still the easterners struggled, but some eastern-oriented political groups gained support. The disagreements would still stand un til both sides forgot at least some of their differences. Reunification would not be complete until more Germans came together and remembered that they had once been partners in making a dream come true. Regardless of continued tension, experts predict that the German people will succeed. As proof, many easterners have adopted the western motto: work hard and gather the benefits later. Instead of complaining, citizens are working hard and rebuilding their lives. Many westerners have found that the higher taxes have not really changed their lives. However they have taken the wait-and-see attitude, hoping that the worst of their reunification troubles are over. While progress is being made between the Germans, experts believe that corrections in economic, political and social policies could help speed up the process of reunification. The new Germany is blessed with funds, expertise, and the drive to succeed. Reshaping and changing the lives of millions of people is not an easy task, but many Germans are willing to continue until the work is finished. Their reunification is dream is somewhat stifled, but it still survives with the hope of many Germans. Bishop Martin Kruse, former leader of the West German Protestant church, expressed a steadfast hope that is shared by millions of Germans: What becomes of all this will be left to history and the hand of God. I am neither a prophet nor a politician, but I believe that we are growing together, not apart. It may take years, decades, or even centuries until Germany is unified as one without all the troubles that have slowed the process, but with the hope and drive in the Germans heart, it can and will be finished. Works CitedBerlin Wall. The World Book Encyclopedia. 1997 ed. 266. Borneman, John. After The Wall. USA: Basic Books Inc, 1991Facts about Berlin Wall. http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/facts.htmThe Wall System. http://www.wall-berlin.org/gb/mur_tex11.htmlThe Fall of the Berlin Wall. http://www.andreas.com/berlin.htmlYancey, Diane. The Reunification of Germany. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books Inc, 1994. Gelb, Norman. The Berlin Wall. New York: Random House Inc, 1986Lilanger, Willaim. Berlin Wall. 1990 ed. 1016. Tus, Ann. The Last Division. Great Britain: Hodder and Stoughton, 1997. Berlin Wall. Great Events From History II: R 341.4 GRE, New York: 1992. Hafner, Katie. The House at the Bridge. New York, New York, 1995. Effects of the Berlin Wall. Encyclopedia Americana Vol. 3 pg. 597: New York, New York, 1999. World Book Millennium 2000. Berlin pg.498 Chicago, IL, 2000Britannica. Berlin Wall pg. 567. New York, NY. 1997THE TRAGEDY OF 9th OF NOVEMBER 1989 The Fall of the Berlin Wall http://www.guillotine.net/BerlinWall/tragedy.htmNOVODVORSKAYA Valeria The Berlin Wall Fell, but the Kremlin Walls are Still There http://www.online.ru/sp/chronicle-eng/22-Nov-99/102-eng.html