Berlin Wall

Why was Berlin wall demolished?

The Berlin Wall was demolished because the Government of the German Democratic Republic could not continue containing the claims of its citizens due to free circulation between borders and greater freedoms. This occurred in the general context of crisis that crossed the eastern communist block and which led to the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Berlin Wall Construction Background

At the end of World War II, one of the central problems for the victorious powers was what to do with Germany. The country had been divided into four zones, occupied by the troops of the different allied countries: United Kingdom, France, the United States and the Soviet Union. Berlin, the German capital, was located in the area controlled by the USSR; But the city was also divided between the four powers .

In turn, the United States and the USSR began to rival for their power and political influence worldwide, which gave rise to the cold war. In this framework, the competition for the imposition of two different and opposite socioeconomic models began: communism or capitalism.

In 1948, Western Allies (United Kingdom, the United States and France) introduced a new currency (the German framework) with the assistance of the Marshall Plan (Economic Plan promoted by the United States for the economic reconstruction of Europe) in the west of the country. This harmed the economy of the area occupied by the Soviet Union.

In response, Stalin (the leader of the USSR) ordered the blockade of all accesses by land to Berlin and prevented the entry of food and property. Stalin considered that, in this way, Western allies would end up giving the total capital. However, the Western allies created an “air bridge” through which the airplanes of the western allied side carried 4,700 tons per day of supplies.

Finally, in 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade of the city. That same year, Western allies officially created the Federal Republic of Germany (RFA, also known as West Germany). They established a parliamentary regime with the ruler Konrad Adenauer and maintained a capitalist economy, promoted by the consumption of goods and assisted by the Marshall Plan.

In the east, The USSR founded the German Democratic Republic (RDA, also known as Eastern Germany) and established a single party government regime in the hands of the Unified Socialist Party of Germany (SED). In turn, the economy was structured around the forced collectivization of industry and land within the framework of the construction of a State with centralized economic planning.

Berlin's crisis

The four -party occupation of the capital of Reich left Western Berlin as an advanced position of the capitalist bloc in the middle of the GDR . This area of ​​the city became a fundamental geostrategic enclave for Western allies since it functioned as a espionage center, antisovietic propaganda and military troop settlement.

On the other hand, The RFA experienced an “economic miracle” that transformed it into one of the world's fastest growing and stronger economies . This was largely due to the assistance of the Marshall Plan, a US plan for the economic reconstruction of Europe after World War II.

In the case of the RFA, the plan established a monetary reform for a “market social economy”, in accordance with the government, corporations and unions. This growth and the circulation of a variety of consumer goods (the “comforts” of capitalist life) led to a massive migration of inhabitants from Eastern Berlin to Western Berlin .

Much of the Berliners who moved to the western zone were qualified, bourgeois and professionals of the middle class. This, in turn, generated a crisis in the Eastern Berlin labor market.

Given this situation, on November 27, 1958, Nikita Jrushchov (the leader of the USSR) threatened Western powers about Berlin's situation and gave them a period of six months to reach a new agreement. His proposal was for Western Berlin to have the statute of “Free City” and be out of the control of Western powers. Otherwise, the USSR would give the control of accesses and sovereignty over the territory totally to the GDR. This threat is known as the “Berlin Ultimatum.”

The Western powers and the RFA government rejected the ultimatum . Instead, they offered Jrushchov to create a negotiating table between the four powers with the condition that the USSR abandoned block threats and force use. The negotiations were developed in the following three years and were affected by the different policies carried out by the Governments of the RDA and the RFA.

The construction of the Berlin Wall

At the beginning of 1961, Walter Ulbricht (the thirst leader who ruled the GDR) began to establish increasingly rigid controls in the streets of Berlin in search of undermining the rights of allies gradually.

Its objective was to force the situation for the USSR to support a drastic measure that would allow it to take the total city. However, it had the opposite effect: Jrushchov intervened directly to censor that action and opposed decision making unilaterally in the GDR.

Meanwhile, JF Kennedy (the president of the United States) and Jrushchov met in Vienna in 1961 to continue negotiations. However, there was no agreement since Kennedy refused to move the western position in relation to his three fundamental points (known as “Three Essentials”): Maintenance of the western presence in Western Berlin, maintenance of the right of access, free choice by the West Berlin of its political regime.

The acceleration of the East Berlin Berlin Rhythm to Western Berlin led to the government of The GDR will order the creation of a wall to separate both areas of the city . The construction began surprisingly on the night of August 12, 1961. Intensifying control over the borders and, in addition, completely isolating Western Berlin.

In the West the Berlin wall was called as the “Wall of Shame.” Its construction outraged Western public opinion, further discredited Soviet position and became the painful symbol of the cold war and communist totalitarian oppression.

Berlin Wall Characteristics

The original wall was made of spike wire and cement blocks . Then, the construction was strengthened and replaced by concrete walls finished with a patch wire in its upper part. In addition, surveillance towers, weapons and mines locations were built. Over time, An electrified fences system was added . A border guard system was also created with police dogs and antivehicle barriers.

Towards 1980, The Berlin wall reached 45 kilometers in length that divided the city into two and another 120 kilometers of wall surrounded Western Berlin to separate it from the rest of Eastern Germany. Most of the wall had between 2.5 and 3.5 meters high, although in some parts it could reach 5 meters high. In total, more than 300 surveillance towers had been built.

It is estimated that About 5,000 inhabitants of Eastern Germany managed to cross the Berlin wall and escape to Western Germany. It is also estimated that another 5,000 were captured by the border police and almost 200 people were killed in their attempt to cross the wall.

The fall of the Berlin Wall

During the 1980s, The communism of the eastern block began to enter a deep political, economic and social crisis . Claims against oppressive governments spread throughout Eastern Europe and reached the German Democratic Republic.

In the GDR there were serious problems of supply of essential goods. In addition, the Government Secret Police (known as the Stasi) continuously overwhelmed individual freedoms and maintained oppressive control over the population. The circulation was controlled and the country's graduation was prohibited.

On the other hand, Mikhail Gorbachov (the leader of the USSR) initiated a non -intervention policy in the internal affairs of communist countries. In that context, Different sectors of the population began to demand more and more political, economic and social reforms . However, the Stasi and the Police intensified repression and the government refused to introduce changes.

In May 1989, Hungary (communist) and Austria (capitalist) opened a border step . This created an escape bridge for the Eastern Germans through the Hungarian border. Thousands of citizens requested refuge in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia and requested permits to get out of the country. In September, free circulation was established on the border of Austria and Hungary and About 40,000 Germans crossed the West .

Meanwhile, protests within the country continued to grow. The tensions led to a crisis within the thirst between conservatives and reformists that led to Honeker's dismissal (the ruler of the GDR).

Finally, given political instability and the continuous increase in manifestations, On November 9, 1989, the border traffic between East Germany and Western Germany was enabled already through the Berlin Wall . Thousands of citizens began to cross the borders. In Berlin, the Germans demonstrated destroying the wall with spikes and hammers. The following year, free elections were convened in the RDA.

The fall of the Berlin wall became the symbol of the crisis of the communist oriental block and the end of the cold war . In 1991, the USSR was finally dissolved. The wave of democratization reached the different countries of the eastern block that, throughout the 1990s, began their transition to a capitalist economy and society.

The American vision on the Berlin Wall

In 1963, the president of the United States John F. Kennedy traveled to Berlin and delivered one of his most famous speeches, known as “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” (which in German means “I am a Berlin”). Kennedy gave his speech on a platform next to the Berlin wall and surrounded by a large multitude of people.

As on different occasions throughout his career, he let himself be carried in his oratory and moved away from the text of his speech. In this case, their words generated so much emotion that several people passed out among the crowd.

Fragments of John F. Kennedy's speech in Berlin

June 11, 1963

“Two thousand years makes it boast that “Civis Romanus Sum” was Today in the world of freedom, it boasts that “Ich Bin Ein Berliner.”

There are many people in the world who really does not understand or says that it does not understand what the big difference between the free world and the communist world is. Tell them to come to Berlin.

There are some who say that communism is the movement of the future. Tell them to come to Berlin.

There are some who say in Europe and elsewhere “we can work with the communists.” Tell them to come to Berlin.

And there are a few who say that it is true that communism is a diabolical system but that allows economic progress. Tell them to come to Berlin.

Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect. But we don't have to put a wall to keep our people, to prevent them from leaving us. I mean on behalf of my citizens who live many miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who despite this distance from you, they are proud of what they have done for you, from a distance in history in the last 18 years.

I do not know a city, no town that has been besieged for eighteen years and living with vitality and strength and hope and determination of the city of Western Berlin.

While the wall is the most obvious and living demonstration of the failure of the communist system, everyone can see that we have no satisfaction in it, for us, as the mayor has said, it is an offense not only against history, but also an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and sisters and sisters and dividing people who want to live together.

What is the truth of this city of Germany? Real peace in Europe can never be assured while a German of every four is denied the elementary right to be a free man, and who can choose a free path.

In eighteen years of peace and good confidence this generation of Germans has perceived the right to be free, including the right to union of their families, to the union of their nation in peace and good will with all peoples.

You live on a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the most important. Allow me to ask you as I conclude, raising your eyes above the dangers of today and the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the merely freedom of this city of Berlin and all the peoples of Germany advance towards freedom, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond you or us of all humanity.

Freedom is indivisible and when a man is enslaved, who is free? When everyone is free, they can look at that day, when this city is gathered and this country and this great continent of Europe is in peace and hope.

When that day finally arrives and the people of the Western Berlin can have a moderate satisfaction in the fact that they are in the front line almost two decades.

All free men, wherever they live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as free men, I proudly say these words “Ich bin ein Berliner.”

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References

• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023). “Berlin Wall”. Britannica Encyclopedia https://www.britannica.com/
• Judge, EH, & Langdon, JW (eds.). (2017). “Kennedy's Berlin Speech, June 1963: Ich Bin Ein Berliner. ” The Cold War Through Documents: A Global History. Rowman & Littlefield.
• Tato, Mi, Bubello, JP, Castello, AM and Campos, E. (2011). History of the second half of the twentieth century. Estrada
• Van Dijk, R., Gray, WG, Savranskaya, S., Suri, J., & Zhai, Q. (eds.). (2013). “Berlin Crisis, 1958-1963”. Encyclopedia of the Cold War. Routledge.