The Cold War between the USA and USSR, which had commenced in the year 1947, was the initial sign of the ever-increasing tension between the two countries. This was the war that had divided the whole world into two sides- the reds and the blues. All the countries which were involved in the previous wars had now become battlefields for the two superpowers.
Germany at the time was still under the influence of the USSR, which soon changed when the USA sent aid money to help it develop. This polarised Germany as a whole, impacting trade and other economic activities as well. Berlin, being an important political centre, in particular, had been miserably stuck between these two sides for a long time. The Berlin Wall was a result of this division. The Wall, from 1961 to 1989, separated the eastern half from the western half: the east being controlled by the Soviets and the west by the U.S. and its alliances. Its purpose was to prevent the people from migrating from one side to the other.
This wall was a symbol of hate and war, and there were often instances of people trying to break through the wall, but they would, unfortunately, get shot at by the soldiers. However, those who did get through the wall, lived on to tell their tales. The people had been separated from their families and most times they weren’t even allowed to travel even after arranging legal permission. After several failed attempts to convince the government to bring down the wall, the people started protesting and showing their discontentment by painting the wall. There still exists stains of evidence of the graffiti that was done during the time. An article by Northeastern University talks about the conditions during the time in Germany as well as Russia.
The Berlin wall eventually started to fall because of the riots. “Tear down this wall!” was a speech made by United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the wall. The speech was made at the Brandenburg Gate near the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987. It was made to honour the 750th anniversary of Berlin. The tearing down of the wall symbolised the victory of love over hate, peace over war. This was an exceptionally emotional day for the people as they could now meet their families after three decades.
Some parts of the Walls remain intact to this day as a reminder of the awful times that we hopefully never have to go through again.
Devika Mulye