BERLIN WALL ANNIVERSARY
Font Size 
Berlin Wall: A look back at the symbol of Cold War
Published on Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 03:35 in World section
Tags: Berlin Wall, Germany
Related Stories
Photogallery
 |  |
It's exactly 20 years since the Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Cold War, was brought down. It was an event that marked the beginning of the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union itself in 1991.
November 9, 1989: The day the wall that separated two cultures but one people was brought down in a peaceful and bloodless manner.
After the end of the Second World War, Germany was divided into four military occupation zones – French, British, American and Soviet.
The Soviet zone was called East Germany and the territory held by the three allies was called West Germany. The city of Berlin was similarly split into two – East and West Berlin.
Between 1945 and 1961, around three million people moved to the West from Soviet-occupied East Germany and its closed economy. As migration from East Germany via West Berlin was the easiest escape route, East Germany's leaders came up with the idea of installing an obstruction to stop the physical movement. This was to be the Berlin Wall.
It was erected in the night of August 13, 1961 and went to become a symbol of confinement.
Over the years, more than 75,000 people were imprisoned for trying to leave East Germany without permission.
In 1987, then US president Ronald Reagan visited Berlin where he called on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to end the division.
In October 1989, Gorbachev visited East Berlin for the 40th anniversary of East Germany's founding. Gorbachev, who was promoting reform in the Soviet Union, called upon the East German leadership to do the same.
On 9 November, 1989, after months of pressure, the ruling Communist Party's media chief told reporters that the Politburo had decided to allow East Germans to travel to the West with immediate effect.
Later, it was revealed that the announcement had been bungled. But the damage had been done.
Berliners began crowding the checkpoints on the Wall within minutes of his televised remarks and thousands of people began to chip away at the wall with hammers and sickles.
By the time the night ended, the Berlin Wall had been brought down.
Eleven months later, Germany was reunited.
| Ads by Google |
| Related Ads: | |
Read Comment | Post Comment
The bringing down the Berlin Wall is a great symbol, showing the strength of unity and peace. Never has the
Read Comment
Read more comment »