Fall of the Berlin Wall

You may have well heard of the Berlin Wall. It was the inner German border post World War 2. With the south-western and north side occupied by the capitalists and the eastern side in the hands of the communists Germany was now divided in two regions-the west and the east.

Divided!

The two main rivals were the US and Russia. The capitalist era, its charm and the amount of freedom attracted the eastern community and hence people started migrating to the west. This was a big worry for the communists and hence they came up with the decision of literally dividing the region with a physical barrier, the Berlin Wall!

The West and the East side

You can see in the Wikipedia pic the western side-colorful and reflecting free expression while the other side-was the restricted zone.

1,400-kilometre-long Berlin Wall went up in the early hours of August 13, 1961, and was constantly modified and reinforced until it fell 28 years later, having cost the lives of at least 136 people who tried to cross it..

As far as my knowledge goes the forceful division of this country into east and west also broke the hearts of people of that country. No contact could be established and thus people lost contact with their families staying on the other side and some were left nervous. Some tried to escape to the west through unbelievable ways! Nevertheless, at least 5,000 people managed to get across.

Through the gutter pipe-lines, by actually digging the ground and making a tunnel through the soil, hiding for days without food inside the vans, own unique ways such as home made rocket launchers, in their private planes, changing identities and so many other ways!

Those lucky got safely to the other side and the unfortunate ones were shot dead instantly…

I have heard and read some stories of people who escaped to the west and are still alive; they risked their lives for a hopeful future.

Today after 20 years, people are celebrating the fall of the wall, Germany has been reunited, but the history still remains in the minds of the affected people. The physical division has vanished but people are still divided this can be clearly noticed by just reading the stories of the German people. Also the west has seen tremendous growth while the east is struggling to keep up. East vastly depends upon the government subsidies and there is very low employment, the youths are migrating to the rich west.

east German

I had seen a documentary in which the people of the east themselves accepted the differences between them and the west; even as they stand united and without the wall.

There are cities in the east the stand up with the west but these are very few and they are the metropolitan ones.

All said! Now the east is also working towards progress and let’s hope for a great future of this country.

Deutschland uber alles!

Quick Google references:

The Wiki has a great description on this topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall

The DW-TV has put up a 3D realistic animation video with the help of historians and journalists: http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_single_mediaplayer/0,,4418618_type_video_struct_1432_contentId_4440098,00.html

I even found a precise article at: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/features/11/09/09/facts-about-berlin-wall

And there are many more…

THANKS! FOR YOUR COMMENT…

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