The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the most remarkable events of the end of the 20th century and took place at the turn of the 9th to the 10th of November 1989. The fall of this wall was one of the chapters that marked the decadence of the socialist bloc that existed in Eastern Europe and started a process that culminated in the reunification of Germany, in 1990.
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Understanding the construction of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a product of the Cold War and it was precisely because of the weakening of this political and ideological conflict that it collapsed. Its construction was a consequence of the division of Germany , after the Second World War. Defeated, Germany was occupied by troops from four countries:France, United Kingdom, USA and USSR.
This occupation was decisive for the future of Germany, since the areas occupied by the French, British and Americans came under influence capitalist and the part occupied by the Soviets came under influence socialist. This caused Germany to be divided into two nations (as did Vietnam and Korea).
The Federal Republic of Germany (RFA) was called Germany Western, it had its capital in West Berlin and was an ally of the United States. The German Democratic Republic (GDR), in turn, was known as Germany Oriental , had its capital in East Berlin and was an ally of the Soviet Union. This division of Germany was one of the hallmarks of the Cold War.
The two German governments emerged motivated by the political and ideological dispute that developed between the Americans and the Soviets after World War II. The rivalry was something that marked the relationship of the two countries. It soon became evident that West Germany offered greater political openness as well as a more thriving economy.
As there were no barriers between the Germanies, the flow of people happened freely and with West Germany offering better living conditions to its population, the inhabitants of East Germany began to move for there. Between 1948 and 1961, some three million people fled from the GDR to the FRG.
This was a big problem for the East German authorities, mainly because the country lost a lot of skilled labor as a result. The solution found by the GDR was to build a wall to isolate West Berlin. As a result, a physical barrier was built that made it difficult for GDR citizens to flee to the GDR. The Berlin Wall was officially erected on August 13, 1961 .
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Why did the wall come down?
The fall of the Berlin Wall relates to the disintegration of the bloc of socialist nations in Eastern Europe. The 1980s were a decade of crisis for the socialist bloc in general, and the situation was no different for East Germany. The main focus of the crisis was the bad economy of the country and the hard living situation of the vast majority of the population.
In the 1980s, East Germany's economic situation was very bad, but to mask the situation, the country's ruler, Erich Honecker , provided subsidies that kept the population's consumption warm. The situation in East Germany was worsened by the fact that the government of that country refused to carry out structural reforms that were necessary.
The country faced increasing external debt, growing deficit trade and investments in the country's structural development were stagnant. In addition, the East German economy was fully planned, which generated a large bureaucracy that reinforced the stagnation of the country .
The bad economic situation was worsened by the government authoritarianism of that country. There was no room for political dissent and Stasi (political police) acted energetically to persecute all opponents of the regime. This situation of economic crisis and lack of political freedom generated a dissatisfied population that wanted to leave the country, but could not, because the borders were closed.
Popular dissatisfaction resulted in a series of popular demonstrations in major cities in East Germany. In 1989, for example, Berlin Oriental , Leipzig and Dresden witnessed the largest popular demonstrations against the GDR regime since the 1950s. Events in other socialist bloc countries reinforced East Germany's political crisis.
In May 1989, Hungary decreed the opening of its borders with the West and this generated a large flow of East German citizens there. Those people who were going to Hungary wanted to take advantage of the opening of the Hungarian borders to go to Austria. Once in Austria, they could apply for asylum in West Germany.
Protests in East Germany gained strength, as the country's regime refused to carry out reforms, such as those taking place in the Soviet Union at the time, for example. At the end of October, Egon Krenz he replaced Erich Honecker at the helm of the GDR and carried out a series of emergency reforms, such as an amnesty for political prisoners. The changes, however, came too late.
On November 8, a series of GDR ministers tendered their resignation and the government presented a proposal to open borders with West Germany for consideration by the country's parliament. The situation spiraled out of control when, on November 9, government spokesman Günter Schabowski mistakenly announced that the borders with West Germany were immediately open.
The announcement was made live on national television during a press conference. In the following hours, thousands of people went to the crossing points demanding the right to pass into West Berlin. As the guards did not understand what was happening, they prevented the population from crossing.
To avoid a tragedy, Egon Krenz himself authorized the opening of borders and thousands of people cross the crossing to West Berlin. Ecstatic, people gathered around the Berlin Wall and began their depredation . With the end of border restrictions, there was no longer any reason for the wall to exist, so the population began to tear it down on the night of November 9th.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was only a symbolic act, but it marked the beginning of a political process that culminated in the reunification of Germany . West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, committed to this and, on October 3, 1990, Germany was reunified and the socialist side ceased to exist.
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