The Berlin Wall, also known as the wall of shame, was a wall that was built between East and West Germany between 1961-1989. The effect of the events related to the Berlin Wall has not been forgotten for years. The wall separating many families and individuals from each other caused the death of hundreds of people. The reason for the construction of the wall, which has a long history, the events that took place and its subsequent demolition are extremely important in terms of history.
Berlin Wall, II. It has been one of the worst processes that Germany has gone through, losing the World War II. In 1952, the borders between eastern and western Germany became clear. The Berlin Wall was built overnight in 1961. 240 people lost their lives trying to cross the Berlin Wall, which is approximately 46 kilometers in length. At first, the immigration was tried to be prevented by putting wire mesh on the concrete wall, but 270 thousand people managed to pass the wall and reached West Germany.
People’s Reason for Escape from East Germany
The German lands, which lost the war, were divided by the Berlin occupation forces into 4 parts as British, French, American and Soviet zones. Later, it was decided to unify these units, but the Soviet Union did not participate in the unification. The Soviet Union planned to establish an authoritarian regime economically. For this reason, a front and power emerged against the Soviet administration on the East German side. The Soviet administration, which wanted to prevent this, established an authoritarian administration as a solution and increased the pressure. The people, overwhelmed by the oppressive authority, began to flee from East Germany to West Germany. The Berlin Wall was built to prevent these migrations. Among the reasons why people want to migrate; In addition to the pressures applied by the administration, there are factors such as economic problems, restrictions and fear.
The eastern side of the wall was painted white in order to recognize those who escaped. Mines were laid around the wall and 106 watchtowers were built. Lighting system has been made to the parts covering large areas of the wall, dogs have been placed and steel doors have been placed. Despite all these obstacles, 5 thousand people managed to pass the wall with many different methods such as tunnels and balloons.
Bernauer Strasse Town was one of the places most damaged by the Berlin Wall. Since the windows of the houses in the town face the eastern part, people were able to jump out of the windows and pass to the western part. In order to prevent these escapes, first the windows of the houses were built with walls, then the houses were completely demolished.
After it was accepted that the Berlin Wall could not prevent the escape, the German Democratic Republic declared that the passages were free in 1989. With this announcement, many people living in the eastern and western parts came to the wall and united. After this liberation, East German communism collapsed and the Cold War period ended. On June 13, 1990, the official demolition of the wall was started and the demolition was completed in 1992. On the day the wall fell, Angela Merkel was among the thousands of people who crossed the barrier and crossed into West Germany. With the complete collapse of the wall, the two sides united. Unification day is celebrated with official ceremonies in Germany.
Germany, which suffered from the Berlin wall of shame for many years, gained its freedom with the collapse of the wall. After the decision to demolish the wall was announced, many artists came together and made various drawings on the white eastern side of the wall. Today, the wall has no concrete effect, but its intangible effect continues to live on in people’s memories. It is possible to see the remains of the wall from many parts of the city. There are exhibits and museums in many places along the wall. The Berlin Wall is exhibited as a monument in many parts of the world.
