In 1961, the Berlin Wall was built to divide the city of Berlin between the East Berlin controlled by the Soviet Union and West Berlin controlled by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. During the Cold War, it was a physical and ideological boundary separating the democratic West and communist East. And where the Soviet bloc was behind the East Side of the Berlin Wall, the West Side of the Berlin Wall stood for something else, for another world.
The West Side of the Berlin Wall: A Haven of Freedom
The free and democratic side of the city is the West Side of the Berlin Wall. The heavily fortified border had one haven of freedom, democracy, capitalism. West Berlin was a symbol of western values and demonstrated the complete contrast between life in a capitalist West and a communist East.
Features of the West Side of the Berlin Wall
1. Allied Checkpoints
Unlike the guarded East Side, the West Side of the Berlin Wall did have checkpoints where residents of West Berlin, foreigners, diplomatic personnel could cross into East Berlin with the right documentation. Amongst all these checkpoints, the most famous one was Checkpoint Charlie which was recognised internationally and even became a symbol of the Cold War.
2. Prosperity and Western Influence
The United States and its allies had provided the United States with West Berlin, heavily supported by them. Investments and aid were a way of the economy growing to it. It was a place of attraction by artists, musicians, and intellectuals and therefore helped to constitute a vibrant and creative atmosphere of the region. That was capitalism at its best, as the dynamism of the western world and its cultural freedom was on the West Side of the Berlin Wall.
3. Cultural Landmarks
There were many cultural landmarks and attractions lying on the West Side of the Berlin Wall. The world-renowned Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of Berlin, lies on the West Side. Among other such sites are the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Reichstag, and the Kurfürstendamm boulevard.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall and Reunification
The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 after peaceful protests and new political patterns. This event was the first of several events that led to official reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990. The breaking down of the Berlin Wall was the epitome of the cold war era and also signalled democracy taking up upper hand over communism.
Conclusion
During the Cold War, the Berlin Wall’s West Side represented freedom, capitalism and democracy. Now more than ever, it demonstrated how polar opposite the two ideological blocks were and how dynamic and what a prosperous place the western world was. Today, the signs of the past division are fading and in their place, the Berlin Wall offers a powerful reminder of the divided past and how Germany came together as one.
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