Berlin Wall- The Rise and Fall “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Ronald Reagan The words listed above stood as a battle cry to initiate a period of peace and prosperity between the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. For over twenty-nine years, the Berlin Wall or blockade separated Germany to prevent the flow of East Germans into West Germany. The Blockade limited travel between east and west Germany. Constructed in 1961, the wall is one of the most important symbols of the Cold War. At the end of World War II the fate of the German territories was decided during the Yalta and Postdam peace conferences. The Allies partitioned the defeated Germany into a Soviet-occupied zone, an American-occupied zone, a British-occupied zone and French-occupied zone. This began the four-way occupation of Berlin in 1945. Berlin, the German capital city, was located deep in the soviet-occupied zone.(History.com) Berlin was split down the middle with the Soviets on the east and the allies on the west. This occupation of Berlin, governed by the Kommandatura, began in June 1945. The Soviets were not interested in reuniting Germany and wanted a new …show more content…
Berlin and the Soviet’s role in communist East Germany was very present in the world’s political view. Soon after, East Germany’s communist regime was forced from power in October of 1989. By November 9th, the East German government opened the country’s borders for travel between East and West Berlin. Citizens from both sides stormed the wall demanding the opening of the gate. By midnight, the checkpoints were opened and people used any tools available to chip away at the wall. Over two million people from East Berlin visited West Berlin by the weekend. The reunification of East and West Germany is officially dated October 3, 1990 nearly a year to date of the fall of the wall. (Beevor,