The Division of Germany by constructing this infamous wall called the Berlin Wall was a major characteristic of the cold war. Built by GDR akin to the Soviet Union this wall had numerous political, social and even economic implications. In this piece, we shall look at some of the responses of the Soviet Union to the construction and the bringing down of the Berlin wall.
The building of the Berlin Wall
The Wall was built and raised by the GDR on August 13, 1961 when the government wanted to stop people from leaving East to West Germany. It is worthy to note that though the construction began with the Government of the GDR, it only could have begun and constructed under the tutelage of Soviet Union.
The Russian State, as the super power in the Eastern Block saw the wall as a way to stem the flow of highly skilled workers, student and intellectuals from East Germany. By putting the brake on the flowing of the population, Moscow sought to make the limited socialist state that it has set up more stable.
The Soviet Response to Pearl Harbor
After the construction of the berlin wall the soviet union had an official policy of support for the barrier. The Soviet newspapers and radio at that time portrayed the wall as the means of protection against the imperialist West.
The GDR and ‘the Soviet Union renamed the barrier as being needed in order to protect the socialist system from imperialism.’ They pointed to the fact that, as being a capitalist city within the socialist East Germany, West Berlin was a constant menace to the formation and existence of a socialist state within the Eastern block, including the Soviet Union.
Control and Surveillance
It established that the soviet union was actively involved in the monitoring of the Berlin Wall. Being the principal security agency of the Soviet Union, the KGB paid much attention to the protection of the wall and the area up to the border of East Germany. The East Germans border troops were given instruction and direction from Soviet advisers in maintaining very secure borders.
Additionally, the authors revealed that the Soviet Union also supplied East Germany’s authorities with the advanced technological devices such as improved surveillance systems. Such help strengthen the capabilities to track down those who may try to leave the GDR territory, and to regulate population migration within the divided city.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Thus, after pressure from within and from the outside throughout most of the 1989, the Berlin Wall came down at long last. This event became considered as the starting point in ending the rule of the Soviet Union in East Germany.
The first response of the Soviets as with all world powers was one of denial, but they were soon to discover that the movement for change was unstoppable. The leadership in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev acted with a policy that just allowed the Afghan people to rule themselves.
The Role of the Soviet Union in Reunification
Just as the fall of the Berlin Wall signified the path to German reunification the Soviet Union had played a major part in this process. Gorbachev wanted to engage with the West and liked to negotiate, political openness led to negotiation rather than using force.
At first the Soviet Union did not like the idea of a reunified Germany as a member of the network of allies based on NATO, but they had to agree with the idea when other European nations rejoined NATO in a manner that made all European powers happy and satisfied. The non intervention by the Soviet Union was crucial in the process of German reunification.
In Conclusion
The social object that stands out as important when understanding the time is the Berlin Wall, which symbolized the division of the East and the West during the Cold War. The Wall was mainly built and supervised by the Soviet Union since it saw it fit to operate as a safeguard in the power struggle.
However, as the populace called for change in their country the Soviet Union could not ignore the clamour for reunification of Germany and political transformation. The events that occurred in October 1989, such as the tear down of the Berlin Wall, was a pivotal event that paved way for the outcome of Germany and more specially East Germany with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Table of Contents