1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall: the wall not only divided Berlin, it was a powerful symbol of the cold war. When it came crashing down 20 years ago, it literally changed the map of the world.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For several hours on the night of Nov. 9, 1989, an East German border guard named Harold Jaeger jaeger (yā`gər), common name for several members of the family Stercorariidae, member of a family of hawklike sea birds closely related to the gull and the tern. The skua is also a member of this family. hesitated. With astonishment, he had watched a Communist official say on TV that East Germans were now free to travel without getting special permission. He had no idea what was going on. In the almost three decades since the Berlin Wall had gone up in 1961, Jaeger had stood guard there. "That wall was my life," he recalled in an interview. "I'd defended it for 28 years." But shortly after 11 p.m., in the absence of instructions from superiors and in the face of a growing crowd, Jaeger gave the order to open the gates at his checkpoint. "I did not free Europe, or release my people, or any of that nonsense," Jaeger insisted. "It was that crowd in front of me and the hopeless confusion of my leadership that opened those gates." So began the end of the Cold War, the struggle between democracy and Communism that largely defined the world between 1945 and 1991. The pre-eminent symbol of that struggle, and the painful division of post-World War II Europe, was the Berlin Wall--a 96-mile barrier dotted with 302 sentry towers and gun emplacements, topped with razor wire, and protected by minefields. THE IRON CURTAIN Iron Curtain Political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern European allies from open contact with the West and other noncommunist areas. When the gates finally opened, crowds poured through from East Berlin to freedom. It wasn't clear at the time, but the end of Soviet domination of much of Europe--and the end of the Soviet Union itself--was soon to follow, leaving the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. as the sole global superpower. The Cold War began after the end of World War II End of World War II can refer to:
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During World War II, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, along with Britain and France, had fought as allies against Nazi Germany. As German forces retreated, Soviet troops advanced and ended up in control of most of Eastern Europe Eastern Europe The countries of eastern Europe, especially those that were allied with the USSR in the Warsaw Pact, which was established in 1955 and dissolved in 1991. and Germany by the time the war ended in 1945. A year later, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned that an "iron curtain" had descended, dividing Eastern and Western Europe Western Europe The countries of western Europe, especially those that are allied with the United States and Canada in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (established 1949 and usually known as NATO). . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Behind it, Communist governments took power in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Albania. Germany was partitioned into democratic West Germany West Germany: see Germany. and Communist East Germany East Germany: see Germany. . Berlin was located in East Germany, but because U.S., British, and French forces had captured West Berlin in 1945, the city was divided into democratic (West) and Communist (East) halves (see map, p. 18). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Between 1949 and 1961, 1.6 million people--10 percent of the population fled the political repression Political repression is the oppression or persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take part in the political life of society. and stagnant state-controlled economy of East Germany. The easiest escape mute was a subway ride from East Berlin to West Berlin, and by 1961, more than 10,000 East Germans were leaving every month. To halt the hemorrhaging, on August 13, the Soviets and the East Germans began building a concrete wall that slashed through Berlin, and soon imprisoned im·pris·on tr.v. im·pris·oned, im·pris·on·ing, im·pris·ons To put in or as if in prison; confine. [Middle English emprisonen, from Old French emprisoner : en- its 16 million people. East German guards were ordered to shoot anyone trying to get over the Wall, with more than 130 people killed trying to escape in the next three decades--in addition to the 1,200 who died trying to escape to the West from elsewhere in East Germany. The Wall divided Berlin, literally and figuratively, running through buildings and separating families. People had to stand on rooftops or climb street lamps to wave to relatives on the other side or show them newborn babies. Over the years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time western side of the Wall became a raucous, graffiti-covered tribute to free speech. On the eastern side, authorities tore down buildings to create an open area known as the "death strip," where soldiers in guard towers could shoot anyone trying to escape. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JFK & REAGAN "I know the Wall is an ugly thing," Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev Noun 1. Nikita Khrushchev - Soviet statesman and premier who denounced Stalin (1894-1971) Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev said soon after its construction. "But what was I to do? It isn't hard to work out how long it would have taken for the East German economy to collapse unless we took immediate action against the mass exodus." So why did the U.S. and its allies allow the Berlin Wall to be built in the first place? After 1945, the U.S. decided to confront Communism through containment rather than risk nuclear war. Containment meant applying patient pressure--military, economic, and moral and avoiding a frontal attack 1. An offensive maneuver in which the main action is directed against the front of the enemy forces. 2. (DOD only) In air intercept, an attack by an interceptor aircraft that terminates with a heading crossing angle greater than 135 degrees. . While the Wall imprisoned people and symbolized the division of Europe, it was not a land grab land grab n. An aggressive taking of land, especially by military force, in order to expand territorial holdings or broaden power: "The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was . . . . From the start, President John E Kennedy showed his solidarity with West Berliners. On June 26, 1963, standing in front of West Berlin's City Hall, he declared: "As a free man, I take pride in the words, Ich bin ein Berliner "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a citizen of Berlin") is a famous quotation from a June 26, 1963, speech of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in West Berlin. He was underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after the Soviet-supported Communist ." ("I am a Berliner.") His words made it clear that Berlin was the epicenter of the West's struggle to free Europe from Soviet control. Twenty-four years after Kennedy, in 1987, another American President
"Secretary General Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization lib·er·al·ize v. lib·er·al·ized, lib·er·al·iz·ing, lib·er·al·iz·es v.tr. To make liberal or more liberal: "Our standards of private conduct have been greatly liberalized . . . : come here, to this gate," Reagan said. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall "Tear down this wall" was the famous challenge from United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall. In a speech at the Brandenburg Gate, by the Berlin Wall, on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Gorbachev, then the General ." Gorbachev never did order East Germany to tear down to demolish violently; to pull or pluck down. - Shak. See also: Tear the Wall. But by the late 1980s, the Soviet Union was militarily drained, economically stretched, and morally sapped. The Soviets no longer had the discipline or conviction to maintain a failed economic and political system based on the threat of violence toward dissenters dissenters: see nonconformists. . The first break in the Iron Curtain came two years after Reagan's visit. Some of the Soviet "satellite" nations had been gradually liberalizing their political and economic systems in the 1980s. When Hungary opened its border with Austria in August 1989, thousands of East Germans (who were allowed to travel to other Soviet satellites) headed to Hungary as a way to escape to the West. Demonstrations soon broke out all over East Germany, with a million people gathering in East Berlin on November 1 to demand freedom. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A NEW ERA A week after Gorbachev made it clear that Soviet troops in East Germany would not intervene, East Germany began opening checkpoints at the Wall and allowing East Berliners to cross. Jubilant West Berliners met them on the other side. Disbelief soon gave way to euphoria; people danced on the Wall, while others took turns swinging sledgehammers to tear it down. The Wall had held back the tide of history for almost 30 years; once it was breached, change came at a furious pace, sweeping Europe and the world into a new era. A year later, East and West Germany were reunited, and in 1991, the Soviet Union itself collapsed. After four decades, Russia--as the country is once again called and the U.S. are no longer adversaries, if not exactly friends or allies. With the U.S. as the sole remaining superpower, there was a great deal of talk about a "new world order" free of conflict and a "Pax Americana Pax Americana (Latin: "American Peace") is a term to describe the period of relative peace in the Western world since the end of World War II in 1945, coinciding with the dominant military and economic position of the United States. "--a reference to the Pax Romana Pax Romana (Latin; “Roman Peace”) State of comparative tranquility throughout the Mediterranean world from the reign of Augustus (27 BC–AD 14) to that of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161–180). The concord also included North Africa and Persia. , when Rome was the sole superpower of the ancient world. "At that moment, there was a kind of euphoria," says Sheldon Himelfarb of the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. "There was a hope of a more peaceful, more prosperous, more interconnected world." But it wasn't long before conflicts, new and old, resurfaced: Ethnic tensions (many of which had been suppressed under Communist rule) sparked wars in the Balkans and genocide in Rwanda. And in the Middle East, the rise of Islamic fundamental ism fueled terrorism against the West, with the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. coming just 12 years after the fall of the Wall. "The bipolar world was suddenly a multilateral world, and we are not ready for it," says Himelfarb. "We have a lot of learning to do." COLD WAR TIMELINE [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1945 YALTA CONFERENCE Yalta Conference, meeting (Feb. 4–11, 1945), at Yalta, Crimea, USSR, of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. In February, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin meet at Yalta, in the Soviet Union, to discuss plans for postwar Europe. Germany surrenders three months later. 1947 MARSHALL PLAN Marshall Plan or European Recovery Program, project instituted at the Paris Economic Conference (July, 1947) to foster economic recovery in certain European countries after World War II. The Marshall Plan took form when U.S. With postwar Europe in ruins and the U.S. worried about Soviet expansion, Washington launches a massive economic recovery program for Western Europe. Named for Secretary of State George Marshall the plan provides billions in aid. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1948-49 BERLIN AIRLIFT Berlin airlift, 1948–49, supply of vital necessities to West Berlin by air transport primarily under U.S. auspices. It was initiated in response to a land and water blockade of the city that had been instituted by the Soviet Union in the hope that the Allies In June 1948, the Soviet Union blockades West Berlin, the only part of East Germany not under Soviet control The U.S. and its allies begin a daily airlift of food and supplies to keep the city from starving. The Soviets Lift the blockade in May 1949. 1950-53 KOREAN WAR Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. Communist North Korea invades South Korea in June 1950. U.S. forces, Led by the U.S., defend South Korea, while China backs the North. The war, in which 36,000 Americans die, lasts three years and ends in a stalemate. 1957 SPUTNIK Sputnik: see satellite, artificial; space exploration. Sputnik Any of a series of Earth-orbiting spacecraft whose launching by the Soviet Union inaugurated the space age. The Soviets send the first satellite into orbit, catching the U.S. off guard and launching the "space race." The U.S. ultimately "wins" when it lands the first men on the moon in July 1969. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1962 CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS U.S. spy planes discover nuclear sites being built by the Soviets in Cuba. After a 13-day standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that takes the world to the brink of nuclear war, the Soviets remove the missiles. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1960s-1975 VIETNAM WAR Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. In 1965, the U.S. sends troops to aid South Vietnam South Vietnam: see Vietnam. in its war against Communist North Vietnam North Vietnam: see Vietnam. , which is supported by the Soviets and the Chinese. By the time the war ends in 1975, 58,000 Americans have died. 1979 AFGHAN INVASION Soviet troops invade Afghanistan. With help from the U.S., Pakistan, and others, Islamic insurgents Insurgents, in U.S. history, the Republican Senators and Representatives who in 1909–10 rose against the Republican standpatters controlling Congress, to oppose the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the dictatorial power of House speaker Joseph G. Cannon. known as mujahideen mujahideen Arabic mujahidun (“those engaged in jihad”) In its broadest sense, those Muslims who proclaim themselves warriors for the faith. Its Arabic singular, mujahid, was not an uncommon personal name from the early Islamic period onward. wage a 10-year guerilla war against the Soviets, who withdraw in 1989. 1985 GORBACHEV'S RISE Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Leader of the Soviet Union. In response to his nation's dire economic situation, he introduces free-market reforms known as perestroika, and a limited expansion of political freedom known as glasnost glasnost (gläs`nōst), Soviet cultural and social policy of the late 1980s. Following his ascension to the leadership of the USSR in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev began to promote a policy of openness in public discussions about current and . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1991 SOVIET COLLAPSE After popular uprisings sweep away Communist regimes in much of Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union formally disbands and Gorbachev (above, with President George H. W. Bush  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. ) gives up power.
CRITICAL THINKING Divide the class in half with a barrier of desks. Assign one half to represent West Berlin and the other to represent East Berlin. Ask students to share their thoughts of their lives, their country, and the future. The East German government called the Wall the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart." Why? What did the Wall represent to Berliners, East and West, as welt welt n. 1. A ridge or bump on the skin caused by a lash or blow or sometimes by an allergic reaction. 2. See wheal. as to people in other parts of the world? WRITING PROMPT Write a first-person narrative from the perspective of someone on one side of the Berlin Wall. How does this person view the Wall and the governments and people on either side? How has it changed his or her life and how might things change if the Wall were dismantled? DEBATE Support or refute: The U.S. and its allies should have taken a stand against the building of the Berlin Wall. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What did the East German government hope the Wail would keep in and keep out? Why do you think Winston Churchill's imagery of the "Iron Curtain" was so powerful? What weakened the Soviet Union and its control of other countries by the late 1980s? Who took down the Wall, both literally and figuratively? How and why? What did the "Pax Americana" refer to? Why was the euphoria over the end of the Cold War so short-lived? FAST FACT The Brandenburg Gate is the only structure incorporated into the Wail that is still standing. It is located near Checkpoint Charlie, which is now the Berlin Wail Museum. WEB WATCH www.newseum.org/berlinwall The Newseum's interactive online exhibit on news coverage of the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 to its destruction in 1989 QUIZ 3 TIMES PAST (1) Put these events in chronological order: a President Kennedy states, "Ich bin ein Berliner" b Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech c East Germany opens checkpoints in the Wall d Work begins on the Berlin Wall e Collapse of the Soviet Union f Beginning of the Cold War g Hungary opens its border with Austria (2) Which of the following is not true of the Soviet Union in the decade following the end of World War II? a It began to stockpile nuclear weapons. b It controlled East Berlin. c It helped Communists take control of countries across Eastern Europe. d It was on the brink of economic collapse. (3) Until the Berlin Wall was built, a the Soviet Union controlled the border between East and West Berlin. b the U.S. maintained a Laissez-faire attitude about the partitioning of Berlin. c it was fairly easy to flee East Berlin and enter West Berlin. d East German guards patrolled the city's streets. (4) The U.S. and its allies did not intervene to stop the building of the Berlin Watt because a there was no economic reason to do so. b they feared sparking a war, possibly a nuclear war, with the Soviet Union. c it was unclear what this physical, division would do to the city. d East German leaders refused to talk to them. (5) In 1987, President Reagan famously challenged Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "--." a tear down this wall b join a Pax Americana c set your people free d pull back the Iron Curtain IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS (1) Why did change come at such a fast pace after the Berlin Watt came down? What were some of the political, social, and economic effects of that event? (2) What other countries have employed physical barriers to keep people or ideologies in or out? How are those examples similar to and different from the Berlin Wall? ANSWER KEY QUIZ 3 (1) f, b, d, a, g, c, e (2) [d] It was on the brink of economic collapse. (3) [c] It was fairly easy to flee East Berlin and enter West Berlin. (4) [b] They feared sparking a war, possibly a nuclear war, with the Soviet Union. (5) [a] tear down this wall PHOTO ANALYSIS [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANALYZE THE PHOTO (See page 17 in the magazine) (1) What two groups of people are shown in this photograph? How might each group have felt about the events taking place? (2) What do you think the photographer heard when taking this picture? (3) What did the destruction of the Wall by ordinary citizens symbolize? ESSAY What physical barriers separate groups of people around the world today, and why? Craig R. Whitney is an assistant managing editor of The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times. Additional reporting by Roger Cohen of The Times. 1989: THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL (1) During the Cold War America and its What is Communism? allies worked to contain the spread of this ideology. (2) Former British Prime Minister What is an iron Winston Churchill said that this had curtain? descended across Europe, dividing East from West. (3) Construction of the Berlin Wall What is 1961? begin in this year. (4) After World War II, the U.S. and its What is nuclear war? allies decided that confronting Communism through containment was better than the risk of this. (5) The collapse of this superpower was a What is the Soviet Union? direct result of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. |
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