The Berlin Wall was arguably the most significant symbol of the Cold War. After the end of World War II, Germany became a divided country between the Soviet Union in the east, and Western powers. Before long, tensions between the Soviet Union and the Western powers began to increase over disputes surrounding the administration of defeated Germany. Although a few military confrontations occurred, there was no significant fighting and very little bloodshed, giving the era the handle known as the “Cold War.”
Occupation Zones: As per the Potsdam Conference in July-August, 1945, Germany was divided into four occupational zones to be managed by each of the four powers on the victorious side: United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Geographically, the Soviet Union controlled the eastern zone that corresponded roughly with the territory it seized in the closing months of the war. The remaining territory, mostly in the west, was divided up between the other three allies. Berlin was likewise divided into four zones in a similar manner. From the beginning, a certain amount of mistrust was developing between the western allies and the Soviet Union, as the Soviets began to renege on pledges made during the conference such as open elections in the territories they occupied.
Formation of the Eastern Bloc: At the end of the war, the Soviet Union busily installed friendly governments in the territories taken from Germany during the fighting. A military alliance directed by Moscow known as the Warsaw Pact was also formed. A few years later, the Soviets applied restrictions to the occupied territories that inhibited border crossings. These occupied territories as well as Germany had arguably better educated workforces than the Soviet Union. Younger people looking for roles in life sought ways to exit the Eastern Bloc for Western countries that would promise a better life with more freedom and more opportunities.
Berlin Airlift: Part of the rehabilitation process involved establishing a government for West Germany and also West Berlin that included a new German currency, the Deutschemark, for all the western occupied zones. The Soviet Union opposed this currency believing it would cause the old Reichsmark, used in the eastern zone, to be seriously devalued. They withdrew from the command structure known as the Kommandatura, and closed the routes into the eastern zone including the roads, railroads, and river routes to Berlin. After this outrageous move was made, President Harry S. Truman stated, referring to the U.S. presence in Berlin, that “We shall stay, period.” Rather than return to war, more moderate action was undertaken by resupplying Berlin through the air. For most of the next year, planes flew along the airspace corridor between West Germany and West Berlin carrying supplies of all kinds, but especially food and fuel. Eventually the Soviet Union realized that closing the routes into the zone was a failure as it did not drive out the western powers, and did not prevent the establishment of the nation of West Germany or the Deutschemark. The aftermath of the Berlin Airlift may well have contributed to the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The Berlin Wall: The restrictions to cross borders in the Eastern Bloc were still in place, and the borders carefully guarded all except for one spot—Berlin. In 1952, Soviet foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, introduced internal visas to East Germans to attempt to stem the exodus to West Berlin. But the passage to the west could not be closed completely as it would interrupt rail traffic in East Germany. Railroad bypasses were built to remedy this fault, but were not completed until 1961. On August 13, 1961, the border to West Berlin was closed and the construction of the Berlin Wall began. It started with a barbwire barrier, but was upgraded three times to an improved barbwire barrier, to a concrete wall, and finally to a concrete border. For the next twenty-eight years, approximately 100,000 people attempted to escape over the wall, and only about 5,000 were successful.
The End of the Wall: In 1989, several of the puppet governments established after the end of the war by the Soviet Union, collapsed in revolutions. The chain reaction spread to most of the Eastern Bloc as closed borders opened up, and governments were under pressure by the population to liberalize. This chain reaction spread to East Germany forcing the government to allow East German citizens to cross into West Berlin and West Germany to visit. In celebration East and West Germans climbed over the wall rendering it useless. The repaired and restored Brandenburg Gate, located very near the wall, was reopened December 22, 1989, making the entire wall obsolete. The demolition of the wall began in June, 1990, and was completed in 1994. Germany was formally reunited in 1990. The Soviet Union was dissolved in December, 1991, and the Cold War finally ended.
Conclusions: Although the wall was built well after the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, its demolishment in 1990 paved the way for the Cold War’s end. The wall’s purpose was to plug a leak in the exodus of brain talent from East Germany to West Germany. Its end coincided with the decline and end of the Soviet Union, and the removal of communism from each country in the Eastern Bloc. The result of its end was the reunification of Germany.
Sources: History.com, How Germany Was Divided After World War II, Dave Roos, April 27, 2022.
Wikpedia.org, The Potsdam Conference.
History.com Editors, The Berlin Airlift, February 3, 2020.