Berlin Wall

The logo for the Eastern Bloc. The shaking
hands are notably not east and west Germans.

Finally, a topic that I at least knew something about. Not a lot mind you, but better than what I normally have as a starting point for these blogs. From what I knew beforehand; the Berlin Wall was put up between East and West Germany during the Cold War, and... wackiness ensued. I blame my ignorance on my crappy education. I thought it was about time to do something a little more modern as the majority thus far have been before the days of television (as significant a chronological marker as anything I know). That aside, it's time to dive right in.

Post WWII, Germany was split up by the allied powers in an effort to prevent them from remobilizing. The eastern side was under the control of the Soviets while the western portion was under control of the  French, Brits and Americans. Meanwhile, Stalin had a decent buildup of countries under his influence, called the Eastern Bloc; Russia led the charge with Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia by her side. West Germany fell under the name the Federal Republic of Germany with the east named the German Democratic Republic. However, calling them by east and west seems the much easier route, and thus the one I'm certain to take.

I guess the holes in the wall
were bigger than you would imagine.

The two sides quickly began to represent the styles of the opposing factions of the Cold War; the Russian side was their own land but secretly under Soviet rule, and the west was being run under a western world style capitalist economy (one that flourished). Due to the better economy, the split German populace began to swing more towards the west, bringing with it a brain drain on the east through a number of defecting scholars, students and other people associated with smart things. Wishing to keep the larger brained individuals in their land, the Soviets created a system of border checks to prevent east Germans from crossing over to the "dark side" of non-communist run countries. To allow easterners over to see their families while still keeping their lives within their borders, the Russians decided to set up visitations through applying for Visas to swing over to the western side of the country. Over time the restrictions began to become stronger and stronger until it felt like the only way to keep the sides separated was a massive physical barrier.

Like a wall or something. The purpose of the wall according to the eastern side was to prevent fascist ideas from spreading over to their lands. The eastern side began building the Berlin Wall and shut off eastern Germans visiting the western side entirely, enforced through a line of soldiers with strict instructions to kill those that try to cross if need be. During this time, the economy on the Soviet side actually began to grow, but people being shot for trying to cross a border and schools indoctrinating children in the ways of Leninism and Marxism tends to put a damper on the whole public relations experience. During the creation and standing of the wall at least one hundred were killed in trying to cross over.

A east German border guard heroically prancing over the
line before the wall was put up.

The eventual falling of the wall seems to be more of a steady process more than a single, glorious event. In fact, the beginning fallings of the wall centred around a few legal loopholes and a few communication screw ups. The first of which was Hungary finding a way to briefly disable the border defences with Austria allowing 13,000 east Germans through, eventually finding their way to the west German embassy and not being too keen on crossing back over to Soviet controlled territory. Sometime afterwards, the Soviet side held a press conference that, through a hilarious number of mix ups and poor communication they slipped up and said the borders were no longer all shut up. Naturally, excited throngs of people stormed the gates. The guards, unable to hold back that many people, not to mention they weren't entirely too sure what the heck was going on either, finally let the east Germans through with little in the way of identity checks. They were met with booze and good cheer, as all good things should be.

In 1989 the wall starting being literally chipped away. Members on both sides would chop chunks off of it and start sneaking through the holes. The forces protecting the wall were slimmed down, travel back and forth became easier, and new crossings were opened up. It just wasn't viable to keep it separated anymore. When east Germany adopted west German currency border controls essentially halted, although the border was pretty much worthless by that point. It was a slow deterioration that culminated into the eventual destruction of the wall. So down it went. Off to the Cuban Missile Crisis!

The Bulin Wall, on the other hand, was taken down by a number of hockey players over the years, as well as a drunk driving charge.

Famous Historical Figures Say the Darndest Things!

1. "Wall of shame..." The nickname used by the west German mayor Willy Brandt in regards to the Berlin Wall. Wait... hold on... Willy Brandt? The west German mayor? Oh... he was born Herbert Frahm. That sounds more like it.
2. "The Wall certainly ought not to be a permanent feature of the European landscape. I see no reason why the Soviet Union should think it is - it is to their advantage in any way to leave there that monument to Communist failure." -Dean Rusk, Secretary of State. The president shortly after remarked; "oh, snap!". 
3. "Do not hesitate to use your firearm, not even when the border is breached in the company of women and children, which is a tactic the traitors have often used." This was a document sent to the soldiers on the border, one of those times that a Soviet license to kill was not from a Bond film.
4. "I'm not here for or against any government. I've come to play rock 'n' roll for you in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down." Bruce Springsteen played a concert for the Germans. I don't have much to add to this, I just thought it was kinda cool. 
5. "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner!'" Hear that?! Kennedy's a German! Conspiracy!!!