Intro

A frontier is a new start in world history. It can also be a border between the past and something about to happen—a significant change. For example, the Communist government of East Germany built and maintained the Berlin Wall because East Berlin was under Soviet rule. The Wall served as a frontier that prevented people from East Berlin from moving to democratic West Berlin. The fall of the Berlin Wall showed a new frontier because, after, Germany became complete and reunited again. Furthermore, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last communist Premier, resigned after the Wall fell, and the Soviet Union terminated. Therefore, the Germans were satisfied when the people tore down the wall because they could now cross through East and West Berlin, and their actions helped bring about the end of communism. The individuals that lived in the city of Berlin were most impacted by the fall of the Wall, because it opened up Germany and united the country into a democratic society.

Origins of the Wall

The frontier that was the Berlin Wall originated after World War II. Although America and the Soviet Union cooperated during World War II to defeat Hitler and the Nazis, there were tensions after the war ended. America had a capitalist economy where people could choose their jobs and the goods they bought and a democratic government. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, had a communist economy where the government told people what to do and a totalitarian dictatorship. The Soviet Union was a one-party state which participated in stealing freedom, crimes, and other brutal things. Before the Berlin Wall was built, East Berlin was under Soviet Rule. East Berlin was a communist city, meaning everyone had the same access to food, housing, resources, and anything that could be earned. The idea was that nobody would get more if someone had less because people should get what they work for. Another problem with communism was that the government took total control over the society, which took away people's freedom. This inequity is why the people of East Berlin wanted to flee to West Berlin. When these migrations started to increase, it created a conflict, and the governments of East Germany and the Soviet Union took control.  According to the authors of History.com, “The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep so-called Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West.”. On August 13, 1961, they built a barbed wire and concrete wall known as the Berlin Wall to keep the people of East Berlin from going to West Berlin.

Berlin Wall is the border between East and West

As the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union continued, The Berlin Wall symbolized the divisions between communists and capitalists. Throughout the 1950s and ’60s, America and the Soviets were part of competing alliances. America's alliance was known as NATO, and the Russian alliance was called Warsaw Pact. During the Cold War, East German and Soviet Troops patrolled the Berlin Wall to ensure that no one would cross this frontier. Reid Morden, a former NATO soldier, pointed out that “the Wall itself...was in an isolated enclave of West Berlin. At this section of the Wall and its killing ground behind, the East German guards clearly believed it was still business as usual. Patrols and dogs walked this stretch”. The Berlin Wall symbolized the divisions between communists and capitalists because the Soviet and East German troops guarded the border so East Berlin and West couldn't migrate towards each other. “On Feb. 6, 1989, border guards shoot 20-year-old Chris Gueffroy--the last of more than 100 people killed while trying to cross into West Berlin. Later that year, disaffected East Berliners mounted widespread protests, and on November 9, tens of thousands surged through checkpoints into West Berlin. The wall falls, and Germany was reunified on Oct. 3, 1990”.  The Berlin Wall was a barrier or frontier because it separated East Berlin and West Berlin, and kept the people from migrating toward each other. One could be injured or even killed if one were to pass the border.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall and how it has affected Germany and the Soviet Union.

Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, there was the Soviet Union, which was a one-party state that participated in stealing peoples’ freedom. The Soviet Union was also a brutal country that did not care for peoples’ rights and did not give its citizens freedom of speech. The last leader of the Soviet Union was Mikhail Gorbachev, who wanted to reform the Soviet Union by bringing the Soviet Union closer to the West. When the Berlin Wall was attacked, Gorbachev allowed it to happen. In 1991, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his spot, and the Soviet Union fell apart. The fall of the Berlin Wall significantly impacted our world because, if the Soviet Union were still around today, the world would not live in peace, and there would be various consequences. According to Fareed Zakaria, “the Berlin Wall wasn't the only barrier to fall after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Traditional barriers to the flow of money, trade, people, and ideas also fell”. The Fall of the Berlin wall ended the Cold War and the Soviet Union. This frontier fell which allowed the city of Berlin and Germany to become whole and reunited. Now, Germany functions under a democracy and a capitalist society.

Conclusion

A frontier marks a fresh beginning in human history. It may also keep the boundary between the past and the present. Because the Soviet Union governed East Berlin, the Communist government of East Germany constructed and maintained the Berlin Wall. People from East Berlin could not enter the democratic West Berlin due to the Wall, which served as a boundary. Due to Germany's reunification following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the old fell frontier, and a new one was unveiled. The Soviet Union ended and communism fell throughout Europe. The Germans could now travel between East and West Berlin, owing to the wall's destruction, and were happy to see communism end.