The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Friday, November 8th, 2019November 8, 2019
On Nov. 9, 1989, 30 years ago tomorrow, the Berlin Wall, perhaps the most infamous symbol of the Cold War, was opened and begun to be torn down. (See below for a detailed definition of Cold War.) At that time, Germany and Berlin were still split between the Soviet-dominated east and a west supported by the United States and its allies. The fall of the Berlin Wall was an immensely important event in world history. It represented the end of the Cold War and a new beginning in world relations.
East German border guards face cheering crowds at the Berlin Wall on Nov. 10, 1989, the day after the infamous barrier was opened. Credit: © Tom Stoddart, Getty Images
In 1989, democratic revolutions were brewing in East Germany and other parts of Communist-controlled eastern Europe. Large numbers of East Germans were escaping to other countries, while others organized massive demonstrations demanding greater freedom at home. In November 1989, the East German government ended restrictions on travel and emigration and opened the Berlin Wall. In October 1990, East and West Germany were reunified as the single country of Germany, and Berlin was reunited as a single city.
East German police step into West Berlin as a block of the Berlin Wall falls in November 1989. East and West Germany reunited as one nation in 1990. Credit: AP Photo
The East Germans built the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop the flow of its citizens into West Germany and other parts of Europe. Armed guards patrolled the massive concrete wall’s system of fortified barriers and obstacles. The guards killed many people trying to escape to freedom in the west.
The term Cold War describes the intense rivalry that developed after World War II (1939-1945) between groups of Communist and non-Communist nations. On one side were the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the Soviet Union) and its Communist allies, often referred to as the Eastern bloc. On the other side were the United States and its mostly democratic allies, usually referred to as the Western bloc. The struggle was called the Cold War because it did not actually lead to fighting, or “hot” war, on a wide scale. Still, between 1945 and 1991, millions of people died in the Cold War’s “hot theaters”—that is, places where military action occurred—mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
