The day the wall came down

Twenty years ago today the Berlin Wall came down.

The Wall had been the central symbol of the Cold War and, for many, was the epitome of the infamous ‘iron curtain’.

In many ways, the divided Germany had represented the East/West conflict: in the East, there was communism – business completely controlled by the government and largely devoid of individual innovation; in the West, an efficient system of democratic capitalism where private enterprise could flourish.

Germany had been a single country up until 1949. However, on 23 May 1949, the Western zones occupied after WW2 by Britain, the United States and France merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). Soon afterwards, the Eastern zone occupied by the Soviet Union gave way to form the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) under the direction of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

As for the Berlin Wall, its construction in August 1961 by the SED authorities was largely a response to one grave problem in particular. Between 1949 and 1961, over three million East Germans voted with their feet and fled to West Germany.

Many of these people were highly skilled and educated. Inevitably, the communist leadership recognised that the GDR could not survive such a mass exodus of its people.

Hence, during the night of 12/13 August 1961, East German security forces traced the frontier in Berlin with barbed wire, which was soon reinforced with a concrete wall to a maximum height of 3.6 metres. The construction of the wall sealed the division of Germany and the imprisonment of East Germans.

Over the next 28 years many people tried to escape over or under the wall – some successful, most not. Those who weren’t were either shot dead in the attempt or imprisoned.

Fast-forward to 1989. When Hungary opened its borders to the West on 23 August, the iron curtain lost its capacity to withhold freedom. Thousands of East Germans went on ‘holiday’ to Hungary and skipped over the border, through Austria, to West Germany.

The GDR found itself with mass public demonstrations. On 9 November 1989, they opened a checkpoint barrier to the West and people flooded through. The SED thought it would allow them to retain power while appeasing the demonstrators.

However, the public momentum was too strong and, on 3 October 1990, the GDR was dissolved and Germany was united again. This time as the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland).

As we look back on the twenty years since and the state of the country today, in many ways Germany still feels like two countries in one. Even superficially, East and West Berlin appear visibly and culturally different.

As one strolls along many streets of East Berlin, the somewhat rundown housing, graffiti, long grass and a slightly bohemian (low-rent artistic) clientele contrast with great swaths of the more affluent West Berlin.

Throughout the East German countryside, abandoned houses confirm a struggling economy. The most recent unemployment figures in the former East Germany reflect a rate almost double that of the former West – 11.8% versus 6.6%.

According to a recent report released by the German Economic Institute, it will be at least 10 more years until the East German economy is even on a par with the two poorest West German states, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony.

Perhaps justifiably, even this should be viewed as something of a success. The East German economy has in fact grown twice as quickly as other regions in the world under comparable conditions.

Voices from within Germany also have differing opinions on the end of the German Democratic Republic and the progress of the Bundesrepublik.

This is the case amongst a number of youth who grew up in the GDR. They consider themselves to be citizens of two countries: the GDR in the first instance, and the Bundesrepublik second.

Some remember the communist dictatorship with a certain longing fondness. Many others, largely from older generations, perceive the West Germans to treat them as backward and second-class citizens.

In an online poll on the website of a prominent German newspaper, Die Welt, 82% of respondents maintained that the differences between West and East Germans remain significant. On such news sites, debates rage over the condition of Germany in 2009: some argue for unity – to finally forget the past, others prefer to cast their gazes back and highlight the differences.

In Angela Merkel, recently elected to a second term, the Bundesrepublik has its first chancellor (President) from East Germany. In a speech on November 3 before the United States Congress, she urged international cooperation in solving the world’s problems:

“I am convinced that, just as we found the strength in the 20th century to tear down a wall made of barbed wire and concrete, today we have the strength to overcome the walls of the 21st century, walls in our minds, walls of short-sighted self-interest, walls between the present and the future.”

Whilst the Berlin Wall may have come down 20 years ago, the legacy of the past lives on through the struggling economy in the East, and in the German people’s minds.

For Merkel, the overcoming of such mental barriers begins at home, and perhaps only time can completely unite Germany and equalise East and West. Yet, despite this somewhat gloomy picture, there can be no doubt that Germany has certainly come a long way since 9 November 1989.

By Luke Fenwick

Photo/Europa – East Berlin residents climb over the wall in celebration on November 9, 1989.

Luke is completing a PhD in German and Russian History at Oxford University in England.