The Berlin Wall: Effectiveness

Figure 1.--The DDR made major investments in successive generations of the wall, making it impossible to cross. And a Wall was not just built around West Berlin, but the entire border between East and West Germany. Here West German boys watch construction of a watch btower as part of the wall complex. the photograph was ytaken August 12, 1969. The caption read, "The East German People's Army is errecting new concrete towers along the border with West Germany. as here opposite the town of Eicherie north of Helmsstedt. Boys sit on bikes at border barriers while one soldier is lifted toi join another working oin gtop of the tower, The Berlin wall, meanwhile, is eight years old tomorrow." Note at this stahe thtaway fromBerlin, the Wall was still very basic.

The Wall changed the hemoraging of East Germans west. No nation can esist when people leave for a better life, especially the trained people like scientists, technnicmns, doctors, and others. The DDR was investing in their eduction and training nd then they simply picked up and left for a life in prosperous West Germany. As long as this continued it put a lie to the clains that the Communists made that they were creating a prosperous new society. Abd it should be remembered tht the DDR was the most prosperous province of the Soviet Empire. Stalin in the Soiviet Unionn had effectively sealed the soviet Union off, keepoing the truth frim the Rissian and ither soviet peoople as well as from Communist supporters in the West. Communist DDR officials could not do that. DDR officials steadily worked at making the Wall increasingly deadly to cross. Some at first took their chances with mine fields. Some tried to hide in concealed car compartments. Oneperson tried to escape under the motion / works of a steam locomotive. He suceeded. The guards didn' even think of looking there. Officials could not even trust the guards . They were always deployed in pairs to esure that they would not make a dash West. The Wall could effectively stop the flow of people, but not knowledge of conditions in East and West Germany. And over time duccessive generations of the Wall made crossing it increasingly difficult. The heart rending sites of small numbers of people braving the increasingly leathal dangers of the Wall moved West Germans. The Wall effectively separated Germans for nearly 30 years. Once completed only small numbers succeeded in crossing it. Many died in the process. Eventually it became imposinle to cross. Considerable ingenuity was used by those attempting to reach the West. It became imposible to cross the Wall. So East Germans tried to go under or over. There were tunnels. Some tried baloons. The numbers involved were miniscule, Crossing was just too difficult. Say what one may about the Wall, there is not doubt that it was effective. The Wall was not just effective at stoppingb the flow of people West, it also defused the tensions over Berlin. At vthe beginning of the decade, Berlin was a Cold War hot spot with American and Soviet tnks muzzle to muzle. By the end of the decade. the Cold War hot spots had moved to Asia and the Middle East.

Created: 6:21 AM 4/6/2012
Last updated: 6:21 AM 4/6/2012