The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), was a physical and symbolic division between East and West Berlin. As an absolute beginner on this topic, you might be wondering how the West responded to this infamous barrier. In this blog post, we will explore the various ways in which the West reacted to the Berlin Wall.
1. Political Response
After the erection of the Berlin Wall, the governments of the western world provided condemnation and a lot of opposition. The United States of America considered the Wall as the main violation of human rights and freedom. In a speech in 1963 the president of the United States John F. Kennedy joined the Berlin people expressing his support and saying “Ich bin ein Berliner”. This political response shows the solidarity and readiness to fight the existence of the Wall.
- Economic Response
The construction of the Berlin Wall not merely divided the city of Berlin into two halves but also had definite economical connotations. The West retaliated by applying the economic solution in order to help west Berlin and its people. To back up the goal of presenting West Berlin as a model of West Germany prosperity and democratic order to East Germans, the West German government introduced measures to ignite economic expansion. Further, big projects were initiated in this regard to show the seriousness of the western countries for the city. One of them was the project to build the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church landmark and a reminder of the devastation of WWII.
2.1. Currency Exchange
Another important economic measure established and implemented at the same period was a special currency exchange program. Appointment of West German Mark (Deutsche Mark) as the official currency in West Berlin stabilized the economic health and made life easier to the people of West Berlin. This not only did much to further improve the economic viability of West Berlin but also especially highlighted the rather poor economic state of East Berlin.
- Cultural Response
The West reacted to the Berlin Wall with a number of cultural moves that was intended to show support and connectedness with the people of East Berlin.
3.1. Radio and Television
It was radio and television that helped people to have access to information and, thus, to entertainment. Heraldic stations like RIAS (Radio in the American Sector) and RBB (Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting) turned to be informational, music and cultural SOC, which were free from censorship. These broadcasts served to connect East and West Berlin thus keeping the spirit of unity together and avoid confusing the people of East Berlin of feeling that they were all alone.
3.2. Art and Music
Artists and musicians did not stay idle to the situation of the Berlin Wall as well. There have been music pieces created in the city, and among those are David Bowie’s “Heroes,” which literally provided references to it and its division. Persons also came up with artefacts with appealing abstract notions based on the wall and the effects on society and politics. The East Side Gallery, a long section of the existing Berlin Wall painted with murals, gives cultural ethos on the divide, in addition to symbolising art as protest.
- Political Actions
The reaction to the Berlin Wall was also political in some way in the sense that it was western powers especially America. For instance, President Ronald Reagan gave a portion of his famous Brandenburg gate speech in 1987 urging Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to bring down the wall. This speech became a great historical scene which reflected the desire of the West to see the wall knocked down and Berlin reunited.
4.1. Political Pressure
In this regard, Western governments acted politically to bring pressure on East Germany and the Soviet Union to bring down the Wall. Attempts were made, in diplomatic circles, to create awareness on the extent to which human rights were being denied to East Germans as a result of the wall. This pressure not only reminded everyone of the moral and ethical prevalent on the side of the division, but also played a role in bringing about the demolition of the wall in 1989.
- The Role of Diplomacy
During the years of the construction of the Berlin Wall diplomacy was important in exploring the future of Berlin and calls for alignment. Inter and intra-German diplomatic contacts: For instance, the Four Power Agreement reached in 1971 that focused on making provisions for general regulation of relations and communication between East and West Berlin. As you can imagine these diplomatic efforts can be stressful and at times tense but it was necessary in order to keep the lines of communication open.
Conclusion
To sum up, it is possible to identify a set of tendencies of the western response to the Berlin Wall as the political, economic, cultural and diplomacy joint reaction. Not only has the West criticized the Wall but also the West sought some tactics to help West Berlin to assist the people of East Berlin. Two days after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the West helped precipitate the reunification of Germany via many political decisions, economic sanctions, cultural initiatives and diplomatic strategies.
Remember, this blog post starts the conversation about the West’s reaction to the Berlin Wall and there is much more to explore. More investigation and study into this topic will reveal even more detailed information about the very important part played by the West in fighting the division and helping towards reunification.
