It is rare to consider the Berlin Wall without thinking about its construction and past. However, it is equally important to know how much it costs or the(kind of) financial investment that would be needed to keep such a structure. However, in this report we shall examine the various costs entailed in putting up the Berlin Wall, and the costs incurred in maintaining it, to the costs borne in tearing it down.
The Construction Cost of the Berlin Wall
The encroachment of the Berlin Wall started on 13th of August 1961 due to political animosity between east and west Germans. The main reason for the construction of the Wall was to keep the East Germany population from escaping to West Germany.
It is difficult to estimate the concrete cost of building the Berlin Wall as there was not much public information regarding the expenditure in the late 1960’s but according modern sources it is said that it cost between 155 to 200 million East German marks in today’s value of 120 to 155 million US dollars. Such costs included much needed commodities used as raw material to build the structure, human resources needed to put up the building, the transportation costs among others. However, it needs to be clearly understood that these estimates but give a rough figure.
Maintenance Expenditures
After the building of the wall a large part of east Germany capacity was devoted to sustaining the Wall. Constant efforts to control those escapes and to maintain the wall height kept the financial contribution going.
The maintenance costs involved physical check up, mending work and even bolstering of the wall. Beside the cement structures The regime invested on surveillance mechanisms, guards and other security measures surrounding the wall. It may not be possible to quantify and qualify how this constant maintenance was done, but what is clear is that it must have largely cost a fortune.
The Economic Impact
The building as well as the maintaining of the Berlin Wall had a very costly impact on the economy of East Germany. Some of the problems with such a structure were the prohibitive cost of maintaining such a structure which placed a huge burden on the already reeling East German economy.
First of all, the money used for the funding and maintenance of the wall were taken from the resources that could have been spent on construction and development of infrastructures, additional facilities for social needs and making the standard of living of the people in East Germany better. Thus, East Germany experience and industrial and economic stagnation compared to West Germany.
In addition, the building of the wall to demarcate East and West berlin, discouraged economic, social and political contact between the two. This division affected the flow of goods and people, as well as the interaction that is such an indispensable part of any trade relationships and consequently, it was pernicious for both economies. There was also loss of opportunity and broken relationships and families due to communities, families and business being cut-off from each other.
The Costs when Coming down of the Berlin Wall
The symbol of reunification was recorded on November 9, 1989, when the East Germany finally knocked down the Berlin Wall. At the same time, a number of expenses arose due to the originating and dismantling of the wall.
First of all, people had to eliminate physical barriers, destroy installation on borders, and remove the consequences of the action. These immediate costs they claimed could come up to about 10 million Deutsche Marks (about 6 million US dollars).
But, the price tag of reunification and the process of bringing the East Germany up to par with the rest of the developed democracies was much, much higher. For the integration of the two formerly separated regions, stabilization of the economy and improvement of its infrastructures required a great amount of financiers. Statistics revales that for the period 1990-1994, West Germany had provided more than $600 billion to reconstruct and develop the east Germany.
Conclusion
The Berlin Wall was not only constructed and served as a barrier between the east and west Germany but it was also a money consuming structure of east Germany. All the cost right from the construction expenses, the costs of maintenance over the massive infrastructure right from factories, roads, bridges, houses, and all other structures to the total expenses even in dismantling and reunification of all what the West imposed, were so costly to the EastGermany.
The argument that the wall functioned to prevent the fragmentation of East from West yet serve as the greatest barrier that East Germany created for itself and in the process for the entire region, holds much water The effects of the wall are not easy to measure; they are documented inadequately, and the impacts cover all aspects of the economy, rendering a quantification of the total cost almost impossible.
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