The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Watching this documentary was very interesting. During the 80’s, my uncle was stationed in several parts of Europe including Germany. What I find very interesting is that, when I told him places that we were going he said that he wasn’t allowed to go to some of those places due to the government and the Americans support of the Western side.

 I always wanted to know what the sculpture on top of the Brandenburg gate stood for and it was interesting to find out that it was actually created for Fredrick II. Fredrick was born in Berlin and became known as Fredrick the Great because of his Military Genius. The Gate stood as an entrance to an amazing city that stood for progress and change. On top of the Gate stood the Goddess of victory, riding a chariot being pulled by four horses. They stated that he had designed the gate to represent peace and represent the hope of what can come into the future. What was interesting too thought, was that although he may have tried to deny the military, it was “always in his blood”. Weapons were placed around his house as decorations. They had a created a whimsical sense towards weaponry that may have been what introduced him to the sense of war. He wanted to make a name for himself, so he started many wars, which he won, to make his name. Which is very ironic because he stood for peace but got his title and strength through battle.

-Brandenburg Gate-

-Fredrick II-

I think that the thought of a revolutionary split between a country is something that is understandable, but the fact that the split is because a difference in political preference is very strange. The Berlin Wall was built in August 13^th, 1961. I thought that the wall was built by the Western side to keep the communist side out. Little did I realize that the Eastern side put the wall up to stop everyone from leaving their side because of the communist party. I also didn’t realized that the East side was the Soviet Union, but the western side consisted of many different countries, including the United States, France and Great Britain. This would explain why my uncle was not allowed to travel unto the eastern side because they were against the eastern side. The Eastern side also constructed various tunnels and devised extreme ways to escape to freedom amongst the West side. Another interesting fact I found out was that the wall was also taken town later by the leader of Eastern Germany Political Party on November 9^th, 1989, who stated that it was ok for Eastern side to cross sides. The night that was announced, people started crossing the bridge freely while tearing down parts of the wall as they partied and passed. What I took away as the most depressing part, in my opinion, was the fact that numerous people lost their jobs and lost their families. Some were never reconnected with their loved ones.

-The fall of the Berlin Wall-

For me this part of the history was super interesting because when you think the start of a country, it is usually when it is at its strongest peak. But this country was started through battles with the Roman Empire, battles between church and state, the creation of a new religion and the want of peace in a land paved by war.