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FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

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Introduction

There was the partitioning of Germany into four separate areas when the World War II

came to an end and each of them was controlled by allied powers namely the United Kingdom,

the Soviet Union, United States and France. Due to the deterioration of the relationship with the

USSR, there was a hardening of the split into two separate regions: East and West Germany.

West Germany was reinforced by the United States and other democracies from the West

whereas East Germany remained manned by the Soviet Union. However, the Berlin Wall was

built by the German Democratic Republic to maintain the separation between the East and the

West Berlin which also become a symbol of the division that was supposed to exist between the

communism and the democracy. However, when Mikhail Gorbachev became the General

Secretary, his collaborated with President Ronald Reagan opened the door that led to the fall of

the Berlin Wall. According to multiple sources including the New York Times, the opening of

the Berlin Wall was not planned and was a onetime event that caught many flat-footed since

reporters described it as an accident regarding the security measures that were put in place by the

colonies.

Fall of the Berlin Wall (November 8, 1989)

It was expected by many people that an incident of this nature could be as a result of a

high-level conspiracy and great strategic plans but in contrast, it come was as a surprise and

contingency.1According to the New York Times magazine writer Christoph Hein, a day before

that historic day, he and his wife had visited a guy who was his publisher by them in Germany.

They also had no idea of what would happen the next moment since their main aim of the visit
1
Shortt, Linda. "Re-Imagining East Germany in the Berlin Republic: Jana Hensel, GDR

Memory and the Transitional Generation." In Memory and political change, pp. 115-129.

Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2012.

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was to discuss two books which were yet to be published. 2Their discussions switched when they

learned of political changes and demonstrations that were reported to be taking place both in

Berlin and Leipzig. Opportunism was the main driver of the revolution that was about to take

place even though not all of the leaders had that virtue. He defended opportunism saying it also

had positive results mentioning the Soviet Union where it spearheaded the change of a few

people who held powerful positions at that time. This also highlighted the fact that people needed

more than just the outer changes that are witnessed now and then but wanted the Wall itself to

feel the wrath.

There was a noticeable change in the social life that people used to live as usual. This

came to reality when Christoph Hein and his wife had decided to head home after spending some

good times with his publisher. They noticed that there were no taxi cars around as they used to

be, something that had not happened for a very long time. He also mentioned the absence of the

“Black” taxis. These are those taxis that one could not miss at night since they were private cars

that belonged to workers who did their jobs up until late evening and opted to complement their

salaries with some cash from the taxi job. This incident is a clear revelation of how life was so

pressing to the people and it shows a clear reason as to why resistance was strongly needed by

many ranging from the jobless to those employed.

According to an article by Tom Brokaw of the New York Times “Freedom Danced

Before my Eyes”, he had a chance to be one of those people who were in West Berlin on

November 8. He had arrived that very morning after the resignation of the East German

Government. He narrated that there was a mounting mood that the party of the communist was

on the run fearing the mass migration of people. He met some party leaders who from the look of
2
McAdams, A. James. "The Last East German and the Memory of the German Democratic

Republic." German Politics and Society 28, no. 1 (2010): 30.

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their face showed a lot of worry and confusion but they pretended by hiding their feelings and

gave him a warm welcome. This was meant to keep the faith of the people high even though

there were clear anxiety and confusion in the air at that moment of time.

There were calmness and a show of stability at the checkpoint where guards depicted a

picture of normality. 3Tom Brokaw and other visitors were taken through the security searches

just as usual. He and other journalists were allowed to do some news recordings but only on the

East flank of the Brandenburg Gate. He narrated that there were heavy Army patrols between the

Wall and the streets of East Berlin which covered 100 meters apart. There began as a rumor that

Politburo had taken an unusual decision to legally recognize those parties who were on the

opposition and was planning for free elections. This moved peoples attentions thought there was

still nothing about the Wall. There were several meetings that were held just before the historic

event began including the meeting between Gunter Schabowski who was then a Communist

leader of the East Berlin and more than 300 journalists. However, despite the meeting being

foreseen as a political meeting, there was nothing concerning the Wall that was discussed. There

was an acknowledgment of the need for a free press, women empowerment, and the economy

was supposed to reward those who were deemed to be performers. Gunter Schabowski

pronounced that his party was wiser and more informed than in the past not knowing what would

take place and when concerning the new East Germany.

Mary Elise Sarotte an author and professor of history in his article “The Collapse”, also

revealed how there was mistrust amongst members of the regime. Neither colleagues nor

subordinates had faith in each other which contributed to the failure to blunt what was seen as

rising revolution. It was again this moment that we can learn from the author that people were
3
Sonnevend, Julia. Stories without borders: The Berlin Wall and the making of a global iconic

event. Oxford University Press, 2016.

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being mistreated by those in authority when Stasi interrogators questioned a prisoner called

Katrin Hattenhauer how they managed to hold on together despite the kind of treatment they

received.

Christoph Hein also narrated in his article about a woman who was confused about the

state of her relatives who she said were in West Germany. This showed the true picture of how

people would do anything to gain their freedom back from the hands of their inhuman rulers. He

also revealed that that day just before the Wall went down, there was a meeting between the

German Democratic Republic attorney’s collegium and in the meeting they had proposed that

they would make additional changes to the GDR Travel Law. Some politicians on that day

thought that the proposed changes would be embraced by many people since they would satisfy

the demands of people from East German more so about the freedom of travel.

The paper also stated that the meeting between Schabowski and the journalists was full of

questions that even forced him to skip answering some of the questions since he was also in a

confused state as to whether he was doing the right thing or not.4Again on the other side of the

town that same day, mayor Walter Momper was supposed to award what was by then called the

Golden Steering Wheel prize for the self-propelled design but just before the show went on, his

close people who were his driver and his press editor rushed in and gave him the news of what

they had heard. This was again evident that almost everyone in by then had no idea of what was

cooking. The confusion that was being witnessed among the government officials was what the

paper said that contributed much on the mix-up that the citizens had.

According to the New York Times, there was a parliament session going on at the West

German Parliament when news about the announcement that had been made by Schabowski
4
Peck, Jamie, Nik Theodore, and Neil Brenner. "Postneoliberalism and its

malcontents." Antipode 41, no. s1 (2010): 94-116.

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came in. There was an immediate interruption on the ongoing debate about tax-deductible

political aids. There was reported anxiety all over West German to an extent that a café owner is

almost attacked by a group of journalists who spotted him coming from the Eastern German side

not knowing that he only went there to sell tea and did not manage to do it at that moment. This

shows the kind of enmity that was build due to the erection of the Wall.

Mary Elise Sarotte also in her article revealed how the news agencies started reporting

the first reaction from political parties in West German. 5There was a speech from Frederick

Bohl who was at that time speaking for the Christian Democratic Union. He was urging those

leaders who were on the East German side to start demolishing the Wall the following day

stating that the Wall had lost its core value and purpose. Elise further revealed that a

broadcasting company in East German tried to take control of the situation whereby they tried to

stress on the need for citizens to obtain travel papers before making any move.

However, there was a contradicting difference on the other side of Germany which was

more than 600 kilometers away which was the southern city of Stuttgart. There was a powerful

team Bayern Munich which was playing against a home team VfB Stuttgart. The New York

Times journalist Mary Elise described the occurrence as being on another planet virtually but in

real sense, they were acting like blind people due to the abruptness of the events at hand. There

was total confusion but at the same time, it was also the reason as to why many people did not

die that day contrary to the expectations that there would have been a mass massacre at the

boarder as people were trying to make their way through the Wall.

5
Sarotte, Mary Elise. The collapse: The accidental opening of the Berlin wall. Basic Books,

2014.
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Bibliography

McAdams, A. James. "The Last East German and the Memory of the German Democratic

Republic." German Politics and Society 28, no. 1 (2010): 30.

Sarotte, Mary Elise. The collapse: The accidental opening of the Berlin wall. Basic Books,

2014.

Sonnevend, Julia. Stories without borders: The Berlin Wall and the making of a global iconic

event. Oxford University Press, 2016.

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