Alexander CekalaBerlin Wall's Fall and Cold Wars end
The Cold War is often said to have ended in 1991, but a major symbol of its end actually took place in 1989. This was the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The Wall
The wall was built in 1961 to stop East German workers from escaping to West Germany. It was a symbol of communist oppression.
The Fall
In November 1989 the East German minister for propoganda was given a note by the government announcing that East Berliners were to be allowed to visit West Berlin. It was meant to be affective as of the following day, but the minister didn't know this and so announced it was affective immediately.
When huge crowds of people converged on the wall the soldiers had no choice but to let them through or apply lethal force. The government decided to let them pass.
In December the government also allowed travellers from West Berlin to enter without facing restrictive visas and by July all control had ceased.
The government began to dismantle the wall, but it took until 1991 before all of the wall was dismantled.
So...
And this was the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union and thus of the Cold War. It was a major day in the history of the 20th century.
The Wall
The wall was built in 1961 to stop East German workers from escaping to West Germany. It was a symbol of communist oppression.
The Fall
In November 1989 the East German minister for propoganda was given a note by the government announcing that East Berliners were to be allowed to visit West Berlin. It was meant to be affective as of the following day, but the minister didn't know this and so announced it was affective immediately.
When huge crowds of people converged on the wall the soldiers had no choice but to let them through or apply lethal force. The government decided to let them pass.
In December the government also allowed travellers from West Berlin to enter without facing restrictive visas and by July all control had ceased.
The government began to dismantle the wall, but it took until 1991 before all of the wall was dismantled.
So...
And this was the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union and thus of the Cold War. It was a major day in the history of the 20th century.
