Research Paper Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall and Its Significance to the World

Written by: Ammon Tenney

Prepared for: Professor Betsy Anderson

Contemporary History

06/16/2014

The Berlin Wall

In 1989, one event captured the attention of the world, The Fall of the Berlin Wall. I remember seeing this, and thinking how little I knew about this event. The fall of the Berlin Wall succeeded in one aspect that today is still not been rectified; The Berlin Wall divided Berlin into two very distinctively different cities. These cities both developed differently. Even after the wall was destroyed eight years ago the city still remained divided, and is still divided today. Following World War II, the allies had begun this split that was greatly expanded following the building of the wall. The split of the city was wanted greatly by the Soviets, but not the other allies. When I joined the army being stationed in Germany didn’t really appeal to me. I wanted to stay stateside, with little travel, going on a one to two year hardship overseas tour did not appeal to me. But after 1989, I put in request to be sent to Germany. I arrived in January 1990 three months after the wall collapsed. When I visited the wall five questions about the wall and German society surfaced; First what was the background of the wall why was it created, second how and when was the wall constructed, and of what material, third what were the measurements of the wall, Berlin is a huge city, fourth the aspects around the fall of the wall, and the actual fall , and fifth after riding the Berlin sub-way, how did these tunnels affect the travel within the city, and the differing cultures of the two differing cities of East and West Berlin . In this examination I will finally answer these questions that I asked myself seven years ago. These questions all center on the aspect of Berlin becoming two cities following World War II. Berlin, eight years after the fall of the illustrious wall is now busy rebuilding and redefining itself....