Musings on History

by Marshanda Massie
Grade 12 Student Manado Independent School

ON the night of November 9, 1989, thousands of people living in Berlin participated in a massive street party to celebrate something that would finally reunite them— the fall of the Berlin Wall.

A gray concrete wall erected in 1961, the Berlin Wall acted as a barrier between East and West Berlin.

The Berlin Wall was not only a physical boundary; it also represented the schism between eastern communists and western democrats.

Because of its significance as it marked the end of the Cold War, help in spreading peace and prosperity, and meaning as a symbol of freedom, the demolition of the Berlin Wall has become one of the most important events in history.

As the Wall came down, the communist rule by the Soviet Union started to fall with it, triggering the end of the Cold War.

The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which occurred a year later on October 1990.

East European regimes began to collapse, and the Iron Curtain was no more. New nations emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union (Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, etc.) and even established strong ties with EU and NATO.

Different ideologies disappeared, and Eastern Europe soon became democratic. There was victory over totalitarianism.

The fall of the Berlin Wall ended the communist power structure and allowed capitalism to take over in the modern world.

Peace and prosperity were finally brought to the people of Germany. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, travelling between East and West Europe got easier.

Instead of getting restricted at going beyond the boundary, people would only need an EU passport to cross.

More European nations started to take up democracy. Democratic governments are less likely to go to war with each other.

Europe became richer and better prepared for the future. The downfall of the Berlin Wall did not only help spread democracy, but also instilled a sense of peace and security across Europe.

West Germany became a free, thriving capitalist state with the support of Western nations. Meanwhile, people in East Germany lived in paranoia and restrictions.