Sam Marvin FYP Joe Kling 10/20/10

The Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin, was a monumental feat completed undertaken by the Soviet Union in order to divide communism from democracy. Over the years, the wall became more than a physical barrier between the two ideologies: it became a symbolic structure that segregated citizens way of living and the people of Berlin from one another. The division of the people created a struggle within the confines of East Berlin, and in order to break down the wall, many countries needed to put pressure on the Soviets. The Soviet stronghold on East Berlin created fueled a hatred for communism among East Berliners. Despite the walls inevitable destruction, communism did not disappear. Certainly, the Soviet Union as such was reconfigured after the Berlin Wall was taken down. The fall of the wall acted as a catalyst for the eventual dissolution of the USSR. After World War II, Berlin was broken into four sectors. The Soviets controlled the Eastern half of the city, whereas the west was controlled by the US, UK, and France respectively. The Soviet reign began to fall when the post-Stalinist systems fell into a deep crisis at the beginning of the 1980s and the attempt to respond to this crisis, failed and ultimately led to the breakdown of the system as a whole (Zurn 3). In response to this, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to introduce elements of a market economy. This simple policy reform hinted at democratic rule and other such capital roles in government, which led to the division in the state for the Soviet Union. West

Germany, by the 1980s, had experienced an economic miracle. The economy had rebounded exponentially since WWII, highlighting its capitalistic leanings. By extension, West Berlin had experienced similar positive economic growth, which included supplies being brought into West Berlin and a flourishing arts community. Meanwhile, the society of East Berlin continued to oppress individual freedoms, and had little room for self-expression because communist leaders did not want Western ideologies altering their minds. Communism did not want Western ideologies altering their minds. This economic growth within West Berlin began to influence East Berliners to vie for freedom and economic growth themselves. The West Berlin development was a stride forward for democracy because of its location inside the Iron Curtain created by the Soviet Union. The location of Berlin was a major factor in the struggle between democracy and communism. Berlin, being the capital of Germany, is situated in far eastern Germany and holds a large influence on the rest of the country. On November 9th, 1989, communist ideals in Eastern Europe lost their influence due to resistance from East Germans combined with president Gorbachevs policies labeled perestroika restructuring and glasnost, or openness (voanews.com 1). Perestroika was a political movement set forth by president Gorbachev in order to restructure Soviet political and economic policies. It changed political and economic systems, allowing more independence within the government. On the other hand, glasnost opened up Soviet management to be more transparent to the government officials. These two policies exposed the Soviet Union to democracy and change and ultimately helped lead to the fall of the system. Though the Communist Party did not completely dissolve upon the fall of

the Berlin Wall, the event accelerated the demise of Communist Party rule throughout Eastern Europe (voanews.com 2). Gorbachevs political policies, the momentum of Western Europe, along with the discontent of Eastern Berliners contributed to the deconstruction of the wall. Once the physical wall came down, the ideological pull of Communism began to reform and take a backseat to democracy and capitalism. In truth, Communism began weakening far before the fall of the wall. Communists themselves undermined the party in diluting its strength. The initial demise of communism commenced when Hungary disarmed border defenses with Austria in August 1989. This event allowed East Germans to cross over into Hungary and finally the government understood the enormity of the issue at hand. Arguably, there are two initial protagonists to the story of the fall of the Berlin Wall: Mikhail Gorbachev and American president Ronald Reagan. On one hand, one has Gorbachev, whose efforts at reforming the system inadvertently led to its collapse (Sheehan 37). Perhaps Gorbachev unintentionally was the major cause of the downfall of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. His social and political reforms and modifications were a catalyst for the fall of the wall. By attempting to revolutionize the party, Gorbachev ultimately assisted the fall of the Berlin Wall. On the contrary, one recognizes Reagan as the hero, whose moral vision and military spending initiated the crisis that led to Communisms demise (Sheehan 37). Reagan spent time, energy, and money in order to bring down the Communist Party and its ideologies. Reagans actions towards the Soviet Union and defense buildup were in response to Gorbachevs perestroika. In earlier years after WWII, the U.S. set up containment, which was a way to stop further expansion of Soviet power. Reagans

strategy was fundamentally different in that it was a mix of both defense and offense (Schweizer 13). Ronald Reagans hatred for the division of East and West Berlin and his efforts to take it down and eventually tear apart Communism was obvious through his policy decisions. He believed that in order to take down communism, the U.S. must support indigenous forces inside the Soviet bloc in their struggle against communist rule in other words, trading places in the national liberation (Schweizer 15). Reagan believed that in order to take down the wall, and communism, the U.S. must support nations under Soviet oppression and convince them that democracy and western powers were politically and socially correct. Conclusively, both Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan can be credited with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communism as a whole. The difference lies within the fact that Reagans intentions were clear that he had had enough of communist rule in Eastern Europe. And Gorbachev instead made an effort to strengthen communism, and in doing so did not deliberately tear the party apart, but failed through the transformations he tried to implement. Reagan clearly targeted Communism as a threat to democracy and intentionally set out to bring about its demise. Ironically, both internal and external forces brought about the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of East and West Germany. Ironically, both internal and external forces brought about the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of East and West Germany.