The Berlin wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the leading causes of the fall of the Soviet Union. It was a turning point to bring down the Soviet Union. The Berlin wall went up on Sunday August 13, 1961.The wall was built shortly before midnight while everyone was sleeping and no one saw it coming. The wall separated Eastern Germany and Western Germany. The Berlin wall was a major life changing factor for the people of Germany. In example, some people that lived in East Berlin worked in West Berlin so they lost their jobs. Another thing was that some people had family on different sides which they couldn't visit. Not only did the wall separate Germany it also separated family. Families were torn apart and for many years. The wall seemed to curse Berlin. Anyone who tried to cross over the wall was killed on the spot. They were shot for trying to go over the wall which to the government was some sort of betrayal to them. The West Germans called the wall “The Wall of Shame.” The wall not only affected workers and families it also affected those who were trying to get an education. In the east education was free but it cost money in the west which resulted in many students going to East German schools to get their education for free and then went back to the west to go to work where they could earn more money. Essentially since the wall was built they couldn't do that anymore. Those who lived in the west had to pay for their educations since they could no longer go to the east side to get a free education. Overall the Berlin Wall caused many problems. Although the government didn’t see it that way: the Berlin Wall would soon cause them big trouble. To the government the Berlin Wall was a symbol of communism. It showed they were in power. That the power was in their hands and not the peoples. East Berlin was in very bad conditions because they lacked natural resources. Germany economy was going down the drain and it was because of the government’s sacred wall. Communism was failing as a government and they were too stubborn to see it. The government built the Berlin wall so people wouldn't leave but what they didn't realize was that because of the wall the economy was in terrible conditions and if they didn't fix it fast, people would leave anyways. Their plan was quickly crumbling and they had to act fast. So on Saturday November 11, 1989 the Berlin Wall fell down. And people could cross the border to see their families and, to go to work or to visit friends. People could even go get their free educations now. But letting the wall fall wasn't going to fix their government and soon they would learn that. To read more please go to the page to read what happened to the Soviet Empire just click the button below and you will be there. Thank you for reading.