.png){kind=logo}
On November 9, 1989, the demolition of what was known as the Berlin wall began - Berliner Mauer in German - but many important historical events predate the construction and fall of the wall that divided Germany for almost 30 years, so it is worth It's worth checking out the list of topics below to better understand the geopolitical context of the time, its unfolding and consequences:
The German-Soviet Pact in 1939 (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pakt)
On August 23, 1939, a few days before the start of the Second World War, the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union was signed, which assured the Germans of the invasion of Poland and the incursion of troops on others. countries without the USSR getting involved in the conflict.
The Operation Barbarossa in 1941 (Operation Fritz)
On June 22 of 1941 Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany breaks the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact and launches Operation Barbarossa against Josef Stalin's Soviet Union. The move took Stalin's Red Army by surprise and kicked off six months of massive battles between these two totalitarian superpowers in a dispute that would ultimately be decisive in the outcome of World War II.
The Stalingrad Battle in 1942 (Schlacht von Stalingrad)
The Battle of Stalingrad was the largest battle fought during World War II and took place between the German and Soviet armies from July 1942 to February 1943. The battle resulted in the death of approximately two million people and the victory of the Soviet Union during the war. harsh Russian winter that caused weapons and fuel to freeze, planes could not take off and fighters could not withstand the cold.
The German Democratic Republic in 1949 (Deutsche Demokratische Republik)
On October 7, 1949, East Germany was officially constituted as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and occupied an area of 108,178 kilometers in length, being one of the successor states of Germany defeated by the Soviet Union in World War II - the other state was the Federal Republic of Germany, West Germany.
The German Democratic Republic (GDR) occupied the zones that currently constitute the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The GDR designated East Berlin as its capital.
The differences between the capitalist and socialist systems collided in the country sharply. The Berlin Wall was built to contain the escapes as more than a million people had already left East Germany because they could no longer withstand the economic crisis and the psychological climate in an unfree society.
The construction of the Berlin wall in 1961 (Die Berliner Mauer)
The Berlin Wall began to be built during the Cold War in August 1961 by the German military itself who decided to form East / East Germany - communist, commanded by the Soviet Union - and separate from West Germany - capitalist, administered by France, United Kingdom and United States of America.
In the early hours of August 13, while Berliners slept, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) began building barbed wire fences and barriers to isolate East Berlin's entry points from the western part of the city. The nightly movement surprised German citizens on both sides of the new border as they received no advance notice, had no time to replan their lives or at least say goodbye to their family and friends from whom they would now be isolated for decades.
Within the so-called Eastern Bloc, East Germany was a special geographical and political case because on its western border began the free part of Europe. West Berlin was divided between the four victorious powers of the World War and was an island of freedom in the middle of communist East Germany.
The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 (Die Berliner Mauer)
The population's dissatisfaction was crucial in the process of bringing down the Berlin Wall "which showed itself in the incredible pressure to leave the country". In 1985, many people in East Germany expected a change of course in the country after the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev took power in the Soviet Union. But East German dictator Erich Honecker remained adamant, so the population expressed its discontent with protests in the streets and businesses, and also with the growing number of requests to leave the country - in two years, the number doubled from 53,000 to 105. thousand, however, only a fraction were allowed to leave it.
The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. Millions of East and West Germans went on a wave of immense joy. on October 3, 1990, when the two German states were reunified.
If you liked this article and want to receive more free content about history, politics, and culture, just join Easy Peasy Brazil groups. Contact us via Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram by clicking the button below:
About the author of this post:
Teacher Ale Menezes is currently the administrator and coordinator of Easy Peasy Brazil. Having 10 years of experience in language teaching, translation and interpretation, he is also responsible for hiring and training teachers, dealing with Brazilian and foreign clients, in addition to coordinating the team for regular classes and events.
Comentários