The Berlin Wall

 

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge

On November 9, 1989, East Germany's Communist rulers opened the Berlin Wall as an aftermath of Perestroika and Glasnost and also due to the continuous pressure of the East German public. The Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who played a key role in this historic event, got a hero's welcome yesterday.

I still recall some events relating to the Berlin Wall that took place when I was a medical student. When I crossed the Berlin Wall in 1988 to enter West Berlin, I had a gut feeling that this wall would not last forever. Being non-White and not looking like a German, I had no problems with the East German border guards. They allowed me to cross the Wall. But Vethalik, who was from Riga, had a little trouble, and the East German authorities triple-checked his documents in order to make sure that he was not an East German in disguise. But eventually Vethalik was released.

Many East Germans whom I met at that time were eager to cross the Berlin Wall and go to West Germany. I specifically remember the words of a young East German whose name was Heinrich. He was so fascinated by the musical show conducted by David Bowie near the west side of the Berlin Wall. He said to me, “My dream is to cross the Wall someday and start a new life in West Germany.” Although he had thought that there was a heaven in the Western part, we knew the mental picture he had was not one hundred percent accurate.

The Berlin Wall was erected on the night of August 13, 1961. This decision was made by the Communist parties of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, who met in Moscow, and they decided to close the open border between East and West Berlin. The wall separated many families. Despite the restrictions, many people fled the Eastern part and entered the West. Then the GDR took stern measures. They built a concrete wall, which earned the name Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the "Anti-Fascist Protection Wall" by the GDR.

The total border length around West Berlin was 155 km. There were 302 watchtowers and 20 bunkers. Nearly 192 people were killed on the Berlin Wall when they tried to defect to the West side. In 1953, East Berliners rose up against the totalitarian system, but the uprising was crushed with the help of Moscow. In 1955, the USSR declared that the GDR was fully sovereign. However, the Red Army troops remained in East German territory, based on the four-power Potsdam Agreement.

The German Democratic Republic which had been founded on 7 October 1949. Many Germans who opposed Hitler's Nazi policies supported the new regime. They were willing to develop GDR in an anti-fascist model. But strict censorship alienated the people and the regime. GDR became another totalitarian state. The East German secret service, also known as STASI, controlled the people with an iron fist, even interfering in their private lives. STASI recruited a large number of agents, and some calculations have concluded that in East Germany, there was one informer to every seven citizens.

One should not forget that there was a positive side to East Germany as well. In the GDR, everyone had a legally guaranteed security of tenure and ownership of the properties where they lived. The unemployment rate was low, and free education and health care were guaranteed. GDR achieved many victories in international sports. But East Germans may have valued freedom as the most valuable component in their lives. Therefore, during the Wall's existence, there were around 5,000 successful escapes to West Berlin.

In a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, Ronald Reagan told Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall that stood as an obstacle to human freedom. The disintegration of the wall brought with it the freedom to travel the world and, for some, more material wealth, but it also brought social breakdown, widespread unemployment, and social insecurity. The Berlin Wall taught us a lesson. Freedom is not cheap. It's expensive.