Berlin Wall Controversy
On November 9, 1989 when East German citizens poured through border crossings in the Berlin Wall, the event marked a new beginning for East Europeans. Under strict control of the Soviet Union, life in Eastern Europe had been restricted, with little freedom and or luxury (Cernich). The unstoppable flow of East Germans fleeing to West Germany began the Soviet Union’s decline in power, and it floundered until dissolving on December 25 in 1990 (Montgomery). The Berlin Wall had separated countless families and friends on the West and East sides of Germany, and after they traveled through the wall they were finally reunited (Gorman). The fall of the Berlin Wall led to Germany unifying on October 3 in 1990 (Montgomery). When the Berlin Wall fell,
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the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) ended its military alliance with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Warsaw Pact countries (Eastern European countries allied with the Soviet Union) that had allied as an attempt to counterweight the force of Western Europe no longer had reason to continue the Cold War arms race, and pulled back military forces, leading to the end of the Cold War on both sides (Voice). The Soviet Union used Eastern Europe to ensure control and safety of its region by making an alliance with Eastern European countries (the Warsaw Pact) and using them as a buffer zone as protection in defending their western borders (Curtis). These countries were said to have formed an Iron Curtain, a political, ideological, and military barrier the Soviet Union set up to block itself and all dependent East Europe allies from the West and noncommunist areas (Britannica). The Berlin Wall (the dominant representative of this iron curtain) was built to separate communist East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic (GDR), from the democratically run West Germany, or the FRG as a political and economic barrier (Berliner-Mauer). Life in Eastern Germany was originally oppressive and strictly controlled by the Soviet Union, with punishments given to any person who openly disagreed with the government decisions or supported the West, and the media was censored to exclude any pro-western culture influences (Cernich). When Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on March 11 1985, he implemented reforms in the way the Soviet Union administered control. His biggest changes were Perestroika or restructuring: replacing hard-line communists in charge and giving soviets a larger role in government (Charles), glasnost or openness: freedom of speech and publication (Siegelbaum), and the Sinatra Doctrine: allowing Eastern Bloc countries to manage their own affairs (Royal). The Berlin Wall came down due to the replacement of Erich Honecker, the inability to correct an inaccurate announcement of the Berlin Wall’s opening, and Eastern Bloc citizens pushing to escape to Western Europe, caused by Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost, perestroika, and the Sinatra doctrine.
As General Secretary of the Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev knew that if the Soviet Union wanted to stay powerful they would have to change the way they controlled politics and economics (Royal). For this reason, he implemented reforms in Eastern Europe that he called Perestroika, or restructuring, Glasnost, or openness, and the Sinatra Doctrine. Perestroika reformed political distribution of power by an overhaul of the top communist officials in control, replacing them with those who supported reforms, and gave Soviets a chance to participate in decisions the government would have formally made without their input (Siegelbaum). Gorbachev replaced 14 of 23 department heads in the Secretariat, 23 of 78 secretaries in the Soviet Union’s allied republics and 39 of 101 Soviet ministers, paving the way for a new way of rule (Charles). Perestroika also legalized semi-private businesses, allowing some organizations to be run without the government’s complete control, and liberalized price controls making more of a free market with supply and demand deciding prices instead of government officials. Glasnost, gave East Europeans freedom of speech and publication, and allowed East Germans to listen to West German radio or television shows, while originally they had been censored and blocked (Siegelbaum). The Sinatra Doctrine was given its name after Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way,” and it meant that all Eastern Bloc countries were then allowed to manage their own political and economic affairs. Eastern Europeans were also allowed to travel freely between Eastern Bloc nations with the leeway given by the Soviet Union. With the Sinatra Doctrine, the Soviet Union could no longer interfere militaristically in other nations, and communism in Eastern Europe was now in the hands of many different leaders, who had their choice whether or not to stay communist (Royal). Though these reforms were a step forward in modernizing, they proved to weaken the Soviet Union’s control on East Germans.
Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost, perestroika, and the Sinatra Doctrine lead to the replacement of Erich Honecker, the leader of the Communist Party of East Germany (Gorman). Honecker was originally put in charge of overseeing the construction of the Berlin Wall, and he supported its existence (Britannica). Honecker said “The Berlin Wall will still exist in 50 and 100 years, unless the reasons for its existence are eliminated” (College). This quote shows that he had no intention of taking down the Berlin Wall until after the two sides divided by the wall were identical. He was known for telling Gorbachev "We have done our perestroika, we have nothing to restructure" to show his opinion that he didn’t need to follow Gorbachev’s reforms.
On October 18, 1989, Erich Honecker was forced to resign after faced with massive East German demonstrations for democratic reforms, when Eastern German citizens shouted “Help us Gorby!” trying to get Gorbachev to tell Honecker to step down (Bahrmann pg6). Glasnost gave these Germans the freedom to protest, prompting the citizens to speak up with their opinions, even about the government’s system. The Sinatra Doctrine made it so that Honecker could not be protected by the Soviet Union like in the past; he was in charge of all of the matters in the GDR. When the demonstrations called the attention of Mikhail Gorbachev to Honecker’s traditional communist way of control, Gorbachev realized Honecker would be another Communist Party official to replace with the redistribution of power implemented with Perestroika. Gorbachev replaced Erich Honecker with Egon Krenz, a figure more open to reforms in the GDR (Gorman). If Honecker’s failure to implement reforms in the GDR had not been brought to Gorbachev’s attention without interference of the Soviet Union, or if Gorbachev had not pushed for Perestroika to replace all hard-line communists in power within Eastern Europe, Egon Krenz would not have taken Honecker’s place at the head of the GDR, and the wall would have stayed upright for many years more.
Many Eastern Germans in the GDR wanted to escape to the democratic, liberal, and capitalist Western Europe. As more and more Eastern Europeans were able to flee to Western Europe due to Gorbachev’s policies, the push for freedom with West Germany became stronger and stronger. The first major event that lead Eastern Germans West is often called the Pan-European Picnic. Hungary underwent many reforms when the Sinatra Doctrine allowed them to implement their own changes, including a free market economy and a US-style constitution (Meyer). On August 19, 1989, Hungary decided to celebrate these changes by temporarily opening the border with Western Austria.
Miklos Nemeth, Hungary’s leader, sent out flyers to East German citizens, hinting that they might be able to cross the border to Western Europe without being stopped (Meyer). Nemeth wanted to provide an outlet for East Germans that could help collapse the Soviet Union, and he organized buses to transport Germans to the open border, allowing just fewer than 700 Germans a free escape to the Western Bloc, many travelling through Austria to Western Germany. Revolution swept through Eastern Europe, as East Germans realized they could take refuge in Western Embassies and have the same rights as would be given in Western Europe (Meyer). With each Western embassy under control of its parent country (as it was technically their property), Eastern Germans crowded these embassies in Budapest, Warsaw, and Prague.
On August 24 1989, Nemeth let all East Germans staying in the Budapest West German embassy to flee through Austria to West Germany (German). Later on September 12 1989, the Polish government let East Germans cramped into Warsaw’s West German embassy stay, with the intention of finding a way of transport to get them to West Germany. On September 30 1989, East Germans taking refuge in the crowded West German embassy of Prague were allowed entrance into West Germany, and trains were sent to transport these Germans to their new Western home (German).
These events gave East Germans a fervent hope that if they kept pushing, they would gain more freedom and eventually all would be allowed to go into the FRG. Glasnost had allowed the freedom of publication, and without the Soviet Union censoring everything entering Germany, the Pan-European picnic was allowed to happen with awareness raised by fliers, starting the movement of Eastern Europeans to the West. The Sinatra Doctrine had allowed Germans to travel between Eastern Bloc countries, and also let the countries send some East Germans to West Germany, as the Soviet Union let countries decide their own affairs. Perestroika had spread reform throughout Eastern Europe, and caused more countries to be more liberal like Poland and Hungary. Eventually the freedoms in these countries lead to East Germans being transported to the Western Bloc. Gorbachev’s reforms started a snowball effect of East Germans pushing for travel to Western Europe that eventually lead to the Berlin Wall barrier being taken down.
On November 9, 1989, Guenter Schabowski, a member of the East German Politburo, held a news conference about new reforms without fully knowing the rules and updates related to the Berlin Wall. The GDR had intended to allow limited travel between East and West Germany, but not yet the freedom to relocate to West Germany (Sarotte). The GDR had not yet even discussed new travel regulations with the Soviet Union or the border guards, and only had the intention that possible limited travel between East and West Germany be mentioned at the news conference. Schabowski read the regulations off a sheet of paper he had not yet read over, saying that each East German could “exit via border crossings,” and that the travel was “possible for every citizen.” When asked by reporters when citizens could exit the border, Schabowski flipped through his papers and (wrongly) assumed the changes were already in effect, replying “immediately, right away” (Sarotte). After realizing what he had unleashed, Schabowski tried bewilderedly to take back his previous statement by saying, "The question of travel, of the permeability therefore of the wall from our side, does not yet answer, exclusively, the question of the meaning, of this, let me say it this way, fortified border,” but by the time he had contradicted his original reply, reporters were already running off with news of the newly opened border (Sarotte).
At 10:42 the West German television channel ARD broadcasted, "This ninth of November is a historic day." “[East Germany] has announced that, starting immediately, its borders are open to everyone." Though the border officials stationed at the Berlin Wall knew that there was no official plan to let Germans through that night, they had little control over the growing mass of Eastern Germans gathering, expected to be let through the border crossings. The crowds were chanting “Open the gate! Open the gate!” and refused to listen to the border officials replies that Schabowski’s message had been “deranged” (Sarotte). Eventually the force of gathering East Germans was too great for the border officials to control, and at 11:30 pm, the head guard, Harald Jäger, decided the only solution was to let people pass through the border as they were originally promised. Glasnost gave them the right to stay and demonstrate, and the border guards could not remove people from the wall. The Sinatra Doctrine left all of the GDR’s affairs to herself, so when the guards could not control the crowd of East Germans, they were not able to receive help from any outside forces, and the push of the citizens proved to be too great for the defense of the border guards. If Gorbachev’s reforms had not been implemented, Schabowski’s mistake would have been resolved and the original plan of keeping the wall up would have been followed. Gorbachev’s reforms allowed this one mistake to turn into a revolution.
When Mikhail Gorbachev took over the head of the Communist Party, his reforms of perestroika, glasnost, and the Sinatra Doctrine reformed Eastern Europe’s policies so greatly that they ultimately lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Perestroika, or “restructuring,” shifted the power in the Soviet Union to leaders in favor of more liberal political and economic reforms. Glasnost, or “openness,” let East Germans see what freedoms they were missing through uncensored media, and speak out with what their opinions were. The Sinatra Doctrine let countries control their own affairs as they pleased, many reforming vastly, while allowing Eastern Bloc citizens free travel throughout their Bloc and preventing military force from the Soviet Union from stepping in. With new important Communist Party officials supporting reforms, and countries allowed to make their own decisions, East Germans were given more rights, and had countries around them that practiced even more democratic ideas. The replacement of Erich Honecker gave East Germany a leader who was willing to implement reforms with freedom given to East Germans. With freedom to travel and hold demonstrations, East Germans pushed the government to allow them travel to the Western Bloc without threat from the soviets. By the time a Guenter Schabowski mistakenly said that the wall was open “immediately,” nothing could stop the mobs of East Germans passionate for the freedom they fought for after such a long time. They had a right to …show more content…
demonstrate at the wall because of glasnost, they could not be forced down by guards or military because of the Sinatra Doctrine, and ultimately were allowed by Eastern Bloc officials to cross the border they had already begun to tear down. The citizens of East and West Germany tearing down the wall piece by piece signified an end to the Iron Curtain that closed off the Eastern Bloc, and as East and West Germany became united, it was understood that the Cold War was finally over. As the wall came down, families separated between two Germanys were reunited. East Germans who were once isolated from the democratic, capitalist, and liberalist state of the Federal Republic of Germany in such close proximity were finally allowed to travel there and enjoy their new freedoms. The fall of the Berlin Wall represented the fall of the iron curtain and of the repression of Eastern Europeans.
Bibliography
"10 Events Leading to the Fall of the Berlin Wall." Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Silke Röfer. German Embassy Wellington, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Bahrmann, Hannes. The Fall of the Wall: The Path to German Reunification. Berlin: Links Verlag, 1999. Print.
Berliner-Mauer, W. "Why The Berlin Wall Was Built." - The Berlin Wall Official Homepage. 3 Aug. 2000. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Biography of Mikhail Gorbachev." National Cold War Exhibition. Royal Air Force Museum, 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Cernich, Karen. "The Missourian, Washington, MO." E Missourian. The Missourian, 11 June 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. (primary source) .
Charles, Jon. "How Perestroika and Glasnost Changed Europe and the World." Yahoo! Contributor Network. 1 Aug. 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Curtis, Glenn E. "The Warsaw Pact." The Warsaw Pact. Library of Congress, Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Erich Honecker (German Politician)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Fall of Berlin Wall Marks End of Cold War." Voice Of America. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Gorman, Robert F., ed. The Cold War. Texas: Salem, 2010. Print.
Honecker, Erich. Speech given January 18, 1989. Available at: "German Reunification, 1989-90." CollegeBoard AP Central. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. (primary source) . (primary source)
"Iron Curtain (European History)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Lehmann, C. "The Reunification of Germany." University of South Dakota. Board of Regents of South Dakota, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Meyer, Michael.
"The Picnic That Brought down the Berlin Wall." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 13 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Mikhail Gorbachev, Former USSR President."RSS. Euronews, 11 Mar. 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
Montgomery, Leigh, and Elizabeth Ryan. "Fall of the Berlin Wall: Timeline." The Christian Science Monitor. 8 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"On This Day: The Berlin Wall Comes Down." On This Day: The Berlin Wall Comes Down. Dulcinea Media, 9 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
"Perestroika and Glasnost." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
Sarotte, Mary Elise. "How an Accident Caused the Berlin Wall to Come Down." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 01 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Siegelbaum, Lewis. "1985: Perestroika and Glasnost." Soviet History. 2012. Web. 2012. .
Soper, Karl Wheeler. "The Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact." Library of Congress. 25 Nov. 1997. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Warsaw Pact (Europe [1955-91])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
Wilde, Robert. "Brezhnev Doctrine." About.com European History. N.p., 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
.
the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) ended its military alliance with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Warsaw Pact countries (Eastern European countries allied with the Soviet Union) that had allied as an attempt to counterweight the force of Western Europe no longer had reason to continue the Cold War arms race, and pulled back military forces, leading to the end of the Cold War on both sides (Voice). The Soviet Union used Eastern Europe to ensure control and safety of its region by making an alliance with Eastern European countries (the Warsaw Pact) and using them as a buffer zone as protection in defending their western borders (Curtis). These countries were said to have formed an Iron Curtain, a political, ideological, and military barrier the Soviet Union set up to block itself and all dependent East Europe allies from the West and noncommunist areas (Britannica). The Berlin Wall (the dominant representative of this iron curtain) was built to separate communist East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic (GDR), from the democratically run West Germany, or the FRG as a political and economic barrier (Berliner-Mauer). Life in Eastern Germany was originally oppressive and strictly controlled by the Soviet Union, with punishments given to any person who openly disagreed with the government decisions or supported the West, and the media was censored to exclude any pro-western culture influences (Cernich). When Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on March 11 1985, he implemented reforms in the way the Soviet Union administered control. His biggest changes were Perestroika or restructuring: replacing hard-line communists in charge and giving soviets a larger role in government (Charles), glasnost or openness: freedom of speech and publication (Siegelbaum), and the Sinatra Doctrine: allowing Eastern Bloc countries to manage their own affairs (Royal). The Berlin Wall came down due to the replacement of Erich Honecker, the inability to correct an inaccurate announcement of the Berlin Wall’s opening, and Eastern Bloc citizens pushing to escape to Western Europe, caused by Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost, perestroika, and the Sinatra doctrine.
As General Secretary of the Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev knew that if the Soviet Union wanted to stay powerful they would have to change the way they controlled politics and economics (Royal). For this reason, he implemented reforms in Eastern Europe that he called Perestroika, or restructuring, Glasnost, or openness, and the Sinatra Doctrine. Perestroika reformed political distribution of power by an overhaul of the top communist officials in control, replacing them with those who supported reforms, and gave Soviets a chance to participate in decisions the government would have formally made without their input (Siegelbaum). Gorbachev replaced 14 of 23 department heads in the Secretariat, 23 of 78 secretaries in the Soviet Union’s allied republics and 39 of 101 Soviet ministers, paving the way for a new way of rule (Charles). Perestroika also legalized semi-private businesses, allowing some organizations to be run without the government’s complete control, and liberalized price controls making more of a free market with supply and demand deciding prices instead of government officials. Glasnost, gave East Europeans freedom of speech and publication, and allowed East Germans to listen to West German radio or television shows, while originally they had been censored and blocked (Siegelbaum). The Sinatra Doctrine was given its name after Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way,” and it meant that all Eastern Bloc countries were then allowed to manage their own political and economic affairs. Eastern Europeans were also allowed to travel freely between Eastern Bloc nations with the leeway given by the Soviet Union. With the Sinatra Doctrine, the Soviet Union could no longer interfere militaristically in other nations, and communism in Eastern Europe was now in the hands of many different leaders, who had their choice whether or not to stay communist (Royal). Though these reforms were a step forward in modernizing, they proved to weaken the Soviet Union’s control on East Germans.
Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost, perestroika, and the Sinatra Doctrine lead to the replacement of Erich Honecker, the leader of the Communist Party of East Germany (Gorman). Honecker was originally put in charge of overseeing the construction of the Berlin Wall, and he supported its existence (Britannica). Honecker said “The Berlin Wall will still exist in 50 and 100 years, unless the reasons for its existence are eliminated” (College). This quote shows that he had no intention of taking down the Berlin Wall until after the two sides divided by the wall were identical. He was known for telling Gorbachev "We have done our perestroika, we have nothing to restructure" to show his opinion that he didn’t need to follow Gorbachev’s reforms.
On October 18, 1989, Erich Honecker was forced to resign after faced with massive East German demonstrations for democratic reforms, when Eastern German citizens shouted “Help us Gorby!” trying to get Gorbachev to tell Honecker to step down (Bahrmann pg6). Glasnost gave these Germans the freedom to protest, prompting the citizens to speak up with their opinions, even about the government’s system. The Sinatra Doctrine made it so that Honecker could not be protected by the Soviet Union like in the past; he was in charge of all of the matters in the GDR. When the demonstrations called the attention of Mikhail Gorbachev to Honecker’s traditional communist way of control, Gorbachev realized Honecker would be another Communist Party official to replace with the redistribution of power implemented with Perestroika. Gorbachev replaced Erich Honecker with Egon Krenz, a figure more open to reforms in the GDR (Gorman). If Honecker’s failure to implement reforms in the GDR had not been brought to Gorbachev’s attention without interference of the Soviet Union, or if Gorbachev had not pushed for Perestroika to replace all hard-line communists in power within Eastern Europe, Egon Krenz would not have taken Honecker’s place at the head of the GDR, and the wall would have stayed upright for many years more.
Many Eastern Germans in the GDR wanted to escape to the democratic, liberal, and capitalist Western Europe. As more and more Eastern Europeans were able to flee to Western Europe due to Gorbachev’s policies, the push for freedom with West Germany became stronger and stronger. The first major event that lead Eastern Germans West is often called the Pan-European Picnic. Hungary underwent many reforms when the Sinatra Doctrine allowed them to implement their own changes, including a free market economy and a US-style constitution (Meyer). On August 19, 1989, Hungary decided to celebrate these changes by temporarily opening the border with Western Austria.
Miklos Nemeth, Hungary’s leader, sent out flyers to East German citizens, hinting that they might be able to cross the border to Western Europe without being stopped (Meyer). Nemeth wanted to provide an outlet for East Germans that could help collapse the Soviet Union, and he organized buses to transport Germans to the open border, allowing just fewer than 700 Germans a free escape to the Western Bloc, many travelling through Austria to Western Germany. Revolution swept through Eastern Europe, as East Germans realized they could take refuge in Western Embassies and have the same rights as would be given in Western Europe (Meyer). With each Western embassy under control of its parent country (as it was technically their property), Eastern Germans crowded these embassies in Budapest, Warsaw, and Prague.
On August 24 1989, Nemeth let all East Germans staying in the Budapest West German embassy to flee through Austria to West Germany (German). Later on September 12 1989, the Polish government let East Germans cramped into Warsaw’s West German embassy stay, with the intention of finding a way of transport to get them to West Germany. On September 30 1989, East Germans taking refuge in the crowded West German embassy of Prague were allowed entrance into West Germany, and trains were sent to transport these Germans to their new Western home (German).
These events gave East Germans a fervent hope that if they kept pushing, they would gain more freedom and eventually all would be allowed to go into the FRG. Glasnost had allowed the freedom of publication, and without the Soviet Union censoring everything entering Germany, the Pan-European picnic was allowed to happen with awareness raised by fliers, starting the movement of Eastern Europeans to the West. The Sinatra Doctrine had allowed Germans to travel between Eastern Bloc countries, and also let the countries send some East Germans to West Germany, as the Soviet Union let countries decide their own affairs. Perestroika had spread reform throughout Eastern Europe, and caused more countries to be more liberal like Poland and Hungary. Eventually the freedoms in these countries lead to East Germans being transported to the Western Bloc. Gorbachev’s reforms started a snowball effect of East Germans pushing for travel to Western Europe that eventually lead to the Berlin Wall barrier being taken down.
On November 9, 1989, Guenter Schabowski, a member of the East German Politburo, held a news conference about new reforms without fully knowing the rules and updates related to the Berlin Wall. The GDR had intended to allow limited travel between East and West Germany, but not yet the freedom to relocate to West Germany (Sarotte). The GDR had not yet even discussed new travel regulations with the Soviet Union or the border guards, and only had the intention that possible limited travel between East and West Germany be mentioned at the news conference. Schabowski read the regulations off a sheet of paper he had not yet read over, saying that each East German could “exit via border crossings,” and that the travel was “possible for every citizen.” When asked by reporters when citizens could exit the border, Schabowski flipped through his papers and (wrongly) assumed the changes were already in effect, replying “immediately, right away” (Sarotte). After realizing what he had unleashed, Schabowski tried bewilderedly to take back his previous statement by saying, "The question of travel, of the permeability therefore of the wall from our side, does not yet answer, exclusively, the question of the meaning, of this, let me say it this way, fortified border,” but by the time he had contradicted his original reply, reporters were already running off with news of the newly opened border (Sarotte).
At 10:42 the West German television channel ARD broadcasted, "This ninth of November is a historic day." “[East Germany] has announced that, starting immediately, its borders are open to everyone." Though the border officials stationed at the Berlin Wall knew that there was no official plan to let Germans through that night, they had little control over the growing mass of Eastern Germans gathering, expected to be let through the border crossings. The crowds were chanting “Open the gate! Open the gate!” and refused to listen to the border officials replies that Schabowski’s message had been “deranged” (Sarotte). Eventually the force of gathering East Germans was too great for the border officials to control, and at 11:30 pm, the head guard, Harald Jäger, decided the only solution was to let people pass through the border as they were originally promised. Glasnost gave them the right to stay and demonstrate, and the border guards could not remove people from the wall. The Sinatra Doctrine left all of the GDR’s affairs to herself, so when the guards could not control the crowd of East Germans, they were not able to receive help from any outside forces, and the push of the citizens proved to be too great for the defense of the border guards. If Gorbachev’s reforms had not been implemented, Schabowski’s mistake would have been resolved and the original plan of keeping the wall up would have been followed. Gorbachev’s reforms allowed this one mistake to turn into a revolution.
When Mikhail Gorbachev took over the head of the Communist Party, his reforms of perestroika, glasnost, and the Sinatra Doctrine reformed Eastern Europe’s policies so greatly that they ultimately lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Perestroika, or “restructuring,” shifted the power in the Soviet Union to leaders in favor of more liberal political and economic reforms. Glasnost, or “openness,” let East Germans see what freedoms they were missing through uncensored media, and speak out with what their opinions were. The Sinatra Doctrine let countries control their own affairs as they pleased, many reforming vastly, while allowing Eastern Bloc citizens free travel throughout their Bloc and preventing military force from the Soviet Union from stepping in. With new important Communist Party officials supporting reforms, and countries allowed to make their own decisions, East Germans were given more rights, and had countries around them that practiced even more democratic ideas. The replacement of Erich Honecker gave East Germany a leader who was willing to implement reforms with freedom given to East Germans. With freedom to travel and hold demonstrations, East Germans pushed the government to allow them travel to the Western Bloc without threat from the soviets. By the time a Guenter Schabowski mistakenly said that the wall was open “immediately,” nothing could stop the mobs of East Germans passionate for the freedom they fought for after such a long time. They had a right to …show more content…
demonstrate at the wall because of glasnost, they could not be forced down by guards or military because of the Sinatra Doctrine, and ultimately were allowed by Eastern Bloc officials to cross the border they had already begun to tear down. The citizens of East and West Germany tearing down the wall piece by piece signified an end to the Iron Curtain that closed off the Eastern Bloc, and as East and West Germany became united, it was understood that the Cold War was finally over. As the wall came down, families separated between two Germanys were reunited. East Germans who were once isolated from the democratic, capitalist, and liberalist state of the Federal Republic of Germany in such close proximity were finally allowed to travel there and enjoy their new freedoms. The fall of the Berlin Wall represented the fall of the iron curtain and of the repression of Eastern Europeans.
Bibliography
"10 Events Leading to the Fall of the Berlin Wall." Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Silke Röfer. German Embassy Wellington, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Bahrmann, Hannes. The Fall of the Wall: The Path to German Reunification. Berlin: Links Verlag, 1999. Print.
Berliner-Mauer, W. "Why The Berlin Wall Was Built." - The Berlin Wall Official Homepage. 3 Aug. 2000. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Biography of Mikhail Gorbachev." National Cold War Exhibition. Royal Air Force Museum, 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Cernich, Karen. "The Missourian, Washington, MO." E Missourian. The Missourian, 11 June 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. (primary source) .
Charles, Jon. "How Perestroika and Glasnost Changed Europe and the World." Yahoo! Contributor Network. 1 Aug. 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Curtis, Glenn E. "The Warsaw Pact." The Warsaw Pact. Library of Congress, Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Erich Honecker (German Politician)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Fall of Berlin Wall Marks End of Cold War." Voice Of America. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Gorman, Robert F., ed. The Cold War. Texas: Salem, 2010. Print.
Honecker, Erich. Speech given January 18, 1989. Available at: "German Reunification, 1989-90." CollegeBoard AP Central. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. (primary source) . (primary source)
"Iron Curtain (European History)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Lehmann, C. "The Reunification of Germany." University of South Dakota. Board of Regents of South Dakota, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Meyer, Michael.
"The Picnic That Brought down the Berlin Wall." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 13 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Mikhail Gorbachev, Former USSR President."RSS. Euronews, 11 Mar. 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
Montgomery, Leigh, and Elizabeth Ryan. "Fall of the Berlin Wall: Timeline." The Christian Science Monitor. 8 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"On This Day: The Berlin Wall Comes Down." On This Day: The Berlin Wall Comes Down. Dulcinea Media, 9 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
"Perestroika and Glasnost." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
Sarotte, Mary Elise. "How an Accident Caused the Berlin Wall to Come Down." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 01 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
Siegelbaum, Lewis. "1985: Perestroika and Glasnost." Soviet History. 2012. Web. 2012. .
Soper, Karl Wheeler. "The Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact." Library of Congress. 25 Nov. 1997. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. .
"Warsaw Pact (Europe [1955-91])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
Wilde, Robert. "Brezhnev Doctrine." About.com European History. N.p., 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
.