Saturday, 11 February 2017

Berlin Wall

8th February'2017

Session with Ms. Smita.

---------------------NOTES------------------------


BERLIN WALL
- Built in 1961
-Broken down in 1989 by civilians spontaneously

ISRAELI- WEST BANK BARRIER
- Built in 2002 to control the hostility in both countries

GREAT WALL OF CHINA
- Built to prevent Mongolians to enter.

BERLIN

- At first it looked like a good idea but then people started to realise the uselessness of the wall.
- The head of the government was Hanukah in Germany.
- An atmosphere was beginning to create within people that it might be okay to teardown the wall.
- The USSR, US, Britain, France divided Germany after they lost in WW2 because Germany had to be reconstructed. It was not meant to be a permanent occupation.
- Berlin was on the soviet zone. 
- Problem occurred between the occupying countries related to currency etc.
- The idea was to keep people from East Berlin and Germany to come into West Berlin because then the governments will change.
- 100 recorded deaths attempting to cross the border.
- Some people walled in and some people walled out.
- The center area was called the death strip 
- In 1975 they were calling it the boundary wall.
- The cold war had contributed into the tension created between East and West.
- Political, social, economic, and cultural differences are why the wall was built. Brain Drain.
- Life was tough in East Berlin and all the doctors, architect, engineers etc. decided to move away. 
- Communism (East Berlin), is essentially a good ideology but it wasn't working out for East Berlin. 
When East Germany people came into West, they used it as propaganda and shamed communism. 
- Through arguably rational, the decision was highly doubtable.
- It wasn't morally correct and it was unacceptable as people weren't consulted.
- For some time, people were allowed to cross for work and job reasons. 
-People were closely watch when they came to the other side by Stasi.
-They developed trust issues and eventually stopped contacting people on the other side, 
- Structures imposed to divide mankind often against the will and better judgement masses. 
- Protest movements on East Berlin: Exit on Voice
-People's protest: student protest, tole of the church
- On western side protest- graffiti art.
- After the wall broke down, the soviet union collapsed in 1991 and the other big 3 started to break away. 
-Big cultural icons like Pink Floyd started commenting on the wall
- The global influence: The polish people protested against the soviet and they gave people in Germany confidence. 
- The young generation had an uncertain feeling when the wall broke down because they were brought up with the wall.
-On the other hand, people were partying and welcoming their nieghbours.
-Just because we break the walls, doesnt mean that trust will come automatically. 
- Dont just demonise the wall alone but what caused it. 

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