The events of 1989 Flashcards
Historian A. James McAdams on the opening of Hungary’s borders
The beginning of the end of the GDR could be dated to this one event as it made the Berlin Wall superfluous
When did the Berlin Wall fall?
9 November 1989
German historian of modern age Hans Herman-Hertle characterises the momentous fall of the Berlin Wall as…
as “the unintended self-dissolution” of the GDR and the “decisive moment of the collapse”
Herman-Hertle contends this sudden liberation instigated a profound transformation in the political landscape as the ruling government…
“lost control of their citizens overnight” – this undermined the regimes power which led to its dissolution
Why was the Berlin Wall built?
The Berlin Wall was constructed in response to a growing exodus of East Germans who sought to escape to the West for better economic opportunities and political freedoms
The East German government viewed this surge as a formidable menace to their hegemony and decided to build the Wall with the purpose of preventing further migration
The Berlin Wall inspired popular uprisings and the eventual collapse of communist regimes throughout the region – these included countries such as…
Bulgaria and Poland who had been subject to authoritarian communist rule for decades
Michael Zürn on the fall of the Berlin Wall
“the fall of the Berlin Wall marks the breakdown of Soviet-style socialism and the end of the East West conflict”
What did the Berlin Wall Wall precipitate the resurgence of?
An enduring obstacle that had originally prompted its construction – the issue of mass migration and the debilitating brain drain
What does Herman-Hertle conclude?
The “dual movement of mass exodus and mass protest started the process of collapse”
Daniel Hamilton on the Berlin Wall
The “infamous wall of concrete and barbed wire” acted as “an invisible wall of regulations and prohibitions designed to shield society from liberalizing influence”
The fall of the Berlin Wall served as a catalyst for exposing…
the fundamental weaknesses and inadequacies inherent within the East German system
Summarise the holistic position Peter Grieder advances
He suggests that the Berlin Wall was a manifestation of the collapse rather than the impetus behind it and it signalled the demise of the regime
Gorbachev was instrumental in triggering the collapse at that particular juncture
The lack of a national identity or the impact of Gorbachev
The lack of a national identity did not serve as the central causative agent but it intensified the impact of the primary cause
