A further point is that by the late 1960s unrest in Eastern European countries such as Czechoslovakia meant that the government of the GDR had to end what could have been a beneficial ‘New Economic System’ and bring back tighter state control showing that from the wall, inhabitants of the GDR had gained nothing. Due to this it could be argued that the building of the Berlin Wall proved to be mainly negative for them.
It could also be argued that it was mainly negative because while in the West the wall was covered with political messages in the form of graffiti; in the East the crossing of the boundary was punishable by death. Throughout the years the Wall claimed many victims. The Western powers used it as evidence of the GDR’s repression to enforce obedience on its population. In the West viewing platforms showed just how awful life was like in the West, showing that the building of the Berlin Wall was mainly negative.
This is reinforced as a lot of defence was needed for the wall, showing that people desperately wanted to get out of East Germany. In the West an additional 40,000 soldiers were mainly sent to West Germany and compulsory military service was extended. Feeling threatened by the obvious display of anger, the GDR felt they needed to strengthen the wall in order to protect themselves. The material of the wall changed many times during its long existence, initiating as a small barbed wire border in August 1961 and finishing as a concrete structure. As well as this 40,000 small guns were used, 5000 machine guns and 60 tanks- all for the defence of East Germany so the results were mainly negative for the GDR.
Finally, the wall divided families and friends. It was put up almost overnight and even divided households in certain circumstances. Children were separated from their parents and if someone had gone shopping in West Berlin just for a day, once the wall was up they were stuck there. Many people in West Berlin felt trapped, since they were encircled by the wall and decided to leave for West Germany to avoid this, separating friends and families further. Phone lines were cut by the GDR government linking them to West Berlin. Eventually people from West Berlin were allowed to visit if given an access visa, but this was expensive and difficult to obtain- a yes was also never guaranteed, the government could say no without a reason. For this reason, it could be argued that for the GDR, the construction of the Berlin Wall was mainly negative.
On the other hand, some people could suggest things which show that it could actually be argued as a positive for the GDR. Firstly, it forced the inhabitants to accept living in a socialist system which encouraged them to make their society successful and all helped each other. The people themselves thought it was for their own protection so wouldn’t have thought it was as repressive as it actually was due to GDR propaganda portraying the idea that it was an ‘anti-Fascist protective barrier’.
Furthermore, by the end of the 1960s wages had risen, more goods were available for the average person and production in agriculture was on the rise. There were still shortages of housing and food but this was improving, so much that Ulbricht gave a somewhat optimistic statement saying that they would soon overtake the FRG economically. The wall also solved the labour crisis in the GDR because people couldn’t leave and get a job in West Germany- they had no choice. Due to this newfound labour supply more goods could be made.
As well as this a 6 day working week was introduced but reduced control by the government so that locally, people could make their own decisions. This freedom shows that it wasn’t entirely bad and for those hoping for a job in technology or science, the government tried to make career prospects appealing by giving people certain benefits.
Overall, there are many reasons why it could be argued that, for the GDR, the results of the building of the Berlin Wall proved to be either mainly negative or actually seen as positive. Personally, I think that it could be seen as positive, so I don’t agree with the statement, because it meant that after a time of war people were working together and it improved certain aspects of life for people living there as, for example, people contributing highly to society couldn’t leave and get a job in the West. As well as this, wages were actually rising so conditions in East Germany weren’t as bad as some people make it out to be.
