Explain why communism collapsed across Eastern Europe in 1989 and the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to explain why communism collapsed across Eastern Europe in the revolutions of 1989, and why the fall of the Berlin Wall in particular was so significant. You should be able to explain why the Berlin Wall had been built, the reasons the communist regimes of Eastern Europe collapsed (above all Gorbachev's refusal to use force, the unpopularity of the regimes, and the spreading example of change), describe the fall of the Wall, and explain its significance for the end of the Cold War. The task is explanation: link Gorbachev's policies and popular discontent to the collapse, and the fall of the Wall to the ending of the Cold War.

The answer

Why the Berlin Wall had been built

To understand the significance of the Wall's fall, you must know why it was built. After Germany and Berlin were divided, many people fled from communist East Germany to the freer and more prosperous West, mostly through West Berlin. This drain of people, including skilled workers, was a serious embarrassment and problem for the communist East. So in 1961 the East German government, backed by the Soviet Union, built the Berlin Wall, a barrier sealing off West Berlin to stop people escaping. The Wall became the most powerful symbol of the Cold War and of the division of Europe: a physical barrier dividing a city, with families separated and guards ordered to shoot those who tried to cross.

The key change: Gorbachev and Soviet policy

For decades the communist regimes of Eastern Europe had been kept in power partly by the threat of Soviet force. When people in countries such as Hungary and Czechoslovakia had tried to reform or break free in earlier decades, the Soviet Union had sent in troops to crush them. The decisive change in the late 1980s was that the new Soviet leader, Gorbachev, made clear he would no longer use force to keep these governments in power. He had his own reasons (the cost of the Cold War, his reform agenda), but the effect was dramatic: the Eastern European regimes suddenly lost the Soviet backing that had propped them up.

Why the regimes were vulnerable

Once the fear of Soviet intervention was removed, the deep weaknesses of the communist regimes were exposed. They were widely unpopular and resented for their lack of freedom and their secret police. Their economies were weak and could not match the prosperity of the West, so people endured shortages and a poor standard of living. Gorbachev's own policy of glasnost (openness) had also encouraged people to speak out and demand change. With the regimes unpopular, the economies failing, and the threat of force gone, popular discontent could finally burst into the open.

The revolutions of 1989 and the fall of the Wall

In 1989 a wave of mostly peaceful revolutions swept across Eastern Europe. Country by country, people demanded freedom and the communist governments gave way: there were reforms in Poland and Hungary, mass protests elsewhere, and the changes spread rapidly as each success encouraged the next. The most dramatic moment was the opening of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Faced with huge crowds and unable to rely on Soviet force, the East German government opened the border, and jubilant crowds crossed freely and began to tear down the Wall. The image of people dancing on and demolishing the Berlin Wall became the great symbol of the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War division of Europe.

The significance of the fall

The fall of the Berlin Wall was hugely significant. As the most powerful symbol of the divided Europe and the Cold War, its fall symbolised the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the end of the division of the continent. It led directly to the reunification of Germany, as East and West Germany were joined back into a single country in 1990, ending the division created after the war. More broadly, it marked the effective end of the Cold War in Europe: the iron curtain had fallen, and the great struggle that had divided the continent for over forty years was coming to an end. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe also weakened the Soviet Union itself, contributing to its own break-up soon after.

Examples in context

Example 1. The Wall as a symbol. For nearly thirty years the Berlin Wall stood as the clearest physical symbol of the Cold War: a heavily guarded barrier splitting a single city, dividing families, with people shot trying to escape to the West. Because it was such a powerful symbol of division and oppression, its opening in November 1989 carried enormous meaning, instantly recognised around the world as the moment the Cold War order in Europe collapsed.

Example 2. The reunification of Germany. The fall of the Wall led directly to the joining of East and West Germany into a single country in 1990, reversing the division imposed after the Second World War. The reunification of Germany showed how completely the Cold War order in Europe had collapsed and was one of the most concrete results of the events of 1989, ending decades of division at the heart of the continent.

Try this

Q1. In which year was the Berlin Wall opened and torn down? [3 marks]

• Cue. 1989 (it had been built in 1961).

Q2. Explain why the communist regimes of Eastern Europe lost power once the Soviet Union would no longer use force to defend them. [5 marks]

• Cue. The regimes were unpopular and had weak economies, kept in power partly by the threat of Soviet intervention; once Gorbachev made clear he would not use force, popular discontent could burst into open protest, and the regimes could not survive.

Q3. "The fall of communism in Eastern Europe was mainly the result of Gorbachev's policies." How far do you agree? [8 marks]

• Cue. Argue his refusal to use force was decisive, but weigh against the unpopularity of the regimes, their failing economies and the spreading example of protest before judging.