What historical event in your country has had a major effect on your country? Give reasons and examples to support your response.
Out of the many important historical events in my home country, Germany, I think the Berlin Wall was one of the most important, because we can still feel the consequences. It divided not only Berlin, but the whole nation.
After Germany had lost the 2nd World War, it was divided into four parts ruled by England, France, the United States and the Sowjet-Union. While the first three powers wanted to rebuilt Germany and help it becoming a democratic nation again, the Sowjet-Union wanted it to be part of their communistic regime. So the east part of Germany had been cut off from the west part. After a while, thousands people started to flee the east part to live with their families or friends. As a result, the Sowjets built the Berlin Wall, so nobody could flee the country any more. Nevertheless, people tried to escape. Some of them were killed by Sowjet soldiers in the attempt, others were smarter and build secret tunnels under the Wall.
Over the years, the two parts of Germany developed differently, as they were ruled by completely opposite regimes. When the Wall fell in 1989, the country was whole again and everybody, not just reunited families, couples or friends, was happy. But the economy and the standard of living in the east were completely different form the wests, thus the government started to invest in the east. Consequently, billions of Euros were transferred and still are transferred to cities and factories in the east. Despite all the effort, there are still major problems in the east, such as unemployment, poverty and no perspective for especially young people. So many of these young people leave the eastern part to live and work in the western part, therefore the situation doesn’t improve.
In the last few years, polls showed that many people want the Wall back. Almost 20 years after the Wall was broken down, it is still a current issue for our country, which won’t be solved in the near future.
by Elisa Alber, an Advanced student at Languages International
