East Berlin came into being with the construction of the Berlin Wall in the year 1961. It first started with a temporary construction, built by the East Germans to avoid the flow of refugees from West Germany. Anyone who tried to cross the border was either shot dead or was imprisoned.
The Berlin Wall separated the two territories of West Berlin and East Berlin in such a haphazard manner that many people from either side of the Wall lost their families and properties. People from both the sides of the wall were deprived of their rights to visit the other side of the Wall to meet their family members and friends. Even if they were allowed to do so, they had to undergo strenuous transitional procedures that included unexplained detention of the visitors or their passports. Money also had to be exchanged in terms of East German currency to get into the territory.
East Berlin as a whole was subjected to social evils like poverty and employment.
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The East Berliners were also the worst sufferers of exploitation and bureaucracy inflicted by West Berlin. Seeking for a better future, the East Berliners tried to escape into the West Berlin territories but were either shot or captured.
While three of the Allied forces-America, France and Britain controlled West Germany,
East Germany was taken over by the Soviet Union. Bearing the reminiscences of the war-torn years of the past, East Berlin houses some of the most important monuments that has stood the test of time. Cathedrals and the ruins of synagogues are the best evidences testifying the tumultuous past of Germany. Some such landmarks in East Berlin include the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz, neoclassical museums and many more.
The existence of East Berlin as an independent geographical region finally came to an end after the reunification of Germany in the year 1990. The formation of East Berlin, hence, proves to be an irrefutable part of the history of Germany.
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