The division of Berlin into the West and East by the Berlin Wall’s establishment was a separation of worldviews. The West stood for democracy and the East stood for what they viewed as protection and control. Despite the fact that some of the people on the East believed they were protected by their government, the wall provided an outlet of violence and heartache for many. The reason for their beliefs stood upon the idea that “the planned and centrally controlled communist society ultimately needed to rely on compulsion and force, not the consent of the governed” (The Fall). The government was to be constructed by itself in a way where the people were satisfied as they believed they were not in the proper position to establish government as a democracy. Through the differing views on Democracy’s effectiveness, the East and West attempted to portray negative messages about the opposing viewpoint to strengthen the success of its own reality. To put into perspective the different sides, “eastern enforcement was always much harsher, but initiatives in the West were particularly startling given traditional views of its opposition. What began as an arbitrary and unwanted division was soon adapted and instrumentalized by frontier officials and residents alike” (Sheffer). In view of this, one can see that the people and political leaders each had a role in portraying and receiving messages. This then allows the Berlin wall to be inclusive not just of political differences but the differences in the views of the people.
Sheffer, Edith. “On Edge: Building the Border in East and West Germany.” Central European History (Cambridge University Press / UK), vol. 40, no. 2, June 2007, pp. 307–339. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1017/S0008938907000556.
Liulevicius, Vejas Gabriel. “1989—The Fall of the Berlin Wall.” The Great Courses, ep. 23, 2013. Kanopy. Web. 1 Dec. 2020.