Humans have been migrating since our earliest days and those who move often face enormous difficulty. Much of this difficulty lies in obstacles that litter a migrant’s path. In history, perhaps the most easily observable, physical obstacle was the Berlin Wall– the more than 96 mile long barrier, designed to keep a massive population from entering, and more importantly, leaving. Never before, and never since, has the global citizenry seen such a massive manmade operation, save the DMZ along the Korean border, to influence the will of people to vote with their feet. However, people are not actively trying to leave North Korea, as they did in the German Democratic Republic, so the similarity extends only to the complex border operations.
This boundary, patrolled by nearly 11,000 GDR soldiers and constructed with miles of barbed wires and thousands of tons of concrete was designed to stop the ‘Brain Drain’ of the East German state. Over the course of the Berlin Wall’s existence, 5,000 people successfully escaped the GDR and made it over the Berlin Wall– nearly half being officials in the GDR government (party officials, secret police, and border guards). On a more sober note, over 1,000 Germans were killed in a number of attempts and hundreds more arrested.
While it’s been over 25 years since the Berlin Wall came down, the nation is still very much divided on issues of ideology. While yes, the Federal Republic of Germany is unified on a map, in international dealing, and in support of Der Nationalmannshaft (German national soccer team), divisions still run deep amongst the former Western states and the former Eastern states. Changes in political ideology, most clearly seen in the recent elections in Germany, further demonstrate this modern day illusion of complete and perfect unification of a land divided for nearly half a century.
Check below for a visualization of German migration over the later part of the 20th Century!
Nov. 9, 1989– The Fall of the Berlin Wall
About the Author
Jack Lashendock is a First Year student at Gettysburg College and is pursuing a double major in International Affairs and Political Science. As a member of the Gettysburg Model United Nations team, Jack’s passion for politics extends beyond domestic issues and he’s interest lies primarily in international relations between states and with international organizations. Jack speaks German and is currently learning Arabic. Upon graduating with the Class of 2020, Jack hopes to work with the United Nations, in places such as the Middle East or Northern Africa, helping uphold the principles of the organization.
Project Link: https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/b1fda95378c757670098e85b6109d110/voting-with-their-feet/index.html
