Essay --

At this point in time, seniors at Mira Costa feel trapped, as if they can't get out of Mira Costa and Manhattan Beach soon enough. Imagine being physically trapped in their city, surrounded by nothing but a big concrete wall holding them hostage. The Berlin Wall kept half a city hidden behind, what was known as, the iron curtain. The wall was â€Å"...a symbol of oppressive and divisive government, not only to the East Germans it contained, but to the rest of the world as well.†("Transitional Justice.") The people of Germany were separated from their jobs, their loved ones, and were forced to live under communist rule. Before the wall was built, the city was split, given no notice on Sunday, and â€Å"overnight brutally severed streets† (Heilbrunn) became known as ‘Stacheldrahtsonntag’, barbed wire Sunday. Shortly after, the creation of the concrete wall began. During the construction of the wall, there was outrage in West Berlin over the new barbed wire wall that ran through their city. There was outrage in East Berlin as well but it was quickly controlled by their secret police who made many arrests for any who did not want to follow the communist rule and spoke out about it. Unlike other walls built around the world to keep enemies out, this wall was designed by communists to keep people in. 11-13 feet high and was a total of 28 miles long the wall encircled East Berlin. Surrounded by â€Å"towers, guards, and dogs stood watch over a barren no man's land. A pipe, too large in diameter for a climber's grip, ran along the top of the wall.†(â€Å"Newseum:Berlin Wallâ₠¬ ) Aside from the wall construction, there was other damage to East Berlin, â€Å"Buildings...were demolished, and the wide open area became known as "no man's land" or the "death strip," wh... ... the concrete prison. Soon after the wall fell, most of the East Berlin cabinet resigned and the remaining member were removed. East Berlin and West Berlin were finally reunited and renamed, The Federal Republic of Germany. â€Å"The world watched the celebrations on television. After 28 years, the Berlin Wall had fallen.† ("NEWSEUM: Berlin Wall.") The people of East Germany finally saw the light on the other side of the wall, and escaped the concrete nightmare. Imagine, literally being trapped inside of your hometown, behind the iron curtain of communism. Thousands of people lived that way for twenty-eight years, forced to live unseen and unheard. Some were born directly in the East side and some died, never to see the curtain lift from them. Life in the 1980’s in America was guided by the truth of real life, which real life was taken away from those trapped in Berlin.