Moments in History - The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Moments in History" is a regular feature here at FIJ—today we present "The Fall of The Berlin Wall."

WHY STUDY HISTORY?

The American Historical Association explains it this way

People live in the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History, however, is the study of the past. Given all the demands that press in from living in the present and anticipating what is yet to come, why bother with what has been? Given all the desirable and available branches of knowledge, why insist—as most American educational programs do—on a good bit of history? And why urge many students to study even more history than they are required to?

Any subject of study needs justification: its advocates must explain why it is worth attention. Most widely accepted subjects—and history is certainly one of them—attract some people who simply like the information and modes of thought involved. But audiences less spontaneously drawn to the subject and more doubtful about why to bother need to know what the purpose is.

Historians do not perform heart transplants, improve highway design, or arrest criminals. In a society that quite correctly expects education to serve useful purposes, the functions of history can seem more difficult to define than those of engineering or medicine. History is in fact very useful, actually indispensable, but the products of historical study are less tangible, sometimes less immediate, than those that stem from some other disciplines. Read more.

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961 that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin.  On November 9, 1989 under the presidency of George H. W. Bush it was torn down by the people of what was then West Germany.

RELATED MEDIA

• Berlin Wall 1961 - 1989
• Berlin Airlift