Post WWII Europe

I found Ross's article on Berlin after the war, and before the wall, to be fascinating. As we discussed in class, I was like a lot of people and had always been under the impression that the Russian backed GDR locked down immigration from their sector to the West almost immediately following the war. The period of "mass exodus" until the wall went up, does not get much attention in any of the history books that I have read. I knew that Germans fled in droves as the Russians approached Berlin, because they feared Russian retribution for the way their military had prosecuted the war in the East. I assumed that once actual combat died down, people that were not trying to return home from some sort of diaspora remained static, as they tried to recover and rebuild.

I always find it amazing how quickly people adapt to new situations and circumstances, in order to not only survive but get ahead. In this case the manipulation of the GDR through threats of, and actual, immigration to the West is a unique and interesting historical example. I'm honestly kind of surprised that people had the guts to make these sorts of gambles after going through the life shattering experience of the war. I guess I am underestimating the resiliency of the human race, but I have seen far less extreme examples of warfare and strife causing a population to dig their heels in, and cling to whatever they are given to get by on. However, there are vast cultural differences in these individual cases, which I believe has a great effect on how people deal with warfare, harsh economic times, etc.

I also found it interesting how everyone in class that has traveled through Germany or eastern Europe, can mark the end of the capitalist West and the beginning of the old Communist Bloc countries, just by the scenery. I have been in and out of eastern Europe since the turn of the century, and I believe it is still a very different place than western Europe. Some places have scrambled and modernized to a great degree, but you can still pick out the remnants of the Cold War. The blocks of prison-like apartment buildings, rusting industrial parks mixed in with newly revitalized areas of cities, and western style luxuries housed in very austere architecture, are all signs you have crossed that invisible line. The closest look at major differences between eastern and western Europe that I have been able to take and compare is between the various countries armies. Most of the western countries have small, modern, well equipped, and well trained armies. The old communist satellite countries I have been exposed to were completely different stories. Almost universally they have obsolete, poorly maintained equipment, which is sad because some of them take great pride in their training and discipline. Others ridiculous bureaucracy and training standards are lacking, to say the least. It will be interesting to see how the global recession will effect these countries progress in catching up with the their western counterparts.