OVERVIEW The Berlin Wall, which had been built at the height of the Cold War and was its greatest symbol, was toppled by the people in 1989. Germany, divided after the Second World War, was unified. One after another, the eight East European countries that were part of the Soviet bloc replaced their communist governments in response to mass demonstrations. The Soviet Union stood by as the Cold War began to end, not by military means but as a result of mass actions by ordinary men and women. the Soviet Union itself disintegrated. WHAT IS The Berlin Wall ? The Berlin Wall symbolised the division between the capitalist and the communist world. Built in 1961 to separate East Berlin from West Berlin, this more than 150 kilometer long wal...