Generally, the world. The Berlin Wall was a small physical representation of the Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain divided Europe into East and West Germany and Berlin was at the heart of this miserable division. East and West Berliners and East and West Germans specifically were affected some call it beneficial others called it good intially, then after the glitz and glamour of the fall of the wall, people, mainly East Berliners and East Germans found they were leaft in the dust as a result of the fall.

The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989,[1] constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until it was opened in November 1989.[2] Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992.[3] The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls,[4] which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the 'death strip') that contained anti-vehicle trenches, 'fakir beds' and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the 'will of the people' in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period.

The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, was one of the biggest news stories of the last century.

But why did it matter so much? A quarter of a century, we look back at a monumental day in world history.

For 28 years from 1961 until 1989, the Berlin Wall divided the city, a visible seemingly permanent reminder not only of the division of Germany and Berlin itself but also of Europe and the world.

It was a world torn between democracy in the west and Russian-style communism and dictatorship in the East. This was the Cold War.

But the Wall was not just a symbol.

It was built so suddenly in August 1961 that many people were separated from their workplaces or their families on the other side of the divide.

Some people would never see their families again.