51. The Other Wall

Source: DW.com

30 years ago, the Berlin Wall fell, and it changed the world forever. The consequences of this event for Germany and Europe take center stage in any discussion pertaining to the end of the Cold War. Much less talked about, however, is the fall of the wall between communist Bulgaria (Eastern Bloc) and Greece and Turkey(Western Bloc) in the same year.

Unlike the Berlin Wall, this wall was built out of barbed war and ran along the Greek border. It was a restricted zone that was heavily armed. The purpose of this wall was to prevent people from fleeing the Soviet Bloc and was rumored to be an easier crossing point than the Berlin Wall. Yet numerous East Germans, Poles, Czechs, Hungarians were killed trying to escape. The wall lost its significance after the fall of the Berlin Wall when dictator Todor Zhivkov was ousted, which led to the fall of the one-party regime: the longest dictatorship in the Eastern bloc.

The fall of the walls led to the displacement of more than 350,000 people from Bulgaria. As soon as the free movement started, Bulgarians began to leave the country in large numbers. This was accompanied by protests and riots, and Bulgaria slowly and painfully transitioned from a communist to a multi-party democratic regime. These demographic disturbances led to adverse effects on the Bulgarian economy, and its repercussions are still felt today.

There are two important consequence which marked the fall of Bulgaria’s wall. Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and then the EU in 2007. Yet, today, Bulgaria shows growing nostalgia for the regime, amplified largely by the failures of the democratic transition. Bulgaria is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and it is facing problems of emigration on a rampant scale. The economic problems coupled with demographic problems are major hindrances to the country’s development. On the other hand, Turkey is not faring better too, since its EU accession process has been halted and its economy is in the doldrums.

The fall of the Belin Wall and the Bulgarian Wall was the stepping stone of making Europe “Whole and Free” after 1989. However, even after 30 years, Bulgaria still faces problems of European integration.