The Berlin Wall served as a powerful symbol of the Cold War, dividing East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It represented the ideological struggle between communism and capitalism, embodying the division of Europe and the larger geopolitical tensions between the Soviet Union and the Western powers. The Wall's construction signified the increasing severity of the East-West divide, as East Germany sought to prevent mass emigration to the West. Its fall in 1989 not only marked the end of a physical barrier but also signaled a crucial turning point in the Cold War, leading to the eventual collapse of communist regimes across Eastern Europe.