A Concise History of the Berlin Wall

For 40 years, the Communist regimes in Easternwire, offered an ample field of fire for the guards.
Europe appeared unbreakable. The Iron Curtain beganIn 1965 concrete walls began to appear and, over the
to collapse in 1989 and in just one year, countries haveyears, observation towers were added, while patrols
rejected communism one after another, like dominoand security were increased.
pieces.The "four generations wall", perfected in 1975 was the
The symbol of the Cold War, Berlin Wall has beenlast version. It was composed of slabs of 3.6 meters
called the "physical image" of the Iron Curtain. For 28high and 1.2 meters wide. The wall was fortified with
years, the colossal construction divided in two a city -motion sensors, fencing net and barbed wire, trenches
Berlin and a country - Germany. The fall of the Berlinagainst vehicles, and on the crest wall it was mounted
Wall is the most influential mark of the communist bloca clean pipe, which would have made even
downfall.problematic to jump over.
The creation of the wall began on August 13, 1961 toThe eight passing points were designed particularly for
stop the westward departure of the German people.different sorts of people that could pass through. The
In the east it was named "the anti-fascist protectionmost famous was Checkpoint Charlie, which was
wall" while in the west people named it "Wall ofmeant only to Allied personnel and non-German
Shame". 155 km of humiliation of over 3 m high, ofcitizens.
which 43 km through the center of Berlin.During the history of the Wall, military personnel,
The boundary was also made of km of trenches,officials and Allied diplomats could enter East Berlin
bunkers, hundreds of watch towers and barbed wire.without passport control. Also, Soviet patrols were
Although the construction of the wall began in 1961,allowed to enter freely in the West Berlin.
Germany was divided since the end of World War II. InOn November 9, 1989 the East German government
1945, Reich capital was separated between the Allieddecided to permit visits to West Germany, but the
powers in the west and the Soviet Union in the east,minister for propaganda was not accurately informed
and in 1949 two countries were born: Federal Republictherefore a lot of agitation was created. Tens of
of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.thousands of Berliners assailed the crossing points,
In 1952, East Germany closed its frontier with Westclaiming to move without restriction in the West.
Germany, concerned about the exodus of population.Overwhelmed by tens of thousands of people and in
There were vulnerable points though, where peoplethe absence of clear instructions, border guards were
were still capable to pass. More than 2.5 millionnot likely to open fire, leaving the crowds to pass over.
Germans made it to west between 1949 and 1961.The wall has been kept some time after November 9.
Although on June 15, 1961 East German leader WalterOn June 13, 1990 East German army began formal
Ulbricht declared that there will not be a wall built, ondemolition, and on July 1 all border crossing points were
August 13, the eastern part of Berlin is encircled byproperly abolished. The two Germany halves were
barricades and barbed wire. The wall is constructed infinally reunited on October 3, 1990.
various stages. In 1962 a barricade was added, 90 feetToday, there are only three remaining portions of the
on the inside, being created a strictly administeredwall: a section of 80 meters near Postdamer Plaz, a
"restrained zone". Houses on this strip were wreckedlonger section near the river Spree and the third piece,
and people moved. The area, mined and full of trappingturned into a monument, north of Bernauer Strasse.