by schoonman

For 40 years, the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe appeared unbreakable. The Iron Curtain began to collapse in 1989 and in just one year, countries have rejected communism one after another, like domino pieces.

The symbol of the Cold War, Berlin Wall has been called the “physical image” of the Iron Curtain. For 28 years, the colossal construction divided in two a city – Berlin and a country – Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall is the most influential mark of the communist bloc downfall.

The creation of the wall began on August 13, 1961 to stop the westward departure of the German people. In the east it was named “the anti-fascist protection wall” while in the west people named it “Wall of Shame”. 155 km of humiliation of over 3 m high, of which 43 km through the center of Berlin.

The boundary was also made of km of trenches, bunkers, hundreds of watch towers and barbed wire. Although the construction of the wall began in 1961, Germany was divided since the end of World War II. In 1945, Reich capital was separated between the Allied powers in the west and the Soviet Union in the east, and in 1949 two countries were born: Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.

In 1952, East Germany closed its frontier with West Germany, concerned about the exodus of population. There were vulnerable points though, where people were still capable to pass. More than 2.5 million Germans made it to west between 1949 and 1961.

Although on June 15, 1961 East German leader Walter Ulbricht declared that there will not be a wall built, on August 13, the eastern part of Berlin is encircled by barricades and barbed wire. The wall is constructed in various stages. In 1962 a barricade was added, 90 feet on the inside, being created a strictly administered “restrained zone”. Houses on this strip were wrecked and people moved. The area, mined and full of trapping wire, offered an ample field of fire for the guards.

In 1965 concrete walls began to appear and, over the years, observation towers were added, while patrols and security were increased.

The “four generations wall”, perfected in 1975 was the last version. It was composed of slabs of 3.6 meters high and 1.2 meters wide. The wall was fortified with motion sensors, fencing net and barbed wire, trenches against vehicles, and on the crest wall it was mounted a clean pipe, which would have made even problematic to jump over.

The eight passing points were designed particularly for different sorts of people that could pass through. The most famous was Checkpoint Charlie, which was meant only to Allied personnel and non-German citizens.

During the history of the Wall, military personnel, officials and Allied diplomats could enter East Berlin without passport control. Also, Soviet patrols were allowed to enter freely in the West Berlin.

On November 9, 1989 the East German government decided to permit visits to West Germany, but the minister for propaganda was not accurately informed therefore a lot of agitation was created. Tens of thousands of Berliners assailed the crossing points, claiming to move without restriction in the West. Overwhelmed by tens of thousands of people and in the absence of clear instructions, border guards were not likely to open fire, leaving the crowds to pass over.

The wall has been kept some time after November 9. On June 13, 1990 East German army began formal demolition, and on July 1 all border crossing points were properly abolished. The two Germany halves were finally reunited on October 3, 1990.

Today, there are only three remaining portions of the wall: a section of 80 meters near Postdamer Plaz, a longer section near the river Spree and the third piece, turned into a monument, north of Bernauer Strasse.

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A short storyline about the Berlin Wall from 61 to 89

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Question by DUI insurance: Berlin wall?
So, I was looking at my text book and I found out that I was supposed to write a diary entry on the Berlin wall. It said write your feelings of the opening of the Berlin wall in 1989. The Berlin wall was destroyed in 1989 though, was it finished in the same year?

Best answer:

Answer by SR22 Dallas
No, opening means destroyed, they opened it up (eg knocked a hole into it)

Built in 1961, came down in November 1989, incidentally its generally agreed Reagan had very little to do with the fall of the Berlin Wall aside from saying a few actor’s lines at the right time about a year earlier, Gorbachev did however

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