Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall (German: Die Berliner Mauer) was a long barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the surrounding territory of East Germany. The East German authorities called it the ?antifaschistischer Schutzwall? (Anti-Fascist Protection Wall). Its purpose was to restrict access between West Berlin and East Germany. It was built in 1961 and fortified over the years, but was opened to unrestricted transit on November 9, 1989 and subsequently almost entirely demolished.

The Wall years

During the Wall's existence there were around 5,000 successful escapes into West Berlin; 192 people were killed trying to cross and around 200 were seriously injured. Early successful escapes involved people jumping the initial barbed wire or leaping out of apartment windows along the line. These quickly ended. Other successful escape attempts included 57 people who escaped through a 145 metre long (475 feet) tunnel dug by West Berliners, on October 3, 4 and 5, 1964; and two escapes made by sliding along aerial runways (one by two men, one by a family). One man drove a very low sports car underneath a barricade at Checkpoint Charlie. One of the last escapes occurred when two men flew fixed wing ultralights across the Wall to rescue their brother.

Related Topics:
Escape - 1964 - Checkpoint Charlie - Ultralight

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The most notorious failed attempt was by Peter Fechter who was shot and left to bleed to death in full view of the western media, on August 17 1962. The last person to be shot trying to cross the border was Chris Gueffroy on February 6, 1989.

Related Topics:
Peter Fechter - August 17 - 1962 - Chris Gueffroy - February 6 - 1989

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Foreigners frequently and legally crossed the Wall, and the East Germans welcomed their money. They were of course always subject to careful checks both entering and leaving. When exiting a typical tactic was for the police to run a mirror under each vehicle to look for persons clinging to the undercarriage. East Germans were occasionally given permission to cross, particularly when they were too old to work. Sometimes political prisoners were dramatically released — for a price — at one of the checkpoints. At the border section in Potsdam U-2 pilot Gary Powers was traded for Russian spy Rudolf Abel.

Related Topics:
Potsdam - Gary Powers - Rudolf Abel

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One of the locations where Westerners could cross the border was at Friedrichstraße station, in East Berlin. When the Wall was erected, Berlin's complex public transit networks, the S-Bahn and U-Bahn, were divided with it. Some lines were cut in half; many stations were shut down. Three Western lines traveled through brief sections of East Berlin territory, passing through eastern stations (called Geisterbahnhöfe, or ghost stations) without stopping. Both the eastern and western networks converged at Friedrichstrasse, which became a major crossing point for those (mostly Westerners) with permission to cross.

Related Topics:
S-Bahn - U-Bahn - Ghost stations

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In books and movies Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall in general became the scene of various political thrillers. During several tense standoffs, particularly during the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis it was feared that World War III would begin there.

Related Topics:
Berlin Crisis - Cuban Missile Crisis

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The creation of the Wall had important implications for both Germanies. By stemming the exodus of people from East Germany, the East German government was able to reassert its control over the country. However, the Wall was a propaganda disaster for East Germany and for the communist bloc as a whole. It became a key symbol of what Western powers regarded as Communist tyranny, particularly after the high-profile shootings of would-be defectors (which were later treated as acts of murder by the reunified Germany). In 1987, Ronald Reagan gave a famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate, at which he challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall". In West Germany, dismay that the Western powers had done nothing to prevent the Wall's creation led directly to the policy of Ostpolitik or rapprochement with the east, in an effort to stabilise the relationship of the two Germanies.

Related Topics:
1987 - Ronald Reagan - Brandenburg Gate - Mikhail Gorbachev - Tear down this wall - Ostpolitik

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