Berlin Wall

From 1961 to 1989, the Berlin Wall was a fortified concrete barrier that separated Berlin physically and ideologically, as well as enclosing and dividing West Berlin from East German territory. On August 13, 1961, the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) began construction on the wall.

West Berlin was blocked off from the rest of East Germany, including East Berlin, by the Berlin Wall. Guard towers were erected along enormous concrete walls, and a vast region (later dubbed the "death strip") was dotted with anti-vehicle trenches, nail beds, and other fortifications. The Eastern Bloc described the Wall as a barrier protecting its citizens from fascist groups plotting to block East Germany's "will of the people" from establishing a socialist state.

Prior to the construction of the Berlin Wall, 3.5 million East Germans defied Eastern Bloc emigration regulations and defected from the GDR, many by crossing the border from East to West Berlin, from where they could go to West Germany and other Western European nations. Almost all such exodus was stopped by the Wall between 1961 and 1989. Over 100,000 individuals attempted to flee at this time, and over 5,000 people succeeded in crossing the Wall, with a death toll in and around Berlin varying from 136 to more than 200.

Location: Berlin