Between 1961 and 1989, part of Berlin was surrounded by 153 kilometres of brick wall.

Designed to keep people in, the armed patrols were ordered to gun down anyone who tried to escape. With only commemorative sections remaining today, it’s still one of the greatest symbols of the Cold War.

The night the Wall went up

It was in the afternoon on the 12 August 1961 that Walter Ulbricht, the East German leader, signed the commands to close the border. At midnight that night, the army, police and the "Kampfgruppen" began to bolt the city. During the night between August 12th and 13th 1961 the wall was erected. In the early morning of that Sunday most of the first work had been done: the border to West Berlin was closed. East German troops had begun to tear up streets and the S-Bahn or the city railway, and install barbed wire and fences through the middle of Berlin. The underground railway stations, known as the U-Bahn, were closed, and even cemeteries were split in two. Many people were trapped in East Berlin, with their families and loved ones in the west. East Germans would not be allowed to freely travel to the West until 1989, that’s 28 years later.

Why would you build a Wall?

The main reason for the Wall was that there had been a “brain drain” from East to West Germany in the years leading up to the construction of the wall. More than 2.6 million East Germans escaped to West Germany from 1949 to 1961. Many people had suffered under the repressions of the Communist system and wanted to live a better life in the West. The East German government saw no other way to prevent people from escaping to the West via Berlin then closing the border permanently.

To understand the major players involved, and how this situation arose, we need to head back to the end of World War II.

After the war, so we’re looking at April 1945, the Allied leaders met at the Yalta Conference in Ukraine, which was then still part of the Soviet Union. The reason they were meeting was that they were going to divide Germany amongst themselves, and so were deciding which parts would be controlled by the US, Great Britain, France or Russia. The German capital of Berlin, which was, inconveniently for the West, located within the Soviet-controlled part of East Germany, was split between the democratically controlled West, mainly managed by the US, and the communist-controlled East, obviously run by the Soviet Union. Though the allies had come together to defeat Hitler and Nazism in the war, it didn’t last long with relations souring between the Soviets and the Western Nations. By 1946 British PM Winston Churchill had declared:

From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.

This speech outlined the type of anti-Soviet stance Western leaders would take during the Cold War, but also perfectly describes the system in which East Germany operated, and why the wall was built. East Germany’s government was called the GDR, the German Democratic Republic and it was led by Chancellor Walter Ulbricht, who was really following Moscow orders.

The way things were divided up meant that West Berlin was located in an exclave inside East Germany, and its citizens constantly feared a possible East German occupation. In 1948, Moscow tried to do just that by forcing the Western Allies out of West Berlin, but this attempt to cut off the capitalist half by land failed, sparking the year-long Berlin airlift, in which vital goods were parachuted from planes into West Berlin.

The flow of people from East Berlin to West Berlin had increased after the Communist regime's bloody crackdown on a workers' uprising in 1953, whereas in West Germany they barrelled along with what was known as Wirtschaftswunder – a capitalist "economic miracle".

Two months before the wall was built, Ulbricht denied that a wall would be built, declaring at an international press conference in 1961:

I understand … that there are people in West Germany who wish that we mobilize the building worker of the capital of the German Democratic Republic to build up a wall. Not that I am aware of a such intention exists. The building workers of our capital are mainly busy with house building and their manpower is fully used for that.

There’s seems to be a pattern of denying exactly what they’re doing among Moscow controlled leaders.

Closing the border

Traveling between all sectors of Germany was restricted and an Inter-zone passport, known as an "Interzonenpass", was required to travel from one sector to another. The Interzonenpass was valid for 30 days and travellers had to apply for that pass with the authorities at the gate, naturally they could refuse the application. Crossing the border without permission was possible but it became more and more dangerous as time went on.  

On 26 May 1952 the East German government decided to close the border and put up a barrier that clearly sectioned off West Berlin from East Germany that surrounded it. After 26th the only way to make it to the West was through Berlin. Even though the border was closed, before the wall went up it was actually fairly easy to leave the Eastern sector of Berlin and find yourself in the West. Many East German citizens went to Berlin, bought a S-Bahn or U-Bahn ticket, and left for West Berlin on the train.

Building the Wall made perfect sense to Ulbricht. His people were fleeing to the West by the thousands every month, and these losses of skilled workers threatened the fledgling German Democratic Republic with collapse.

On 13 August 1961 the East German government decided that the border needed to be properly closed and the Berlin Wall was put up. East German troops began laying bricks and barbed wire to cut off West Berlin from the rest of East Germany, except for a few checkpoints. The regime called it the "anti-fascist protection barrier," sheltering its people from the ravages of capitalism.

Though the Wall circled West Berlin within East Germany, it was the world of the East Berliners that stopped at the Wall. Even East German maps, which left West Berlin blank, were a kind of Orwellian attempt to blot out thoughts of the West. The construction of the wall only made the people of East Berlin feel more desperate and oppressed than ever. Here’s what one Eastern resident wrote in her diary at the time:

Our lives have lost their spirit… we can do nothing to stop them.

The Wall’s design

We can gain some kind of understanding of the design of the wall by looking at the stages of construction in how the wall was built. And there a couple of different forms of the wall. But it wasn’t all just wall. It was really a complex system of walls, fences, watchtowers and barriers. 

Initially a barbed wire fence was installed, but in August of 1961 we see the first concrete parts being put into place. Over the next couple of months what we know to be the first stage of the Berlin Wall, which consisted of concrete and square blocks, was built.

By June of 1962, too many people were still managing to get over to the West, so the first wall was added to, making the second stage of the wall. Because these two stages are so similar it can be difficult to distinguish between them.

But these first renditions of the Berlin Wall were removed in 1965 to make way for the third stage of construction of the Wall. Which basically consisted of more concrete, reinforced by steel girders and a smooth pipe on the top to make climbing the wall more difficult.

By 1975, the third stage had been replaced by a fourth, which had changed the make up of the wall to easy-to-build concrete segments that could slot into each other. This made the wall a lot sturdier to breakthroughs and also meant it could be repaired quicker, to keep the people within East Berlin. And those pieces of the Berlin Wall that people broke off and kept when it fell, those pieces are of this fourth Berlin Wall.

Going off documents from the Berlin Wall Archive we can see the different sections that made up the area that divided East and West Berlin. The wall on the Western side was known as the Last Wall, or the Berlin Wall, and the wall on the Eastern side was known as the Backland Wall, the area in between the two walls was called the death strip. And this placed lived up to its ominous name, the area had been cleared so that the guards in the guard towers could easily see if anyone was trying to sneak across and the place was littered with deterrents such as ‘Czech hedgehogs’. And if your apartment happened to overlook the death strip it didn’t mean the East German’s were going to make it easy for you, they laid down a bed of nails, which was known as ‘Stalin’s Carpet’, under any overhanging balconies so that you couldn’t just drop down and make a run for it. And it’s this version of the wall, or should we say walls, that is most commonly seen in photos, and there’s actually a great representation of it in the film Bridge of Spies.

Escaping through the Wall

So if you were East German, you weren’t technically allowed to leave and head into West Berlin without official permission, but because things were clearly not getting any easier, as the wall was going up people were rushing to cross. At first it was fairly easy but as each day went past it got harder and more dangerous. Now while it was commonly known that the East German government had issued shooting orders to the border guards, so they could shoot defectors, a distinction was made between ‘shooting orders’ and ‘shoot to kill orders’. Your guess is as good as mine as to the difference but the GDR was adamant they hadn’t issued ‘shoot to kill orders’. But not too long ago, researchers found an order from October 1973 among the papers of an East German border guard that reads:

Do not hesitate to use your firearm, not even when the border is breached in the company of women and children, which is a tactic the traitors have often used.

So it seems they did issue ‘shoot to kill’ orders after all.

With running for it becoming too dangerous, there was the classic digging of tunnels, travelling by air in hot air balloons, gliding along aerial wires, taking your chances in ultralight aircraft and of course the driving full tilt at the simple fortifications. This last one must have been used a fair bit because obstacles were put in place which meant you would have to zig-zag to cross the checkpoint.

Now there was one way you could travel under the wall, and that was by digging your own tunnel. Tunnellers wasted no time in getting to work. Here’s an exert from a French article telling us just how many people were able to escape thanks to the tunnels:

In total, 75 tunnels ran below the city during the 28 years the Wall stood, although only 19 succeeded in allowing fugitives to escape to the West – around 400 people

Not too bad an effort, especially considering the East Germans eventually caught on and was known to use acoustic equipment to catch defectors defecting in the act.

Now what’s really tough to consider is that if someone was caught by the East Germans trying to cross the death-strip on their way to the West, those in the West were powerless to help them. Like a current politically tense situation going on in our present-day, the West feared an escalation veiled as a retaliation if they stepped foot into East Berlin in order to help those in need. And the example of this that comes to everyone’s mind is that of a young man named Peter Fechter. Peter was only 18 when he attempted to cross to the West. Along with another young man, the teenagers ran across the death-strip.

Here's a contemporary report from the Guardian:

Two young East Berlin building workers, both 18 years of age, made a dash for the Berlin Wall today. One got over safely into West Berlin, the other was killed.

So close to freedom, Peter was at the top of the wall, with the West literally within his grasp when he was shot, falling back into the East, those in the West powerless to help him as he lay groaning and crying for help for about 50 minutes. It is believed he died when his cries eventually subsided.

Peter’s death was in full view of those in the East and those in the West, particularly the media. While there was obviously backlash for those Western officers who could do little to help the young man, this event was an early reminder of the East’s resolve to limit defectors.

…pictures taken by western photographers…of the young man dying were shown around the world. They turned Peter Fechter’s agonising death into a symbol of the East German border regime’s inhumanity.

International reaction

The international reaction to the Berlin Wall was of course one of talk. And some of the biggest talkers who have said words that have stuck with us all this time are from two US Presidents.

President John F Kennedy was in West Berlin in 1963, speaking to a pretty sizable crowd he said this:

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!

Kennedy was making clear the US’ support for West Berliners, who we already know feared an invasion by the East. Morale was boosted, but would it last until the wall came down?

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan found himself giving a speech at the Brandenburg Gate. With the political landscape changing, Reagan took a punt and challenged the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union at the time, Mikhail Gorbachev, to take an action that would symbolise freedom for the East:

There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall!

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, never one to hide her views, seemed to have the harshest words for the East when referring to the raising of the wall. On a visit in 1982, the PM called the wall

a grim monument to a cruel and desolate creed… The wall is an ever-present reminder that those who repress the liberties of our Eastern neighbours seek also to extinguish our own… [The Communists] flaunt their ruthlessness and barbarism in their desperate attempts to stop the flight to freedom.

Some tough words from a tough lady.

The Fall of the Wall

On the evening of 9 November 1989, an East German government official held a press conference where he would make a surprising and long awaited for announcement. Permanent relocations from East to West Germany would be approved by the GDR. Well finally those desperate to escape can now stroll straight through the border to a better life. When a reporter asked Gunter Schabowski, that’s the government official, when these changes would take effect he responded with:

As far as I know, it takes effect immediately, without delay.

That night the news in the East and West went something like this:

This 9 November is a historic day. The GDR has announced that, starting immediately, its borders are open to everyone. The gates in the Wall stand open wide.

And that is how the Berlin Wall fell.

As a crowd of East Germans gathered at the Wall, guards let the people through, they didn’t even check their papers. Here’s what Time Magazine says happened:

West Berliners greet their counterparts with music and champagne. Some citizens began to chip away at the physical barrier with sledgehammers and chisels… By midnight, the checkpoints were completely overrun. Over that weekend more than 2 million people from East Berlin visited West Berlin to participate in the mass celebration.

The demolition of the Wall pretty much started as soon as the border opened. Here’s a quote from the Berlin Wall Foundation:

So-called ‘wall peckers’ broke off pieces of concrete as souvenirs. Both the GDR government and the border troops began thinking about ways of marketing the Wall. Pieces of the Wall were sold all over the world.

It was the end of an era and was seen as a symbolic image of the weakening of communism’s place in the geopolitical world. Mikhail Gorbachev had begun reforming the Central Communist Party a couple of years earlier and it’s these reforms that many believe led to the fall of the Wall. And it wasn’t just East Germany that was seeking independence from the Soviet Union, satellite states like Ukraine, Georgia, Estonia, and Lithuania were all getting on the band-wagon to break with the Soviets and move away from Communism.

The Reunification of Germany

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the start of the end of the Cold War, and the cracks appearing that would eventually be the break-up of the USSR, all attention turned to the reunification of Germany. You remember how the country was divided up amongst the allies after WWII? Well now Germany wanted to be a whole country again under its own power. Now I’m not going to go into anything about German politics after the fall of the Wall, mainly because I don’t know anything about it. But I will say that if we look at where they were, a country split in two, to where they are now, arguably one of the strongest countries within the European Union (I really only have to say two words, Angela Merkel), and I think we can all agree that Germany handled their reunification pretty bloody well.

I mean at least the US thinks so, here’s Stephen J. Hadley, the Chair of the US Institute of Peace’s Board of Directors telling us what he thinks about it all:

Reunification took a tremendous amount of diplomacy, strong international partnerships, and deft political manoeuvring… To many of the people closest to the process, it was nothing short of a miracle.

Today, you can visit Berlin and see remnants of the wall, the guard towers, and visit museums dedicated to the wall, such as the one at Checkpoint Charlie, and this intriguing period of recent German history. You’ll know you’re on a spot where the wall used to be as most streets have a doubled row of paving stones marking where the wall once stood. Although if you are eager to see the sections of the wall that remain, it’s recommended you get over to Germany in the near future, as it’s expected that more of these original sections will disappear over the coming years. There’s actually quite a debate going on about it that somehow involves David Hasselhoff. But let’s leave that digression for another time.

CREDIT: This article was researched and co-written by Nick Alexander.

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