Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall, 155 km long and 3.6 m high, existed from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989. It was not just the border between the GDR (German Democratic Republic) and West Berlin. There was a dividing line between East and West, between socialism and capitalism.

The history of the Berlin Wall

In 1961, the GDR authorities banned free movement between sectors of Berlin in order to prevent the increasing emigration from East Berlin. Soon West Berlin was surrounded by a concrete wall with checkpoints, barbed wire, barriers and minefields. As a result, the Berlin crisis broke out, which almost ended in a nuclear conflict between the warring parties.

It is noteworthy that in the GDR the Wall was called the antifascist defensive rampart, while in West Germany it was referred to only as the wall of shame. As a result of the construction of border facilities around West Berlin, even close people were separated. All attempts to overcome the barriers and get to West Berlin were brutally suppressed, at least 136 people are known to have died.

Bernauer Strasse has become a dramatic illustration of the division of Berlin. The facades of the houses on the East Berlin side represented a boundary line. There were escapes from these houses to West Berlin, and people jumped right out of the windows. Therefore, the residents of the houses were relocated, and the windows were walled up.

On the night of November 9th to 10th, 1989, the Berlin Wall ceased to exist. This happened after thousands of people rushed to the checkpoints, and the GDR border guards eventually opened the border. 11 months after this event, the official reunification of Germany took place. The Berlin Wall was dismantled.

Memorial Complex

The Berlin Wall memorial is now located in the German capital on the site of the former Wall. The place of memory of the partition of Germany is located on Bernauer Strasse, in the center of Berlin, its length is 1.4 km. The last fragment of the full-height wall with all the border barriers was preserved in memory of those who were killed trying to cross the border to escape the communist dictatorship. A "Window of Remembrance" with photographs of the victims is dedicated to them. On the territory of the memorial complex there is a Monument to the partition of the city, as well as the Chapel of Pacification, where daily services are held in memory of the victims. The memorial includes the foundation of a house, the facade of which represented the boundary between the eastern and western parts of the city. On the opposite side of the street, which was the border of West Berlin, there is a visitor center and information center with a panoramic viewing platform and an exhibition, where numerous documents and historical evidence of the partition of Germany are presented.

The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War, and its fall became a landmark event in world history.