How did the Berlin Wall start?
On the night of August 12-13, 1961, East German soldiers laid down more than 30 miles of barbed wire barrier through the heart of Berlin. Sullen East German workers, a few in tears, constructed the first segments of the Berlin Wall as East German troops stood guarding them with machine guns.
When did the building of the Berlin Wall begin?
August 13, 1961
On August 13, 1961, the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) began to build a barbed wire and concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin.
Where did the Berlin Wall start and finish?
Construction of the wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) on 13 August 1961. The Wall cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin.
What were the stages of the Berlin Wall?
Over the years, the Wall went through four distinct phases:
- Basic wire fence (1961)
- Improved wire fence (1962-1965)
- Concrete wall (1965-1975)
- Grenzmauer 75 (Border Wall 75) (1975-1989)
Which country built the Berlin Wall?
East Germany
In response, East Germany built a barrier to close off East Germans’ access to West Berlin and hence West Germany. That barrier, the Berlin Wall, was first erected on the night of August 12–13, 1961, as the result of a decree passed on August 12 by the East German Volkskammer (“Peoples’ Chamber”).
When did they start building the Berlin Wall?
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that divided Germany from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on August 13, 1961, the Wall completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989.
Where is the east side of the Berlin Wall?
Over the next few months the Berlin Wall will soon almost completely disappear. 1990 | In February, 118 artists from 21 countries gather to create the East Side Gallery along a 1.3 km section of the Wall running along Mühlenstraße in Berlin-Friedrichshain from the Ostbahnhof (East Train Station) to the Oberbaum Bridge.
Why did the Eastern Bloc build the Berlin Wall?
The Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the “will of the people” in building a socialist state in East Germany.
Why was the Berlin Wall important to the Cold War?
It entirely cut off West Berlin from the surrounding East Germany, prohibiting East Germans to pass into West Germany. However, American military cars were sometimes able to pass through and, in the words of Charles K. Johnson, “poke around.” The Wall would quickly become a symbol of the Cold War and separated families for a generation.
