Farewell West Berlin
A sign at the site of the former Checkpoint Charlie on the Berlin Wall - the most famous of the crossings between the American and Soviet sectors.
The Berlin Wall was the greatest symbol of division between East and West Germany, communism and democracy, from its construction in 1961 until its fall in 1989.
Overnight on August 13, 1961, 40,000 East German soldiers, policemen and officials closed U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines and spread barbed wire across streets that divided the two sides of Berlin, cordoning off the Soviet sector.
Over the coming weeks, months and years, the wire was replaced by a wall, with a no-man’s zone in the middle, with watchtowers and soldiers in place to stop East Berliners fleeing to the West.
The area between the two walls became known as the death zone as desperate East Germans were gunned down trying to reach the West.
The wall became a symbol of communism, the checkpoints along its length keeping families and friends apart for close to 30 years, with those from the East not allowed to cross over.
On November 9, 1989, when the East German government lifted travel restrictions, jubilant Berliners flocked to the wall, catching guards unaware. The soldiers let them through and TV pictures were broadcast around the world showing people climbing the wall and partying on top.
Most of the wall has now been demolished, although one section still stands as it did, complete with watchtowers, as a memorial and another has been turned into the East Side Gallery.
Farewell West Berlin
A sign at the site of the former Checkpoint Charlie on the Berlin Wall - the most famous of the crossings between the American and Soviet sectors.
The Berlin Wall was the greatest symbol of division between East and West Germany, communism and democracy, from its construction in 1961 until its fall in 1989.
Overnight on August 13, 1961, 40,000 East German soldiers, policemen and officials closed U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines and spread barbed wire across streets that divided the two sides of Berlin, cordoning off the Soviet sector.
Over the coming weeks, months and years, the wire was replaced by a wall, with a no-man’s zone in the middle, with watchtowers and soldiers in place to stop East Berliners fleeing to the West.
The area between the two walls became known as the death zone as desperate East Germans were gunned down trying to reach the West.
The wall became a symbol of communism, the checkpoints along its length keeping families and friends apart for close to 30 years, with those from the East not allowed to cross over.
On November 9, 1989, when the East German government lifted travel restrictions, jubilant Berliners flocked to the wall, catching guards unaware. The soldiers let them through and TV pictures were broadcast around the world showing people climbing the wall and partying on top.
Most of the wall has now been demolished, although one section still stands as it did, complete with watchtowers, as a memorial and another has been turned into the East Side Gallery.