Opened in 1961, it stood for nearly three decades until it finally came down. In this blog post we’re going to explore the timeline of when the Berlin Wall was built and when it was torn down.
The building of the Berlin Wall
The German Democratic Republic (GDR)—East Germany—suddenly built the Berlin Wall overnight, on August 13, 1961. Built by the East Germans to stop people from leaving East Berlin and heading for West Berlin as a way out to the West, the wall became a symbol of freedom and democracy across Europe, and first inspired graffiti artists from the West to put their art on the wall. It sought also to stem the mass emigration of skilled workers and intellectuals by the division and construction of the wall.
Reasons for Construction
Geopolitical tensions between the Soviet Union and Western powers forced the construction of the Berlin Wall. The wall was claimed by the GDR to be needed to save their citizens from Western influence and to preserve socialism. Despite this, the main purposes for the building were to resolve the economic issues resulting from the flight of millions of East Germans and maintain authority over East Berlin.
Life During the Wall
After the construction of Berlin Wall the city was divided physically and ideologically. The tears of families, of friends, of streets, divided Familes, separated friends, even divided streets and disrupted daily life and caused great suffering for the people of Berlin.
Along the wall, guard towers, barbed wire fences and a heavily fortified ‘death strip’ between the inner and outer wall were fitted. The wall kept getting stronger and harder to escape to the West.
The Rise of Escape Attempts
There was no doubt East Germans risked very much, sometimes even at the cost of their lives, when they tried to flee across the wall, but they still tried. It included everything from digging tunnels, to building zip lines and even driving through the wall in modified vehicles. They could be dangerous and casualties would happen in some of these.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The tide turned against the socialist governments there in the late 1980s after years of political and social change in Eastern Europe. A key moment arose on November 9, 1989, when one government official said that East Germans were free to travel to the freely accessible West Germany.
East Berliners flocked to the wall in their thousands, demanding that their passage be put into operation immediately. The border guards were overwhelmed and underprepared, and eventually opened the gates to a moment that will live forever in history as people on both sides were able to embrace, to dismantle parts of the wall, and celebrate a new era of freedom and being one.
Reunification and the Aftermath
On 3 October 1990 East and West Germany were reunited. This was a historic occasion: the end of a divided Germany and the removing of the Berlin Wall. No longer the barrier between East and West, the wall triggered a sense of triumph over oppression and unity were was weakness.
In Conclusion
The Berlin Wall was a divided Berlin, for 28 years, separating families, allowing only one free movement, symbolizing the East versus the West. Built in 1961 because of political tensions, it fell in 1989 as a pivot in German history. Today, the left over wall is an account of the people of Berlin who had the struggle, and also the unending desire of humanity to have freedom and peace with one another.