For nearly 30 years, Berlin was divided not just by ideology, but by a concrete barrier that snaked through the city, serving as an ugly symbol of the Cold War. Erected in haste and torn down in protest, the Berlin Wall was almost 27 miles long and was protected with barbed wire, attack dogs, and 55,000 landmines. But though the wall stood between 1961 and 1989, it could not survive a massive democratic movement that ended up bringing down the the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR) and spurring on the Cold War’s end. Show The wall had its origins in the end of World War II, when Germany was carved into four pieces and occupied by Allied powers. Although Berlin was located about 90 miles east from the border between the GDR and West Germany and completely surrounded by the Soviet sector, the city was also originally divided into four quarters, but by 1947 was consolidated into east and west zones. In 1949, the two new Germanies were officially founded. Socialist East Germany was wracked by poverty and convulsed by labor strikes in response to its new political and economic systems. The brain drain and worker shortage that resulted prompted the GDR to close its border with West Germany in 1952, making it much harder for people to cross from “Communist” to “free” Europe. (Revisit National Geographic's reporting from West Berlin before the wall fell.) East Germans began fleeing through the more permeable border between East and West Berlin instead. At one point, 1,700 people a day sought refugee status by crossing from East to West Berlin, and about 3 million GDR citizens went to West Germany through the via West Berlin between 1949 and 1961. In the wee hours of August 13, 1961, as Berliners slept, the GDR began building fences and barriers to seal off entry points from East Berlin into the western part of the city. The overnight move stunned Germans on both sides of the new border. As GDR soldiers patrolled the demarcation line and laborers began constructing a concrete wall, diplomatic officials and the militaries of both sides engaged in a series of tense standoffs. Eventually, East Germany erected 27 miles of concrete wall through the city. The Wall was actually two parallel walls punctuated with guard towers and separated by the “death strip,” which included guard dog runs, landmines, barbed wire, and various obstacles designed to prevent escape. East German soldiers monitored the barriers 24/7, conducted surveillance on West Berlin, and had shoot-to-kill orders should they spot an escapee. People did try to escape. Initially, they fled from houses right along the Wall; later, those houses were emptied and turned into fortifications for the Wall itself. Others plotted riskier escapes through tunnels, on hot air balloons, and even via train. Between 1961 and 1989, over 5,000 people made successful escapes. Others were not so lucky; at least 140 were killed or died while trying to cross the Wall. Over the years, the Wall became a grim symbol of the Cold War. By 1989, many East Germans had had enough. They staged a series of mass demonstrations demanding democracy. Meanwhile, the Soviet bloc was destabilized by economic woes and political reforms. (Meet the forgotten 'wolf children' of World War II.) On the night of November 9, 1989, East Berlin party official Günter Schabowski announced upcoming travel reforms in response to the protests, but botched the message so badly it sounded as if the GDR had in fact opened its borders. Thousands of East Berliners flooded toward border crossings along the Wall, where confused guards eventually opened the gates. As East Berliners pushed through, tens of thousands of West Berliners met them in a massive outpouring of emotion and celebration. As they celebrated with champagne, music, and tears, Berliners began to literally tear down the wall with sledgehammers and chisels. Less than a month later, the GDR collapsed entirely, and in 1990, Germany reunified. The Soviet Union followed suit, and today the fall of the Berlin Wall is seen as a symbol of the end of the Cold War. Today, a double row of cobblestones marks the place where the wall once stood.
 Erected in 1961, the Berlin Wall divided the former German capital for almost three decades. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was a pivotal moment, not just in the Cold War but in the history of modern Europe. It was brought about by political reforms inside the Soviet bloc, escalating pressure from the people of eastern Europe and ultimately, confusion over an East German directive to open the border. Reagan’s prophecyIn June 1987, United States president Ronald Reagan visited Italy for a multilateral economic summit. On his way home, Reagan stopped briefly in West Germany to speak at a ceremony commemorating the 750th anniversary of Berlin. This ceremony was held near the Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin’s main entrance points since the late 1700s. Since the construction of the Berlin Wall, however, the Brandenburg Gate had been closed. A lectern and red carpet were positioned outside the gate, as Secret Service agents erected panes of bulletproof glass to protect Reagan from snipers in East Berlin. Reagan welcomed the 45,000 people present – as well as “those listening throughout Eastern Europe, [to whom] I extend my warmest greetings and the goodwill of the American people”. He turned his attention to the Soviet Union, highlighting Moscow’s commitment to huge nuclear arsenals as it struggled to feed its people. Reagan also focused on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s recent reforms, dubbed glasnost and perestroika, questioning whether they were genuine moves toward change or a token effort to appease critics. ‘Tear down this wall’Then, in perhaps the best-known quote of the entire Cold War, Reagan directly challenged Gorbachev:
Despite being broadcast around Europe and the United States, Reagan’s speech failed to generate much interest. Most dismissed it as more of Reagan’s anti-Soviet sabre rattling, his stock in trade. Several of Reagan’s advisors had wanted the “tear down this wall” challenge removed from the speech, fearing it was too confrontational and might damage his growing relationship with Gorbachev. The phrase was retained, however. It would soon prove prophetic. Within a few months of Reagan’s address in Berlin, the ideological foundations of the Berlin Wall had begun to crumble. Soviet bloc crumblesBy the start of 1989, the tide of history was turning against communism in Europe. Subjected to internal pressures and protests, the Soviet bloc began to crumble from within. Socialist governments behind the Iron Curtain came under tremendous internal pressure to liberalise and reform. The people of eastern Europe took to the streets, urging their own leaders to mirror Gorbachev’s reformism and relax their grip on government, economy and society. Poland and Hungary had already adopted political and social reforms that would have been unthinkable just a few years earlier. In East Germany, the frontier of European communism and the epicentre of Cold War division, the Berlin Wall held firm – but this was not to last. East Germany remains defiantBy early 1989, the tide of anti-communist sentiment sweeping through Europe had reached East Germany. The results of local government elections in May 1989 ignited significant public unrest: the ruling coalition of communist and socialist parties won 98.5 per cent of the vote and almost all of the seats, a clear sign the election had been rigged. This political corruption, along with the country’s parlous economic condition and oppressive social conditions, triggered another exodus from East Germany. Some East Germans applied for legitimate exit visas, while others arranged to flee the country illegally. In August, when the Hungarian government opened its borders with Austria, East Germans took advantage of this new Fluchtweg (‘escape route’) to the West. Thousands of East Germans went on holidays to Hungary, never to return. When East Berlin moved to block the flow of refugees, it triggered protests every Monday evening in several cities. Protests escalateAs the weeks passed, these protests grew in size and intensity. On one day in November 1989, around 500,000 people gathered in East Berlin where they were addressed by local celebrities, actors and intellectuals. Among the slogans chanted by the crowd included “Wir vollen raus!” (‘We want out’), “Wir sind ein Volk!” (‘We are one people’) and “Vierzig Jahre sind genug!” (’40 years is enough’). Facing a popular revolution, the East German government began to buckle. On October 18th Erich Honecker, who had led the Soviet bloc state for more than 18 years, resigned under pressure from his own ministers. On November 9th, the government responded to public pressure and announced plans to open up designated checkpoints in Berlin. When implemented, any East German wishing to pass through the Berlin Wall would be free to do so. The border opensThis order was scheduled to come into effect on November 17th – but due to a communications mix-up, it was reported as being effective immediately. Thousands of civilians massed at critical points along the Berlin Wall, demanding that Grepo guards honour the government’s promise and open the gates. Uncertain of their orders and under pressure from the crowd, the guards relented and threw open the barriers. Thousands of East Germans streamed across the border. Others scaled the wall and embraced Berliners from the other side, sitting atop the structure and drinking beer and champagne. That evening, people on both sides began attacking the wall, first with graffiti and peace slogans and then with tools. Individuals and small groups dubbed ‘wall woodpeckers’ began attacking the structure with picks and sledgehammers. Some were after souvenirs of the Berlin Wall; others simply wanted to participate in its destruction. International responsesThe fall of the Berlin Wall led news bulletins around the globe. Images of the Berlin Wall being climbed, defaced and dismantled were beamed into millions of homes worldwide. Few leaders missed the significance of the event. Margaret Thatcher called it “a great day for freedom… you see the joy on people’s faces and you see what freedom means to them”. George Bush, who succeeded Reagan as US president in January, attributed the demise of the Berlin Wall “to the people themselves” but refused to gloat, declaring that he would not “dance on the wall”. Mikhail Gorbachev said very little publicly but his political advisor, Anatoly Chernyaev, wrote that “the entire era in the history of the socialist system is over”. East German troops began demolishing the wall in early 1990. Today, three sections of the original Berlin Wall remain standing as memorials, while most of its original 155-kilometre long course is marked by brickwork, plaques and smaller memorials.
1. The Berlin Wall was a symbol of Cold War division for more than 25 years. In 1987 Ronald Reagan visited Berlin and famously challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”. 2. The political changes that swept through Europe in the late 1980s saw the socialist government in East Germany come under significant pressure from its own people. 3. In October 1989 Erich Honecker resigned as East German leader and the new government promised to open checkpoints. The Berlin Wall was breached on November 9th, due to a misunderstanding. 4. This led to Germans on both sides scaling the wall, defacing it with graffiti and attacking it with picks and sledgehammers. 5. The fall of the Berlin Wall was covered extensively around the world. Western leaders hailed it as a victory by the German people, who had chosen freedom over division. The wall was quickly dismantled, paving the way for German reunification. Citation information |
Why was the Berlin Wall a turning point in history?
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