The Berlin Wall is world famous. She shared the city and families for a long 28 years. Now it is an ordinary wall along the road, small concrete sections and metal pins sticking out of the ground. Simple, without pathos and very German. If you know what the wall was built for and what role it played in German history, then you should see it.
Remains of the wall and exposition on Potsdamer Platz, photo by Daniela Silva
The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) 28 years divided the city to the west and east, was a symbol of the Cold War, the confrontation of socialism and capitalism. The official name is the Antifascist Defensive Wall (Antifaschistischer Schutzwall). Until the end of the summer of 1961, residents could freely move from one part of Berlin to another and compare the standard of living of the western and eastern parts of the city. Economic difficulties, increased production standards, forced collectivization, foreign policy tensions in East Germany and higher wages in West Berlin prompted the citizens of the GDR, especially young people and qualified specialists, to leave for the West.
Berlin Wall Construction
In conditions of aggravation of the situation around Berlin, the question of closing the border arose on the agenda of the Warsaw Treaty Organization countries. And when 360 thousand people moved to the West only in 1960, the Soviet leadership was forced to take something extraordinary and extraordinary, since the GDR was on the verge of a social and economic collapse. Khrushchev chose from two options - an air barrier or a wall. And he chose the second, since the first option could entail a serious quarrel with the United States until the war.
From Saturday to Sunday, August 13, 1961, a barbed wire fence was stretched between East and West Berlin. Already in the morning, the three millionth Berlin was divided into two parts. 193 streets, 8 tram lines, 4 metro lines were blocked by barbed wire. In places near the border, gas and water pipes were welded, and electric and telephone cables were cut off. Berliners now lived in two different cities ...
On both sides of the barbed wire people began to gather. They were at a loss. A fun-filled wedding that took place until the very morning was going to cheat on the bride’s parents and was stopped by border guards a few steps from the house, kindergartens were left without teachers, hospitals without doctors. An order was given to the loudspeakers: “Go away immediately!”, But the people did not disperse, then with the help of water cannons everything was dispersed in half an hour. In the following days, the barbed wire was replaced by a stone wall. At the same time, the walls of residential buildings became parts of border fortifications.
Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse, photo _TuVeuxMaPhoto_
This was especially dramatic for the everyday life of citizens on the street. Bernauer Straße, where the sidewalks now belonged to the West Berlin district of Wedding, and the houses themselves belonged to the territory of the East Berlin district of Mitte. In the early hours of this “partition”, residents jumped out of the windows onto the West Berlin side. West Berliners saved and helped as soon as they could: stretched blankets and tents. Seeing this, the border guards began to block the doors of the porches and the windows of the lower floors. Later, general forced displacement began from all residential border areas.
Photo and movie cameras from journalists simply "burned" in the hands of work. One of the most famous photographs was the photo in which East Berlin soldier Konrad Schumann jumps barbed wire.
The wall will then be brought to "perfection" for another 10 years. Since at first they built stone, and then began to replace it with reinforced concrete. As a result, the wall seemed completely impregnable. But the Berliners did not lose hope of breaking through to its other side, and many attempts ended successfully, but even more tragically.
The fall of the Berlin Wall
Years passed, over time, passions calmed down, people reconciled and got used to the wall. It seemed that she would stand still for 30, 50, or even all 100 years. But in the USSR, Perestroika began ...
The Berlin Wall passed here, photo by patrick
In November 9, 1989, the Secretary General of the SED Central Committee, Gunter Шабabowski, announced on television new rules for entering and leaving the country, containing certain concessions. At the end it was stipulated that now the border is almost open. What was meant by the word “practically” was then not important, since immediately after that the East Germans began to gather at the wall on Bornholmerstrasse. To the question of the border guards: “What happened?”, They replied that on television they announced the abolition of the border. Over the next week, the world watched on television as people climb over the Wall, dance with joy and crack pieces of concrete as a keepsake.
Fraternal kiss - Dmitry Vrubel graffiti on the wall, photo Marco_333
Today it’s already impossible to take a piece of the Wall. In 1990, it was demolished, leaving a small fragment of 1.3 km as a reminder of the Cold War. In the Heimatmuseum in the East Berlin region of Treptow, the last block was left for “analysis” of souvenirs. The remaining pieces of the Wall in the very center were fenced. Fragments of a reinforced concrete German barrier are located in many places in the world, among them are Microsoft Corporation, the CIA, and the R. Reagan Museum.
The total length of the Wall was 155 kilometers. During its existence, about 200 people were killed, 150 injured while trying to cross it. Approximately 5,500 people were able to overcome this barrier. However, all this data is still inaccurate.
Where to see the wall
The atmosphere of the Berlin Wall will help you feel its fragments scattered throughout the city, and various museum exhibits and temporary exhibitions.
- The Berlin Wall memorial complex (Bernauer Str., 111) is dedicated to those who died while trying to move from the eastern part of Berlin to the western one.
Take the U8 underground to Bernauer Straße station or the M10 tram to the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer stop - The remains of the wall and the exposition about it can be seen on Potsdamer Platz. These are several plates painted with graffiti and glued with chewing gum. The memorial can be viewed from a skyscraper.
Take U2 metro to Potsdamer Platz Station. - Checkpoint Charlie is the only border crossing point for foreigners, GDR officials and their allies from 1961 to 1990. Atmospheric location.
Take the U6 underground to Kochstraße station. - Mühlenstraße is a gallery of the Berlin Wall, and observation towers are also found. Here is the famous kiss of Brezhnev and Honecker, drawings of the apocalypse and much more.
Take U1 metro to Warschauer Straße Station.
