Today
is the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a historic day that
was probably the highlight of the fall of Communism. The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that
physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to
1989. Construction of the Wall was commenced by the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany) on August 13, 1961.
The Wall cut off West Berlin from
surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin. The
barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied
by a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained
anti-vehicle trenches and other defences. The Eastern Bloc portrayed the
Wall as protecting its population from fascist elements
conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East
Germany. The West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as
the "Wall of Shame", a term
coined by mayor Willy Brandt in reference
to the Wall's restriction on freedom of movement.
In 1989, a series of revolutions in nearby Eastern Bloc countries — Poland and Hungary in particular — caused
a chain reaction in East Germany that ultimately resulted in the demise of the
Wall. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German
government announced on 9 November
1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of
East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the
other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric
people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the Wall. The
Brandenburg Gate in the Berlin Wall was opened on 22 December 1989. The
demolition of the Wall officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in
November 1991.
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