On August 13^th in 1961 a cordon was put around West-Berlin in an overnight action. The intention was to stop the permanent stream of refugees from the GDR which weakened the socialist State. Barricades, barbed wire fences and roadblocks by tanks were put up. In the following days construction workers began to build a wall made of concrete to reinforce the barrier. The wall, presented as "antifascist embankment for protection" in GDR propaganda, became an insurmountable obstacle.

At first the wall was built of 12 km of slabs and 137 km of barbed wire fences with 116 observation towers. The border area had been rebuilt four times through the years. All in all the wall parted 192 streets (97 within Berlin and 95 between the GDR and West-Berlin), 32 railroads, 8 suburban and 4 underground trains. Even lakes and rivers were blocked and observed.
West-Berlin was an enclave: travellers between West-Germany and West-Berlin had to pass the frontier and undergo tough controls. Again and again individuals tried to surmount the inhumane frontier in order to be free.

239 Deaths

The wall claimed at least 239 deaths that were shot on escape attempts by frontier guards, drowned in river Spree or in lakes or died in other tragic ways. The first victim Rudolf Urban died when he jumped out of a window in Bernauer Straße. The last refugee who lost his life on the wall was Chris Gueffroy, shot on February 6^th, 1989. Many people were terrified to see Peter Fechter bleeding to death at the wall without anyone coming to help him.

Protest Movements

During the end of the nineties the change in politics in the Soviet Union under Michael Gorbatschow affected the situation of the GDR, which underwent more and more political and economic difficulties. In 1989 countless citizens of the GDR fled to the opened border between Hungary and Austria and others sought refuge in embassies. In those years more than 220,000 East Germans left the GDR. At the same time many demonstrations took place and called for political changes. The national celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the GDR turned into protest movements against the regime.
In the evening of November 9^th, 1989 the anxiously longed for freedom of travelling was proclaimed. Thousands of people rushed to the frontiers that had been opened in the course of the night. People from East- and West-Berlin lay in each other's arms. This was one of the most beautiful days in the history of Berlin.

Since 1998 a memorial dedicated to the victims of the wall and the German separation has been situated in Bernauer Straße. The ensemble consists of the memorial of the Berlin wall, a chapel of reconciliation and a centre of documentary. The fallow land of the former "strip of death" is still visible between apartment buildings. This is the only place in Berlin where you can see a complete border area with "Vorderlandmauer", "Kiesstreifen", "Kolonnenweg", "Lichttraße" and "Hinterlandmauer". A plaque reminds of the "separation of the city from August 13th 1961 until November 9th 1989" and "the victims of communist tyranny". In the centre of documentation visitors learn about the construction of the wall with the help of photographies, movies, archives and sound documents. On November 9th, 2000 the chapel of reconciliation was opened in place of the church of reconciliation that was torn down in 1985. More …

The end of "Topography of Terror" in Niederkirchner Straße forms a 200 metre long section of the wall.

The former border between the districts Mitte (East Berlin) and Kreuzberg (West Berlin) was reserved for the Allies. Today a guardhouse and boundary sign, both of them reconstructed, mark the former border in the famous Friedrichstraße. The museum at Checkpoint Charlie tells the story of the wall and escape attemps, visulized by numerous documents. Moreover an open-air-exhibition with 175 photos is installed near the "zero-point of the Iron Curtain" and documents the history of the Berlin Wall. More …

The course of the wall has been marked with double rows of cobblestones on the ground throughout the city. A copper band with posts made of concrete is placed between the house of parliament and Martin-Gropius-Bau. Moreover, 16 information boards indicate the historic relevance of several locations.

In 1990 artists transformed the 1.3 km long section of the wall between Oberbaumbrücke and Ostbahnhof into the largest open-air gallery of the world. The most popular motive are "Bruderkuss" by Dimitri Vrubel, "Vaterland" by Gunther Schaefer and "Berlin-New York" by Gerhard Lahr. Across the river Spree one of the two preserved guardtowers is situated in Puschkinallee. Picture gallery

Nearby Reichstag white memorial crosses have been put up in rememberance of the wall. In Mai 1989 the bronze sculpture "Der Rufer" created 1967 by Gerhard Marck, was set up in front of the Brandenburger Tor.

The "Behörde der Bundesbeauftragten für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen DDR", better known as "Gauck-Behörde", deals with the documents left by the powerful Staatssicherheitsdienst ("Stasi"), the GDR's instrument for controlling its citizens. Exhibitions, sounds and videos explain the supervision and persecution of 40 years of dictatorship. www.bstu.de

Furniture, documents and video recordings are displayed in the former apartment building of Wilhelm Pieck, the only president of the GDR.

In 1953 a reception camp Marienfelde was opened to take in refugees in Berlin. In the exhibition all aspects of escape and migration are displayed and an original flat of refugees from the 50s tells about their life. www.enm-berlin.de

The exhibition "Opposition and resistance" is situated in the former headquarters of national security "Stasi". It displays the office rooms of the chief of the headquarters Mielke as well as observation techniques and "Stasi"-Kitsch.

Former chancellor Willy Brandt was time and again, especially in his role as mayor of Berlin, closely related with the history of the Berlin Wall. This permanent exhibition at the Rathaus Schöneberg presents a collection of exhibits, among them many personal documents, and a multimedia show, all of which remember this important politician. www.willy-brandt.de

The BallonGarten at the corner Zimmerstraße / Wilhemstraße will be part of the official concept for the Berlin Wall remembrance due to the historic importance of the location. Today the visitors is already informed about the history. The BallonGarten is also the location of the Hi-Flyer, a balloon with a fantastic panoramic view, and the booths "bboxxes".
www.ballongarten.de (in German)

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