Berlin Wall Rise and Fall, Short Documentary
[Music] Hey, [Applause] [Music] hey, hey. [Music] The Berlin Wall, German, Berliner Mau pronounced, was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the German Democratic Republic, GDR, or East Germany. [Music] [Music] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government of the GDR on August 13th, 1961. It included guard towers placed along large concrete walls accompanied by a wide area later known as the death strip that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails, and other defenses. [Music] The primary intention for the walls construction was to prevent East German citizens from fleeing to the west. [Music] [Applause] [Music] The authorities officially referred to the Berlin wall as the anti-fascist protection rampart. Conversely, West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the wall of shame, a term coined by Mayor Willie Brandt in reference to the wall’s restriction on freedom of movement. [Applause] [Music] along with the separate and much longer inner German border which demarcated the border between East and West Germany. It came to symbolize physically the iron curtain that separated the western block and Soviet satellite states of the eastern block during the cold war [Music] before the wall’s erection. 3.5 million East Germans, 20% of the population, circumvented Eastern block immigration restrictions and defected from the GDR. Many by crossing the border from East Berlin into West Berlin. From there they could then travel to West Germany and to other Western European countries. [Music] After 1961, the deadly force associated with the wall prevented almost all such immigration. During this period, over 100,000 people attempted to escape and over 5,000 people succeeded in escaping over the wall with an estimated death toll of those killed by East German authorities ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin. [Music] [Music] In 1989, a series of revolutions in nearby Eastern block countries, Poland and Hungary in particular, and the events of the panuropean picnic set in motion a peaceful development during which the Iron Curtain largely broke. Rulers in the east came under public pressure to cease their repressive policies. [Music] [Music] After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on November 9th, 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit the FRG in West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side, and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the wall over the next few weeks. [Music] The Brandenburgg Gate section a few meters from the Berlin Wall reopened on December 22nd, 1989 with full demolition of the wall beginning on June 13th, 1990 and concluding in 1994. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification which formally took place on October 3rd, 1990. [Applause] [Music] On June 15th, 1961, first secretary of the Socialist Unity Party and GDR State Council Chairman Walter Alrich stated in an international press conference, Neiman Hat Dopsished Ana Mauard Suarishton, no one has the intention of erecting a wall. It was the first time the colloquial term Mau wall had been used in this context. [Music] The transcript of a telephone call between Nikita Kruef and Albertch on August 1st in the same year suggests that the initiative for the construction of the wall came from Kruef. However, other sources suggest that Kruev had initially been wary about building a wall, fearing a negative Western reaction. Nevertheless, Albertch had pushed for a border closure for some time, arguing that East Germany’s existence was at stake. [Music] With the closing of the East West sector boundary in Berlin, the vast majority of East Germans could no longer travel or immigrate to West Germany. Berlin soon went from being the easiest place to make an unauthorized crossing between East and West Germany to being the most difficult. Many families were split while East Berliners employed in the West were cut off from their jobs. West Berlin became an isolated exclave in a hostile land. [Music] West Berliners demonstrated against the wall, led by their mayor, Willie Brandt, who criticized the United States for failing to respond and went so far as to suggest to Washington what to do next. [Music] Little is left of the wall at its original site, which was destroyed almost in its entirety. Three long sections are still standing. An 80 m long piece of the first westernmost wall at the topography of terror, sight of the former Gestapo headquarters, halfway between Checkpoint Charlie and Pottomer plots. [Music] A longer section of the second easternmost wall along the Spree River near the Oberbound Brook, nicknamed East Side Gallery, and a third section that is partially reconstructed in the north at Bernau Strasa, which was turned into a memorial in 1998. Eight other isolated fragments, lampposts, other elements and a few watchtowers also remain in various parts of the city. [Music]
Explore the history of the Berlin Wall in this informative video, perfect for history lovers and travel enthusiasts. Built in 1961, the Berlin Wall divided East and West Berlin for 28 years, becoming a powerful symbol of the Cold War. Discover famous Berlin Wall landmarks like the East Side Gallery, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Berlin Wall Memorial, along with dramatic escape stories and the events leading to its fall in 1989. Learn why visiting the Berlin Wall is a must-do when in Germany, and uncover its lasting impact on Berlin’s culture, history, and identity.
#BerlinWall #BerlinHistory #ColdWar #EastSideGallery #CheckpointCharlie #BerlinTravel #FallOfTheBerlinWall