The length of the Berlin Wall. What to see in Berlin
Older people who remember well the events of the so-called "perestroika", the collapse of the Soviet Union and rapprochement with the West, probably know the famous Berlin Wall. Its destruction has become a real symbol of those events, their visible embodiment. The Berlin Wall, the history of the creation and destruction of this object can tell a lot about the turbulent European changes of the middle and the end of the 20th century.
Historical context
It is impossible to understand the history of the Berlin Wall without refreshing the memory of the historical background that led to its creation. As you know, the Second World War in Europe ended with the Act of Surrender of Nazi Germany. The consequences of the war for this country were deplorable: Germany was divided into zones of influence. The eastern part was controlled by the Soviet military-civilian administration, the western part went under the control of the administration of the allies: the USA, Great Britain and France.
Some time later, on the basis of these zones of influence, two independent states arose: the FRG - in the west, with its capital in Bonn, and the GDR - in the east, with its capital in Berlin. West Germany became part of the "camp" of the United States, the east turned out to be part of the socialist camp controlled by the Soviet Union. And since the Cold War was already in full swing between yesterday's allies, the two Germanys found themselves, in fact, in hostile organizations separated by ideological contradictions.
But even earlier, in the first post-war months, an agreement was signed between the USSR and the Western allies, according to which Berlin, the pre-war capital of Germany, was also divided into zones of influence: western and eastern. Accordingly, the western part of the city was supposed to actually belong to the FRG, and the eastern part to the GDR. And everything would be fine if it were not for one important feature: the city of Berlin was located deep inside the territory of the GDR!
That is, it turned out that West Berlin turned out to be an enclave, a piece of Germany, surrounded on all sides by the territory of “pro-Soviet” East Germany. While relations between the USSR and the West were relatively good, the city continued to live a normal life. People moved freely from one part to another, worked, went to visit. Everything changed when the Cold War gained momentum.
Construction of the Berlin Wall
By the beginning of the 60s of the 20th century, it became obvious that relations between the two Germanys were hopelessly damaged. The world was facing the threat of a new global war, tension between the West and the USSR was growing. In addition, a huge difference in the pace of economic development of the two blocs became apparent. Simply put, it was clear to the layman: living in West Berlin is much more comfortable and convenient than in East. People rushed to West Berlin, and additional NATO troops were transferred here. The city could become a "hot spot" in Europe.
To stop such a development of events, the GDR authorities decided to block off the city with a wall that would make it impossible for all kinds of contacts between the inhabitants of the once single settlement. After careful preparation, consultations with the allies and mandatory approval from the USSR, on the last night of August 1961, the entire city was divided in two!
In the literature, you can often find the words that the wall was built in one night. Actually this is not true. Of course, such a grandiose structure cannot be erected in such a short time. On that memorable night for Berliners, only the main transport arteries connecting East and West Berlin were blocked. Somewhere across the street they raised high concrete slabs, somewhere they simply put up barbed wire barriers, in some places barriers with border guards were installed.
The metro was stopped, the trains of which used to move between the two parts of the city. The astonished Berliners found in the morning that they would no longer be able to go to their work, study or just visit friends, as they had done before. Any attempt to penetrate West Berlin was considered a violation of the state border and severely punished. That night, indeed, the city was divided into two parts.
And the wall itself, as an engineering structure, was built more than one year in several stages. Here it must be remembered that the authorities had not only to separate West Berlin from East, but also to protect it from all sides, because it turned out to be a “foreign body” inside the territory of the GDR. As a result, the wall acquired the following parameters:
- 106 km of concrete fence, 3.5 meters high;
- almost 70 km of metal mesh with barbed wire;
- 105.5 km of deep earthen ditches;
- 128 km of signal fence, energized.
And also - a lot of watchtowers, anti-tank pillboxes, firing points. Do not forget that the wall was considered not only as an obstacle to ordinary citizens, but also as a military fortification in case of an offensive by a NATO military group.
When the Berlin Wall was torn down
As long as it existed, the wall remained a symbol of the separation of the two world systems. The attempts to overcome it did not stop. Historians have proven at least 125 deaths while trying to cross the wall. About 5 thousand more attempts were crowned with success, and, among the lucky ones, GDR soldiers prevailed, called upon to protect the wall from crossing by their own fellow citizens.
By the end of the 1980s, so many grandiose changes had already taken place in Eastern Europe that the Berlin Wall looked like a complete anachronism. Moreover, by that time Hungary had already opened its borders with the Western world, and tens of thousands of Germans freely left through it to the FRG. Western leaders pointed out to Gorbachev the need to dismantle the wall. The whole course of events clearly showed that the days of the ugly structure were numbered.
And it happened on the night of October 9-10, 1989! Another mass demonstration of residents of two parts of Berlin ended with the soldiers opening the barriers at the checkpoints and crowds of people rushing towards each other, although the official opening of the checkpoints was to take place the next morning. People did not want to wait, besides, everything that happened was filled with special symbolism. Many TV companies broadcasted this unique event live.
On the same night, enthusiasts began to destroy the wall. At first, the process was spontaneous, looked like amateur performance. Parts of the Berlin Wall stood for some time, completely painted with graffiti. People were photographed near them, and television people filmed their stories. Subsequently, the wall was dismantled with the help of equipment, but in some places its fragments remained as a memorial. The days when the Berlin Wall was destroyed are considered by many historians to be the end of the Cold War in Europe.
25 years ago, on November 9, 1989, the leadership of East Germany announced the opening of the border with West Germany. The next day, the East German authorities begin the destruction of certain sections of the Berlin Wall. The famous fall of the Berlin Wall took place. Historical material about how the Berlin Wall was built. Some of the photos have not been published before in runet.
In 1959, the border between eastern Germany and western Germany looked like this.
Before the construction of the wall, the border between the western and eastern parts of Berlin was open. But on the morning of August 13, 1961, the inhabitants of Berlin were surprised to find that the western part of the city was separated from the eastern part by a cordon of soldiers and military equipment. The living wall stood until a real one grew in its place. Two days later, the city was cut by a barbed wire fence with checkpoints.
The wall started with a line.
Then they made a temporary fence. In the photo, soldiers are building barbed wire fences. From West Berlin, the citizens are watching this process with curiosity and amusement. By August 15, the entire western zone was surrounded by barbed wire, and the actual construction of the wall began.
On August 13, four lines of the Berlin underground - U-Bahn - and some lines of the city railway - S-Bahn were also blocked (during the period when the city was not divided, any Berliner could move freely around the city).
The construction of the wall, from West Berlin, many curious citizens are watching the process, while in East Berlin people were forbidden to approach the wall under construction, as it was a secret facility.
The 44.75 km dividing line (the total length of the border between West Berlin and the GDR was 164 km) ran straight through the streets and houses, canals and waterways.
In this place in Berlin, the role of the wall was temporarily performed by Soviet tanks.
View of the Brandenburg Gate from West Berlin, August 13, 1961. The wall has not yet been built, but there is a border.
After a couple of months, the view changed to this.
The Brandenburg Gate in the fog, the Berlin Wall and a man on a watchtower, November 25, 1961
At this point, the wall ran right along the tram tracks. Soviet specialists were not at all worried about the fact that they complicate life in the first place for their citizens.
The "protection" of the workers far exceeded the number of the builders themselves.
Soldiers from the National People's Army of the GDR monitor the construction and order.
August 22, 1961 Two builders from East Germany are working on a huge wall almost five meters high and placing pieces of broken glass on top of it to prevent East Berliners from escaping.
When the wall was built, no one knew what would happen next. Many people feared that the wall would serve as a provocation to turn the cold war into a hot one.
The border between the British zone and the Soviet. The poster reads "You are leaving the British Sector".
Discussion of the parties on the correctness of the construction of the wall, September 1961
The construction of the wall continues, residents of neighboring houses are watching the process from the windows, September 9, 1961.
Some sections of the wall passed through a park and forest, which had to be partially cut down, October 1, 1961
The lack of a clear physical boundary between the zones led to frequent conflicts and a massive drain of specialists in Germany. East Germans preferred to get an education in the GDR, where it was free, and to work in the FRG.
A typical picture: the windows are bricked up to prevent escape attempts. The reverse side of the house overlooks West Berlin, this side and the sidewalk is already East Berlin. October 6, 1961
October 16, 1961 An attempt to escape from "communist happiness". Unfortunately, it is not known how successful the attempt was. It is known that the police and the military of the GDR usually fired to kill in such cases.
By the way, in the period from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989, 5075 successful escapes to West Berlin or the FRG were made, including 574 cases of desertion ...
On October 26-27, the Americans tried to break through the wall. This incident is known as the Checkpoint Charlie Incident. Several bulldozers approached the wall. They were covered by 10 tanks, as well as soldiers who arrived in three jeeps. On the opposite side lined up Soviet tanks of the third battalion of the 68th Soviet Guards Tank Regiment. The combat vehicles stood all night. As the coordinator of the French special services of those years, K.K. Melnik-Botkin, the world was close to nuclear war. When the Soviet ambassador in Paris was informed that NATO was ready to use atomic bombs, he replied: "Then we will all die together." Still would! After all, the USSR held in its hands the ace of trumps: the most powerful weapon ever created on the planet - a 57-megaton thermonuclear bomb.
The superpowers had the prudence not to start World War III. On October 28, Soviet tanks nevertheless left their positions, after which the Americans immediately withdrew. The wall remains.
American military police on the roof of the house, October 29, 1961, near the border of Friedrichstrasse.
American soldiers anxiously look over the wall at the "Soviet" military, November 20, 1961.
The Brandenburg Gate in the fog, the Berlin Wall and a man on a watchtower, November 25, 1961.
Western high-ranking military officers watch the construction of the wall from the French zone, December 7, 1961
Construction and refurbishment of the wall continued from 1962 to 1975. By 1975, it had acquired its final form, turning into a complex engineering structure under the name Grenzmauer-75.
The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) is a complex of engineering structures that existed from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989 on the border of the eastern part of the territory of Berlin - the capital of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the western part of the city - West Berlin, which had , as a political unit, a special international status.
During this period, there is also a serious aggravation of the political situation around Berlin. At the end of 1958, the head of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev, proposed making West Berlin a "free city" with a guarantee of its independence, which would mean the end of the occupation by the victors of World War II. If the NATO countries, Khrushchev warned, did not agree to conclude a peace treaty with both Germany, the USSR would conclude one only with the GDR. It will gain control over the lines of communication with West Berlin, and the Americans, British and French, in order to get into the city, will be forced to turn to the East German authorities, inevitably recognizing their existence. But the recognition of the GDR did not take place. Between 1958 and 1961 Berlin remained the hottest spot in the world.
Updated 02/01/2020 Views 3255 Comments 37
Initially, I was going to write an article just about ours, but in the end it somehow turned out that all of it basically turned out to be only about one very touching phenomenon that personally impressed me to the depths of my soul. This is the famous Berlin Wall. I am writing “famous”, but I am ashamed myself, because, imagine, before coming to Berlin, I simply knew from history lessons that one was erected after the Second World War and divided Berlin into two parts, but why, when, by whom and for what … never really interested. But I'll start in order.
Where to stay in Berlin
It is better to book hotels in Berlin in advance, so I recommend you these:
Be sure to check the prices in a special service. It will show discounts in all existing booking systems. The same hotel can cost 10-20% cheaper than on Booking. You can either initially search for hotels in RumGuru or try discounts by hotel names. This life hack works well in Asia and Europe.
On the example of hotels above:
Berlin Wall
Once in Berlin, we, to our shame, realized that we didn’t really know what to see, except for the Reichstag and the monument to the Russian soldier, which, by the way, we never reached. Somehow they didn’t even think about the Berlin Wall. But, circling around the city with a map, suddenly at some point we discovered that we were not far from Checkpoint Charlie, stopped, read the description in our mini-guide and, to put it mildly, we were hooked.
Later, when we tried to explain to ourselves why it touched us so much, we found a simple explanation for this - it's not only them, it's our common history! The Berlin Wall is, in fact, a symbol of the then political regime, it is a living personification of the Iron Curtain. In official documents, however, more often they talk about the "cold war".
Being seriously interested in this topic, I found a lot of stories and photos on this topic, I dare to summarize here what shocked me the most and post some photos of that time, the authors of which I apologize in advance.
But first, let me explain a little: in 1948, Berlin was divided into two parts, one of which, the eastern one, was the capital of the GDR, and the second, the western one, was the American, French and British sectors of occupation. At first, the border could be crossed freely, which East Berliners happily did on a daily basis, going to West Berlin to work, shop, visit friends and relatives. But this did not have a very favorable effect on the economy of the GDR. There were other equally weighty, according to the government of the GDR, political and economic reasons for which it was decided to surround West Berlin with an impenetrable wall. As a result, overnight on August 13, 1961, the entire border with West Berlin was blocked, and by August 15 it was completely surrounded by barbed wire, on the site of which the construction of the Berlin Wall began rather quickly. At first it was stone, and later turned into a whole complex complex of reinforced concrete walls, ditches, metal mesh, watchtowers, etc.
Since the border was closed overnight, you can imagine how many people instantly lost their jobs, friends, relatives, apartments... And all at once - freedom. Many could not put up with this and almost immediately began to flee from East Berlin to West. At first, this was not so difficult to do, but as the Berlin Wall complex grew and strengthened, the escape methods became more and more inventive and cunning.
You can read a lot about escape attempts on the Internet, I will not talk about everything. I will describe only briefly those that were the most successful, original and memorable. Forgive me, I will write without names and dates. Several times, immediately after the construction of the Berlin Wall, they broke through it, ramming it with trucks. At the checkpoints, they drove at high speed under the barriers in sports cars that were too low to touch the barrier, crossed rivers and lakes, because. it was the most unprotected section of the fence.
The border between West and East Berlin often ran right through the houses, and it turned out that the entrance was in the eastern territory, and the windows faced the West. When the Berlin Wall had just begun to be erected, many residents of the house boldly jumped out of the windows into the street, where they were often caught by Western firefighters or simply overjoyed residents of the city. But all these windows were walled up very soon. I wonder if the tenants were relocated, or did they live without daylight?
The first escapes of East Berliners 
Tunnels were very popular, dozens of them were dug, and this was the most crowded way to escape (20-50 people ran at a time). Later, especially enterprising Western businessmen even began to make money from this by placing ads in newspapers “Let's help with family problems.”
A tunnel through which dozens of people fled There were also very original escapes: for example, two families made a homemade balloon and flew over the Berlin Wall on it, the brothers crossed to West Berlin, stretching a cable between the houses and descending on it on a tape measure.
When, a few years later, Western residents were allowed to enter East Berlin with special passes to see relatives, sophisticated methods were invented for taking people out in cars. Sometimes very small cars were used, specially modified in such a way that people could hide under the hood or in the trunk. The border guards did not even guess that there could be a person instead of a motor. Many people hid in suitcases, sometimes they were placed in pairs, slots were made between them, so the person fit completely, he did not have to fold.
Almost immediately, a decree was issued to shoot at all people who tried to escape. One of the most notorious victims of this brutal decree was a young boy, Peter Fechter, who was shot in the stomach while trying to escape and left to bleed against a wall until he died. The unofficial numbers of arrests for escaping (3221 people), deaths (from 160 to 938 people) and injuries (from 120 to 260 people) while trying to overcome the Berlin Wall are simply horrifying!
When I read all these stories about the escapes from East Berlin, I had a question that I could not find the answer anywhere, where did all the escapees live in West Berlin? After all, he, too, was not made of rubber, but according to unconfirmed reports, 5043 people managed to successfully escape in one way or another.
Near Checkpoint Charlie there is a museum dedicated to the history of the Berlin Wall. In it, Rainer Hildebrandt, the museum's founder, collected many of the devices that East Berliners used to escape to West Berlin. Unfortunately, we did not get to the museum itself, but even postcards with the image of the Berlin Wall and photo sketches from everyday life of that time, which were sold in a nearby souvenir shop, aroused unusually strong emotions in us. And I was very touched by the request left at Checkpoint Charlie to our President.
Meanwhile, life went on as usual, the people of West Berlin had free access to the wall, could walk along it and use it for their needs. Many artists have painted the west side of the Berlin Wall with graffiti, some of these images have become famous throughout the world, such as "The Kiss of Honecker and Brezhnev."
People often came to the wall to look at their loved ones at least from a distance, to wave them with a handkerchief, to show their children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters. It's terrible, families, relatives, loved ones, separated by concrete and someone's complete indifference. After all, even if it was so necessary for the economy and / or politics, then it was possible to provide for people not to suffer so much, to give the opportunity to reunite at least relatives ...
The fall of the Berlin Wall took place on November 9, 1989. The reason for this significant event was that one of the countries of the socialist bloc, Hungary, opened its borders with Austria, and approximately 15 thousand citizens of the GDR left the country to get to West Germany. The remaining East German residents took to the streets with demonstrations and demands for their civil rights. And on November 9, the head of the GDR announced that it would be possible to leave the country with a special visa. However, the people did not wait for this, millions of citizens simply poured out into the street and headed for the Berlin Wall. The border guards were unable to contain such a crowd, and the borders were opened. On the other side of the wall, their compatriots were met by West Germanic residents. There was an atmosphere of joy and happiness from the reunion.
There is an opinion that when the general rejoicing passed, the inhabitants of different Germanys began to feel a huge ideological gap between them. It is said that this is felt to this day, and East Berliners are still different from West Berliners. But we haven't had a chance to test it yet. Now sometimes no, no, but a rumor slips through that some Germans are convinced that life was better under the Berlin Wall than it is now. Although, maybe those who generally believe that the sun used to be brighter, and the grass is greener, and life is better, say so.
In any case, there was such a terrible phenomenon in history, and its remnants are still preserved in Berlin. And when you walk down the street and under your feet you see the marks where the Berlin Wall used to pass, when you can touch its fragments, and you understand how much pain, excitement and fear this building brought, you begin to feel your involvement in this story.
Life hack #1 - how to buy good insurance
Choosing insurance is now unrealistically difficult, so to help all travelers. To do this, I constantly monitor forums, study insurance contracts and use insurance myself.
The Cold War, which began after the end of the bloodiest World War II in history, was a long conflict between the USSR on the one hand and Europe and the United States on the other. Western politicians viewed the communist regime as the most dangerous possible adversary, and the possession of nuclear weapons on both sides only increased tensions.
After the end of World War II, the winners divided the territory of Germany among themselves. The Soviet Union inherited five provinces, from which the German Democratic Republic was formed in 1949. The capital of the new state was East Berlin, which, according to the terms of the Yalta Treaty, also fell into the zone of influence of the USSR. The conflict between East and West, as well as the uncontrolled migration of residents to West Berlin, led to the fact that in 1961 the Warsaw Pact countries (a socialist alternative to NATO) came to the decision that it was necessary to build a concrete structure delimiting the western and eastern parts of the city.
Border in the center of Berlin
As soon as possible after the decision to close the border was made, the wall project was implemented. The total length of the Berlin Wall was over 150 kilometers, although in Berlin itself there were only about 40 kilometers. To protect the border, in addition to the directly three-meter wall, wire fences, electric current, earthen ditches, anti-tank fortifications, watchtowers and even control strips were used. All these security measures were used only from the eastern side of the wall - in West Berlin, any resident of the city could approach it.
The ransom of the East Germans cost the German government a total of almost three billion US dollars.
The wall not only divided the city into two parts, rather absurdly (metro stations were closed, windows facing the west had to be walled up in houses), but also became a symbol of confrontation between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries. Until the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1990, there were many attempts to illegally cross the border, including undermining, a bulldozer, a hang glider and a balloon. In total, more than five thousand successful escapes were made from the GDR to the FRG. In addition, approximately two hundred and fifty thousand people were released for money.
According to the official point of view of the GDR, during the entire years of the existence of the wall, 125 people were killed trying to cross the border.
In 1989, the beginning of perestroika was announced in the USSR, which prompted Hungary, neighboring the GDR, to open the border with Austria. The existence of the Berlin Wall became meaningless, since everyone who wanted to get to the West could do it through Hungary. After some time, the government of the GDR, under public pressure, was forced to provide its citizens with free access abroad, and in 1990 the already useless Berlin Wall was demolished. However, several of its fragments remained as a memorial complex.
