Berlin Wall dimensions. Who needed the Berlin Wall and why? Who built the Berlin Wall and why?

(Berliner Mauer) - a complex of engineering and technical 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, special international status.

The Berlin Wall is one of the most famous symbols of the Cold War.

After World War II, Berlin was divided between the victorious powers (USSR, USA, France and Great Britain) into four occupation zones. The eastern zone, the largest, almost half the territory of the city, went to the USSR - as the country whose troops occupied Berlin.

On June 21, 1948, the USA, England and France carried out a monetary reform in the western zones without the consent of the USSR, introducing a new German mark into circulation. To prevent the influx of money, the Soviet administration blocked West Berlin and cut off all ties with the western zones. During the Berlin crisis, in July 1948, projects for the creation of a West German state began to appear.

As a result, on May 23, 1949, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was proclaimed. During the same period, the formation of the German state in the Soviet zone also took place. On October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed. The eastern part of Berlin became the capital of the GDR.

Germany chose the market path of economic development and in the political sphere began to focus on the largest Western countries. Prices have stopped rising in the country and the unemployment rate has decreased.

Construction and renovation of the wall continued from 1962 to 1975. On June 19, 1962, construction of the parallel wall began. Another one was added to the existing wall, 90 meters behind the first, all buildings between the walls were demolished, and the gap was turned into a control strip.

The world-famous concept of the “Berlin Wall” meant the front barrier wall closest to West Berlin.

In 1965, the construction of the wall from concrete slabs began, and in 1975 the last reconstruction of the wall began. The wall was built from 45 thousand concrete blocks measuring 3.6 by 1.5 meters, rounded at the top to make it difficult to escape.

By 1989, the Berlin Wall was a complex complex of engineering and technical structures. The total length of the wall was 155 km, the intra-city border between East and West Berlin was 43 km, the border between West Berlin and the GDR (outer ring) was 112 km. Closer to West Berlin, the front barrier wall reached a height of 3.60 meters. It encircled the entire western sector of Berlin. In the city itself, the Wall divided 97 streets, six metro lines and ten districts of the city.

The complex included 302 observation posts, 20 bunkers, 259 devices for guard dogs and other border structures.

The wall was constantly patrolled by special units subordinate to the GDR police. The border guards were armed with small arms and had at their disposal trained service dogs, modern tracking equipment, and alarm systems. In addition, the guards had the right to shoot to kill if the border violators did not stop after warning shots.

The heavily guarded "no man's land" between the wall and West Berlin came to be called the "death strip".

There were eight border crossings, or checkpoints, between East and West Berlin where West Germans and tourists could visit East Germany.

According to the agreements concluded by the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition during the war, defeated Germany was divided into occupation zones. Although the capital of the Third Reich, Berlin, was stormed only by Soviet troops, occupation zones were created there too. The USSR occupied the eastern part of the city, the Americans - the southwestern part, the British - the western, and the French took control of the northwestern section.

At first, the city was jointly governed by an allied Control Council, which included representatives from all four sides. At first, the border between the western and eastern parts of the city was purely arbitrary. Later, a dividing line with checkpoints appeared in its place. However, it did not extend over the entire length of the border. The crossing regime was free, residents of different parts of Berlin calmly moved around the city, went to visit friends and to work from the western to the eastern part and vice versa.

Relations between the allies began to deteriorate very quickly. At first they did not affect Berlin, affecting only German territories. The Allies, under the pretext of more efficient economic activity, united their zones of occupation, first into Bisonia, and then into Trizonia.

In 1948, a meeting of representatives of six Western powers was held in London, which developed mechanisms for the revival of German statehood. This was received with hostility in the Kremlin, and the USSR (whose representatives were not even invited) boycotted activities in the Control Council as a sign of protest.

In the summer of the same year, the allies, without coordination with Moscow, carried out monetary reform in Trizonia. Since the eastern and western parts of Berlin at that time were still economically connected, the USSR regarded the separate monetary reform as an attempt at sabotage (the reform forced West Berliners to “dump” money in the eastern part, where old money was still in circulation) and for several days the communication was completely closed between parts of the city. These events went down in history as the blockade of West Berlin and had a very negative impact on the image of the Soviet Union. Although there was neither famine nor even a hint of it in the western part of the city, the whole world went around with images of the “raisin bombings,” when American planes parachuted and dropped sweets to the joyful children of Berlin.

The blockade of West Berlin meant that the final disengagement was only a matter of time. In 1949, the Western Allies restored German statehood, creating the Federal Republic of Germany.

The USSR declared the GDR six months late. Shortly before his death, Stalin made one last attempt to resolve the issue. He proposed to the Western allies to unite Germany into one state, but under the categorical condition of its neutral and non-aligned status. However, the Americans, for whom West Germany was the main outpost in Europe, were afraid of losing control, so they agreed only on the condition that Germany could voluntarily join NATO. If, of course, she has such a desire. But the USSR could not give consent to this.

Instead of rapprochement, there was a final disengagement. The FRG fundamentally did not recognize the existence of the GDR; even on maps its territories were designated as German, but under Soviet control. West Germany automatically broke off diplomatic relations with any country that recognized the existence of the GDR until the early 70s.

Free City of Berlin

In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev attempted to resolve the German question. He made an offer to the Western Allies that became known as the Berlin Ultimatum. Khrushchev's idea boiled down to the following: the western part of Berlin was declared an independent free city. The Allies leave the occupation zone and transfer control to an independent civilian administration. The USSR and its allies undertake not to interfere in the life of the free city, whose residents themselves choose its economic and political structure. Otherwise, the USSR threatened to transfer control of the border to the GDR authorities, who would tighten it.

The British reacted rather neutrally to Khrushchev’s proposal and were ready to further discuss the proposal on compromise terms that would suit everyone. However, the American side was strongly against it. If this proposal was satisfied, West Berlin would turn out to be an island surrounded on all sides by the territory of the GDR. Under these conditions, its independence and economic development were directly dependent on East Germany and it is quite obvious that over time it would either be completely absorbed or taken under control.

Khrushchev postponed the final decision several times, trying to arrange meetings with the Western allies. But the parties never came to a compromise. In April 1961, he announced that by the end of the year, full control of East Berlin would be transferred to the GDR administration.

Flight from the Republic

Fearing that communication between parts of the city would soon be cut off, many residents of the eastern part of the city decided to take their last chance to flee to the west. The flight of East Germans to the West was quite common from the first years of the occupation. At that time, communication between parts of the country was still free. Several hundred thousand people moved from the eastern occupation zone to the western one. The peculiarity of this escape was that a significant part of the fugitives were highly qualified specialists. They did not want to live in the Soviet value system with a lot of restrictions of both a political and economic nature.

Of course, large businesses also fled, the existence of which was not envisaged in the Soviet system. Thus, almost all of the factories of the Auto Union concern ended up in the Soviet occupation zone. But all of their management and almost all of their employees managed to move to the western part, where they resumed business. This is how the world famous automobile concern Audi appeared.

The Kremlin has been concerned about flight from the GDR for a long time. After Stalin's death, Beria proposed a radical solution to the German problem. But not in the way his image might suggest. He proposed not to rush at all to establish a socialist economy in the GDR, preserving the capitalist one. It was also proposed to develop light industry as opposed to heavy industry (under Stalin it was the other way around). Later, at the trial, Beria was blamed for this.

Free communication between the GDR and the FRG was stopped during Stalin's lifetime, in 1952. However, these restrictions did not apply to Berlin; its residents continued to move between zones. In just half of 1961, about 200 thousand residents fled from East Berlin. And in the last month of free movement, 30 thousand people became defectors.

Start of construction

On August 12, 1961, the GDR authorities announced the closure of communications between the eastern and western parts of the city. All city communists, police officers and some employees were mobilized to guard the “border” at night. They stretched out into a human chain, not letting anyone through. Troops were stationed not far from them.

The GDR authorities accused the FRG of provocations, acts of sabotage and attempts to destabilize the situation. They also expressed their outrage at the luring of East Berliners into the Western sector, which led to the disruption of the GDR's economic plans and financial damage. Under this pretext, on the night of August 13, 1961, construction began on a wall that divided the city into two parts.

For two days, border guards did not allow anyone to enter either side. At the same time, the border line was surrounded by barbed wire. The construction of concrete barriers began only on August 15.

The border was completely closed, no one had to leave East Berlin and get there. Even the metro and railway lines connecting the western and eastern parts of the city were blocked.

World War III is coming

The construction of the Berlin Wall led to a serious political crisis, which almost turned into a full-scale military conflict. In response to the start of construction of fortifications in the United States, a recruitment of reservists was announced. Then the service life of officers who were supposed to retire to the reserve was forcibly extended by one year. An additional one and a half thousand American soldiers were transferred to West Berlin, with the prospect of transferring a division. Individual units were put on high alert.

On August 24, American troops, supported by tanks, were lined up along the wall under construction. In response, transfers to the reserve were also canceled in the Soviet army. A few days later, a military build-up began in the western part of the city. By October it was further increased by 40 thousand soldiers. An explosive situation was created that threatened to escalate into a military conflict.

The conflict came closest to the hot phase on October 26, 1961. From the direction of the American Checkpoint Charlie, several bulldozers drove up to the wall under the cover of 10 tanks. The Soviet side, fearing that the Americans would try to demolish parts of the wall, sent several Soviet tanks to the checkpoint. These events went down in history as a tank confrontation.

American and Soviet combat vehicles stood opposite each other all night without taking any action. Any careless movement could lead to the most serious consequences. The tankers stood like that for a whole day. Only on the morning of October 28 did the Soviet side withdraw the vehicles. The Americans did the same. The threat of military conflict passed for a time.

Anti-fascist defensive rampart

In the GDR, the wall was called the Anti-Fascist Defense Wall for a long time. Which hinted at the need to build this fortification in order to protect against attempts by West German “fascists” to interfere with the rule of people in the GDR. In West Germany it was called the Wall of Shame for a long time. This went on for 10 years. In the early 70s, the GDR and West Germany recognized each other and a gradual process of detente began. Therefore, mutually offensive names for walls began to disappear from official statements.

However, the wall remained and was even improved. At first these were minor fortifications. In some areas, the matter was limited to simple Bruno spirals made of barbed wire, which could be jumped over with the proper skill. Therefore, the main barrage functions were performed by soldiers of the GDR army, who had the right to shoot to kill at border violators. True, this rule applied only to East Berliners. West Berliners who wanted to make the journey in the opposite direction were not fired upon. Although flight from east to west became much more widespread, isolated cases of flight in the opposite direction also occurred.

However, most often the wall jumpers, as they were called, did not have any political or economic motives. These were mostly drunken young men who, out of hooligan motives or to impress friends with a demonstration of their prowess, climbed over the wall. More often than not, they were detained and expelled back after interrogation.

Despite the gradual rapprochement of the two Germanys, the wall soon turned into a real masterpiece of fortification. By the end of the 70s it had become an almost insurmountable obstacle. From the perspective of East Berlin, potential fugitives first had to overcome a concrete wall or barbed wire fence. Immediately behind them began a continuous row of anti-tank hedgehogs. Having passed them, the fugitives again found themselves in front of a barbed wire fence, which was equipped with an alarm system that notified patrols of border violations.

Further on there was a patrol zone, along which guards on foot and in vehicles moved. Behind it was a protective ditch, three to five meters deep. Then followed a control strip of sand, which was illuminated by powerful lanterns located several meters from each other. And finally, a wall made of 3.6 meter high concrete blocks, on top of which cylindrical asbestos cement barriers were installed to prevent snagging. In addition to this, there were watchtowers every 300 meters. In some areas, even anti-tank fortifications were installed.

This is perhaps the only case in history when such a thorough barrier was built to prevent the escape of its citizens, and not to protect against the invasion of uninvited guests.

The total length of the wall was 106 kilometers. Concrete blocks were installed along its entire length, but it was so well fortified only in the most potentially dangerous places. In other parts some elements were missing. In some places there was no barbed wire, in others there were no earthen ditches or alarm systems.

Houses adjacent to the border fence were initially evicted and all windows and doors were concreted over. Later they were completely demolished.

Only pensioners had the right to move freely around the city. But the economically active population of the eastern part of Berlin had to receive a special pass, which, however, did not allow permanent residence in another part of the city. Meanwhile, by the time the Berlin Wall was erected, the standard of living in the western part of Germany exceeded that of the GDR. And in the future this gap only increased.

With the construction of the wall, the flow of fugitives thinned out, but did not dry up. The Germans went to the most incredible tricks to get past the wall. They dug huge underground tunnels and used hang gliders and hot air balloons to escape. In this regard, an article was introduced into the criminal code punishing flight from the republic with imprisonment.

Destruction

The Berlin Wall lasted for almost three decades. Back in the mid-80s, plans were made for its further improvement using the most modern signaling and surveillance equipment. However, the wave of velvet revolutions that began in Europe dramatically changed the situation. In early 1989, Hungary unilaterally opened its border with capitalist Austria. From that moment on, the wall turned into a meaningless artifact. Germans who wanted to go to Germany simply came to Hungary and crossed its border into Austria, from where they moved to the west of Germany.

The authorities of the GDR, under the influence of rapidly unfolding historical processes, were forced to concede. In November 1989, it was announced that visas would be freely issued to everyone wishing to visit the western part of Germany. And in December, part of the wall near the Brandenburg Gate was dismantled. In fact, 1989 was the last year of the wall’s existence, although it lasted a little longer.

The fortification was demolished at the end of 1990 after the unification of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany into one state. Only a few small sections of it were decided to be preserved in memory of the symbol of the Cold War, which separated two political and economic systems for 30 years.

One of the journalists in the 80s described his impressions of the Berlin Wall as follows: “I walked and walked along the street and just ran into a blank wall. There was nothing nearby, nothing. Just a long, gray wall.”

Long and gray wall. And really, nothing special. However, this is the most famous monument of recent world and German history, or rather, what is left of the wall and turned into a memorial.

History of construction

It is impossible to talk about the emergence of the Berlin Wall without knowing how Europe changed after World War II.

Then Germany split into two parts: East and West, the GDR (Eastern) followed the path of building socialism and was completely controlled by the USSR, joined the military bloc of the Warsaw Pact, Germany (the Allied occupation zone) continued capitalist development.

Berlin was divided in the same unnatural way. The area of ​​responsibility of the three allies: France, England, and the USA became West Berlin, ¼ of which went to the GDR.

By 1961, it became clear that more and more people did not want to build a socialist bright future, and border crossings became more frequent. The young people, the future of the country, were leaving. In July alone, about 200 thousand people left the GDR across the border with West Berlin.

The leadership of the GDR, supported by the Warsaw Pact countries, decided to strengthen the country's state border with West Berlin.

On the night of August 13, GDR military units began covering the entire perimeter of the West Berlin border with barbed wire; they were finished by the 15th; then the construction of the fence continued for a year.

Another problem remained for the GDR authorities: Berlin had one transport system of metro and electric trains. It was solved simply: they closed all the stations on the line, above which the territory of an unfriendly state was located, where they could not close, they set up a checkpoint, like at the Friedrichstrasse station. They did the same with the railroad.

The border was fortified.

What did the Berlin Wall look like?

The word “wall” does not fully reflect the complex border fortification that, in fact, was the Berlin Wall. It was a whole border complex, consisting of several parts and well fortified.

It stretched for a distance of 106 kilometers, its height was 3.6 meters and was designed so that it could not be overcome without special devices. The construction material – gray reinforced concrete – gave the impression of inaccessibility and steadfastness.

Barbed wire was strung along the top of the wall and a high voltage current was passed through it to prevent any attempts to illegally cross the border. In addition, a metal mesh was installed in front of the wall, and metal strips with spikes were placed in some places. Observation towers and checkpoints were erected along the perimeter of the structure (there were 302 such structures). To make the Berlin Wall completely impregnable, anti-tank structures were built.

The complex of border structures was completed by a control strip with sand, which was leveled daily.

The Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of Berlin and Germany, was in the way of the barrage. The problem was solved simply: they were surrounded by a wall on all sides. No one, neither East Germans nor West Berliners, could approach the gates from 1961 until 1990. The absurdity of the “Iron Curtain” has reached its apogee.

Part of the once united people, it would seem, forever cut itself off from the other part, bristling with electrified barbed wire.

Living surrounded by a wall

Of course, it was West Berlin that was surrounded by a wall, but it seemed that the GDR had fenced itself off from the whole world, safely hidden behind the most primitive security structure.

But no walls can stop people who want freedom.

Only citizens of retirement age enjoyed the right of free transition. The rest invented many ways to overcome the wall. It is interesting that the more the border became stronger, the more sophisticated the means of crossing it became.

They flew over her on a hang glider, a homemade hot air balloon, climbed on a rope stretched between border windows, and rammed the walls of houses with bulldozers. To get to the other side, they dug tunnels, one of them was 145 m long, and many people moved through it to West Berlin.

During the years of the wall's existence (from 1961 to 1989), more than 5,000 people left the GDR, including members of the People's Army.

Lawyer Wolfgang Vogel, a public figure from the GDR who was involved in mediating exchanges of people (among his most famous cases were the exchange of Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel for Gary Powers, the exchange of Anatoly Sharansky), arranged border crossings for money. The leadership of the GDR had a stable income from this. So more than 200 thousand people and about 40 thousand political prisoners left the country. Very cynical, because we were talking about people’s lives.

People died trying to cross the wall. The first to die was 24-year-old Peter Fechter in August 1962, the last victim of the wall was Chris Gueffroy in 1989. Peter Fechter bled to death after lying wounded against a wall for 1.5 hours before border guards picked him up. Now at the site of his death there is a monument: a simple column of red granite with a modest inscription: “He just wanted freedom.”

Fall of the Berlin Wall

In 1989, the leadership of the GDR could no longer restrain its citizens from their desire to leave the country. Perestroika began in the USSR, and “big brother” could no longer help. In the fall, the entire leadership of East Germany resigned, and on November 9, free passage across the former, once so fortified border was allowed.

Thousands of Germans on both sides rushed to each other, rejoiced and celebrated. These were unforgettable moments. The event instantly acquired a sacred meaning: no to the unnatural division of a single people, yes to a united Germany. No to all kinds of borders, yes to freedom and the right to human life for all people in the world.

Just as the wall used to be a symbol of separation, these days it has begun to unite people. They drew graffiti on it, wrote messages, and cut off pieces as souvenirs. People understood that history was being made before their eyes, and they were its creators.

The wall was finally demolished a year later, leaving a 1,300-meter-long fragment as a reminder of the most expressive symbol of the Cold War.

Epilogue

This building has become a symbol of the absurd desire to slow down the natural course of history. But the Berlin Wall and, to a greater extent, its fall took on enormous meaning: no barriers could divide a united people, no walls could protect from the wind of change that blew through the bricked-up windows of border houses.

This is what the Scorpions song “Wind of Change” is about, dedicated to the fall of the wall and becoming the anthem of German unification.

On November 9, Germany will celebrate the reunification of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany. It was on this day in 1989 that the Berlin Wall fell. The English-language website RT has prepared a number of facts about the creation and history of the wall.

1 . Between 1945 and 1961, more than three million East Germans fled to West Germany, accounting for a third of the GDR's population. These were predominantly young, educated people, which displeased Moscow, and the future Soviet leader Yuri Andropov told the leadership of the GDR that it was not capable of speaking the language of the intelligentsia.

2 . 50,000 Berliners commuted to work in the western part of the city every day, earning higher wages and living in subsidized housing. The Western Deutschmark was six times more expensive than the Eastern one. The exchange rate difference was also so large because of the socialist model of the Eastern economy, which subsidized key goods, and also because of the high demand for Western currency. Thanks to this, residents of West Berlin could exchange money on the black market and buy goods at low prices in East Germany; naturally, they were ready to give up Adidas sneakers or Volkswagen cars.

3 . The division was not only economic, but also ideological. To imagine West Berlin in the center of a communist camp was comparable to placing half of Seoul in the center of Pyongyang or part of London in Tehran. The difference was so great that it clearly showed the shortcomings of each mode.

4 . The mayor of Berlin and future Chancellor of Germany, Social Democrat Willy Brandt, dubbed the structure the “Wall of Shame,” which was quickly picked up by Western media.

5 . On August 13, 1961, residents of both parts of Berlin woke up to find the dividing line cordoned off and preparations for the construction of a permanent structure in full swing. People in the east looked at all this in confusion and realized that they would no longer be able to escape.

6 . Some statistics: by the end of its existence in 1989, the length of the wall was 155 km, of which 127.5 km were with electric or sound alarms. The structure had 302 observation towers, 259 dog parks, 20 bunkers, which were guarded by more than 11 thousand soldiers.

7 . The wall was not built as a pre-designed single structure. It consisted of a series of four different walls, starting with two barbed wire fences and then two concrete walls.

8 . The so-called “death strip”, which was laid across East Berlin, ranged from 30 to 150 meters in width. It was equipped with searchlights and guarded by soldiers with dogs. Signal wires, barbed wire, and spikes were used as obstacles. Next came a trench and anti-tank hedgehogs, which were installed in case of an armed conflict. There were also strips of sand along which no one could pass unnoticed.

9 . Ironically, in the path of the wall stood a 19th century temple called the Church of Reconciliation. Since the authorities decided that it blocked the view from the watchtowers, the temple was blown up in 1985. After the fall of the wall, the church was restored in its original place as a symbol of a united Berlin.

10 . The first person to be shot while trying to cross the wall from east to west was Günter Litfin, an apprentice tailor and member of the Christian Democratic Union, which was banned in the GDR. Litfin worked in West Berlin, rented an apartment there and planned to move permanently. Gunther had to postpone the move after his father's death in order to support the family. But after construction began, the walls of his hopes collapsed. Litfin tried to cross the railroad tracks, but was spotted by the police and shot in the head. The GDR authorities first tried to hush up the death, and after rumors spread throughout the city, they said that Litfin was a homosexual who fled because of his crimes.

Günther Litfin became an iconic figure for the West - one of the 136 victims of the "East German manhunters" who died trying to cross the wall.

11 . The wall guards themselves tried to take advantage of their official position and move to the West when no one was looking. In the first two years of the structure's existence, when locks had not yet been installed, which required several people to open, more than 1,300 soldiers from the GDR illegally crossed the border.

Subsequently, security was entrusted only to the most loyal soldiers and complex security systems were installed.

12 . It is estimated that during the existence of the wall, approximately 10,000 people tried to escape, and approximately five thousand succeeded.

13 . We can say that the fall of the wall in 1989 was already purely symbolic, since it ceased to fulfill its function. The first breach in the Iron Curtain was made earlier in the year by the Hungarian authorities when they opened the border with Austria.

14 . According to reports, Mikhail Gorbachev was sleeping peacefully in Moscow at the time of the wall's destruction. The Soviet leader witnessed the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and had no intention of invading Eastern Europe. Earlier, he told the leader of the GDR, Erich Honecker, that he was not keeping up with the times.

During his visit to Germany in 1989, Gorbachev said that every nation has the right to choose its own political and social system, and Moscow will respect the right of citizens to self-determination. In addition, in the summer, the leaders of the USSR and the USA held negotiations, during which Moscow was promised economic support in exchange for non-interference in events in Eastern Europe.

15 . The Berlin Wall ceased to exist in some sense due to an accident. The official representative of the East German regime, Günther Schabowski, announced the liberalization of the travel regime at a press conference on November 9, 1989 at 18:53. When asked about the timing, he replied: “Immediately!”

Later that day, the East German government tried to roll back the situation by declaring that residents should report to the immigration office in an organized manner the next morning. But it was already too late.

West German media broadcast Schabowski's press conference live and interpreted his words literally, as did thousands of people on both sides of the wall.

16 . Both residents of East and West Berlin came to dismantle the checkpoint. The border guards were so unprepared for the situation that the authorities decided to simply open the gates.

17 . After the fall of the wall in the East, everyone expected rapid economic growth, abundance, large numbers of marriages and a baby boom. But the forecasts turned out to be far from reality. Nine months after divided citizens were able to move freely, the birth rate in East Germany had fallen by 40% and did not reach its previous levels until 1994. The euphoria of the first days turned into failure.

18 . Today, only a few original sections of the wall remain on the streets of Berlin. One of them was turned into the largest piece of street art in the world.

19 . To mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall, two German artists, the Bauder brothers, decided to recreate it with the help of 8 thousand illuminated balloons, simultaneously released into the air along the most significant segments of the wall. The action is scheduled for November 9.

20 . In a poll last month, three-quarters of eastern Germans said their lives had improved since the wall fell, while only 15% said they had not. By comparison, only half of West Germans believe they benefited from the historic reunification.

More than a quarter of a century has passed since the fall of the infamous Berlin Wall. Willy Brand, one of the Chancellors of Germany, called this structure the “wall of shame.” The concrete fence became a symbol of the split of Germany into separate states and the Cold War - a time of confrontation between two superpowers: the USSR and the USA.

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The unconditional surrender of the Third Reich after World War II entailed the redivision of the world into new spheres of influence. The strengthening of the USSR's position in Eastern Europe aroused the fears of the countries of the Western camp, to which the idea of ​​dividing the defeated power belonged. In February 1945, the participants of the Yalta Conference (America, England, France and the USSR) determined the post-war status of Germany: the allies agreed on the dismemberment of the country. The issue of delimiting the four occupation zones was finally resolved during negotiations in Potsdam on July 17-08, 1945.

Four years later, in May 1949, a new state appeared on the world map - the Federal Republic of Germany, and six months later - the GDR. The nearly 1,400 km long border ran from Bavaria in the south to the Baltic Sea in the north. It cut through the landscapes, settlements and lives of millions of people. Berlin also turned out to be bipolar, while remaining a free zone. Residents moved without problems between the two parts of the divided city.

Walter Ulbricht, the first person of the GDR, was interested in stopping the increasing outflow of citizens (especially valuable specialists) to the west. He repeatedly wrote to Khrushchev about the need to strengthen control on the border with Germany. The impetus for the construction of the fence was the political conflict of 1961. Its participants - the USSR and the USA - claimed undivided ownership of the city. The Vienna negotiations, the topic of which was the status of Berlin, were unsuccessful, and the Soviet leadership approved the GDR proposal to strengthen border control.

History of construction

On the night of August 13, 1961, barbed wire appeared in the eastern part of the city. Next, armed troops blocked transport arteries and installed barriers. By August 15, the entire border line was cordoned off. The first blocks appeared. Creating a reinforced concrete structure, builders blocked streets, bricked up the windows of nearby houses, cut wires and welded pipes. The wall knew no barriers - it passed through metro stations, tram lines, railway crossings and the Spree River.

The Brandenburg Gate, located along the way, was fenced on all sides, making the main symbol of Berlin inaccessible to both Western and Eastern residents of the city. From 1962 to 1978, the building was completed and re-equipped. Each time the wall acquired more and more sinister outlines.

What was

The Berlin Wall is a 3.60 m high engineering structure consisting of reinforced concrete segments. The top of the fence was covered with iron pipes installed in 1975, which prevented anyone from clinging to the edge of the fortification with their hands. At the same time, to enhance protection, anti-tank hedgehogs and barrier tapes with spikes, popularly nicknamed “Stalin’s lawn,” were installed at the foot of the structure. Several areas were supplemented with live barbed wire.

By the end of the 70s, in some areas on the eastern side, a metal mesh with signal flares was strengthened. It was separated from the wall by an earthen ditch, called the “death strip.” This area was guarded by dogs and illuminated by powerful floodlights. An illegal attempt to move to the western part of the city was punishable by imprisonment or death.

The total length of the structure was 155 km, of which Berlin accounted for 44.75 km. The “Shameful Wall” crossed 192 streets, 3 highways and 44 railway lines. Along the entire length there were 20 bunkers, 302 towers and 259 posts guarded by guard dogs. The defense fortification was patrolled by 10 thousand armed soldiers, who were ordered to shoot to kill if necessary.

Border crossing

The odious construction divided the city and cut off relatives and friends from each other. Only pensioners had the right to cross the border. Nevertheless, reckless refugees tried to find loopholes through which they could leave the “socialist paradise.” According to various sources, between 136 and 206 East Berliners died trying to escape, most of them within five years of the construction of the fence.

The first killed was Günter Litfin, shot dead in August 1961 by GDR border guards while trying to get into West Berlin along the Spree River. In 1966, 40 shots killed two children. They were 10 and 13 years old. The last two victims were Winfried Freudenberg, who crashed on March 8, 1989, while flying over a wall in a homemade hot air balloon, and Chris Gueffroy, who died in a hail of bullets while trying to cross the border in February of the same year.

Fall and destruction

Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to power, began to modernize the state and government apparatus. Under the slogans "Glasnost" and "Perestroika" he reformed the Soviet Union. The leadership of the GDR lost the support of the USSR and could no longer stop its citizens trying to leave the country. Socialist Hungary, followed by Czechoslovakia, liberalized the border regime. Residents of East Germany filled these states, wanting to get to Germany through them. The Berlin Wall was no longer necessary.

In fact, the beginning of the fall of the wall was the evening of November 9, 1989. At a live press conference dedicated to the authorities’ decision to open checkpoints, the question was asked when this resolution would come into force. In response, Schabowski, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Party of Germany, uttered the famous words: “This will happen, as far as I know, ... now, immediately.”

Berliners watching the performance on TV were speechless. When the initial shock wore off, people from both sides of the border rushed to the hated fence. The border guards did not hold back their pressure. The reunion that had been dreamed of for 28 years took place. The demolition of the Berlin Wall began on June 13, 1990 at Bernauer Strasse. But even before this moment, the townspeople had broken many of its fragments, taking away pieces of concrete as souvenirs.

Those of you who want to include a visit to the infamous landmark in your excursion program will be interested in information that the guidebooks do not contain. So, the Berlin Wall: facts and figures.

1. On October 27, 1961, a confrontation between American and Soviet troops occurred at a checkpoint on Friedrichstrasse - 30 battle tanks collided at the border.

1. On June 11, 1964, French President Charles de Gaulle informed the USSR Ambassador about the possibility of a nuclear war in the event of a new military conflict in Berlin.

1. Despite enhanced security measures, in the period between 1961-1989. 5,000 townspeople managed to get over the fence. Taking advantage of their official position, 1,300 GDR soldiers also crossed the border.

1. After the opening of the passage, West Berliners showed generosity to the East German border guards - bars near the wall gave out free beer.

1. Today, some of the concrete monster's segments can be found in different parts of the world, such as the CIA headquarters and the Vatican.

1. The construction and protection of the border fence became a great economic burden for the GDR. The cost was more than 400 million marks (200 million euros). Ironically, the “anti-capitalist stronghold” led to the collapse of the socialist country.

1. On November 9, 2014, on the day of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 7,000 glowing rubber balls were installed along the entire perimeter of the former border, which soared into the sky at exactly 19:00.

Berlin Wall today

Currently, all that remains of the structure, which aroused hatred and fear among people for 28 years, are only small fragments and a double line of paving stones, snaking like a long snake through the city. To ensure that the memory of the victims remains forever in the hearts of people, the Berlin authorities have opened several museums and memorial centers located next to the remains of the wall.

Memorial on Bernauerstrasse

“Window of Memory” is the name of the memorial, created to familiarize contemporaries with the tragic events associated with the split of the capital. It is dedicated to people living in the eastern part and trying to get to the western part by jumping from the windows of houses and falling to their deaths. The monument is a rusty iron composition containing photographs of the dead.

Nearby there is an area of ​​gray concrete and border strip, a tower, the Chapel of Peace, built on the site of a bombed Gothic temple, a library, a museum and an observation deck. You can get to the memorial by metro (line U8). Stop Bernauerstrasse.

Topography of terror

This place is a reminder of the countless tragedies caused by the Nazi regime. The museum is located on the territory of the headquarters of one of the leaders of the SS - Reichsführer Himmler. Now in a pavilion with an area of ​​800 m2, visitors can look at photographs and documents introducing genocide and other crimes of fascism. Nearby, in the open air, are the ruins of Gestapo barracks and basements, and part of the Berlin Wall.

Address: Niederkirchnerstrasse 8. You can get here by S-Bahn (city train). Line U2 to Anhalter Bahnhof.

Checkpoint Charlie

At the former border checkpoint for diplomats and officials, where a conflict took place in 1961 - a confrontation between Soviet and American tank divisions, today there is a museum of the Berlin Wall. Among the exhibits are unique photographs and devices with which the East Germans moved to the western side: scuba gear, hang gliders and hot air balloons. Near the museum there is a model of a guard booth with “soldiers” standing nearby, dressed in American military uniforms of that time. “Border guards” willingly take pictures with everyone.

Checkpoint Charlie is located on Friedrichstrasse next to the Kochstrasse metro station. The museum is open every day from 9:00 to 22:00.