In the afternoon of August 12 at 4 p.m. 1961 Walter Ulbricht, the East German
leader, signed the commands to close the border. Next Sunday at
midnight the army, police and the "Kampfgruppen" began to bolt the city.
The wall is built and separates the city into two parts for more than
28 years.
Streets, the railway and the S-Bahn (city railway) are broken, stations
of the U-Bahn (underground railway) are closed, even cemeteries are not
spared. Nothing is forgotten and the East Germans will not be allowed to
free travel to the West until 1989.
 |
| Building the wall |
Until 1961 East German citizen were allowed to travel to West
Berlin.Travelling to West Germany became difficult after closing the
border between East and West Germany in 1952. The Wall was erected in
1961 because more than 2.6 million East Germans escaped to West Berlin
or West Germany from 1949 to 1961 (total population of East Germany was
about 17 million!).
 |
| The wall in early years |
The life in the West was much better than in the East after 1948. West
Germany including West Berlin had got financial help through the
Marshallplan from the USA. In East Germany a communist system was
established and many people had to suffer under repressions of the
Communist party.
 |
| The wall goes through the city |
In May 1952 the open border (Zonengrenze) between East and West Germany
was closed by the East German government. In the years after 1952 it
became more difficult and dangerous to escape to the West over this
border. However, the sectorial borders between East and West Berlin were
not closed. Many East German citizen went to East Berlin and from there
to West Berlin. Once arrived in West Berlin they stayed there or were
fled out to West Germany.
East Germany lost too many skilled workers in these years. Another big
problem were the two currencies in Germany and especially in Berlin.
West German DM had been exchanged into East German DM at a rate of 1:4
(1 DM West = 4 DM Ost) in West Berlin. People with West German DM could
get goods very cheaply in the Eastern part of Berlin. The East German
government saw no other way to prevent from escaping to the West via
Berlin than closing the border between East and West Berlin on August
13, 1961.
The Berlin Wall was
erected in the night of August 13, 1961. It was a weekend and most
Berliners slept while the East German government begun to close the
border. In the early morning of that Sunday most of the first work was
done: the border to West Berlin was closed. The East German troups had
begun to tear up streets and to install barbed wire entanglement and
fences through Berlin.
The first concrete elements and large square blocks were used first on
August 15, 1961. Within the next months the first generation of the
Berlin Wall was build up: a wall consisting of concrete elements and
square blocks.
A second Wall was build in June 1962 in order to prevent from escaping to the West.
The first Wall was improved during the next years and it's difficult to
distinguish between the first and the second generation of the Wall.
 |
| Checkpoint Charlie today |
These two first generations were removed by the third generation
beginning about 1965. The third generation of Wall consisted of concrete
slabs between steel girder and concrete posts with a concrete sewage
pipe on top of the Wall.
East German citizen were not allowed to leave the country without
permission. However, during the first days many people could escape
through the border but day by day it became more dangerous. At the
beginning people tried to climb over the Wall or the fences, they jumped
out of the houses which were in the border area or tunnels were build
to escape. During the first days several people lost their live or were
killed by the Eastern border guard . Günter Litwin was the first victim
who was shot down by East German border guard in Berlin on August 24,
1961.171 people were killed or died attempting to escape at the Berlin
Wall between August 13, 1961 and November 9, 1989.
 |
| 18 year old boy shot in attempt to escape |
From the year 1975 the third generation of Wall was replaced by the
fourth generation. New concrete segements were used which were easy to
build up and were more resistant to breakthroughs and to environmental
polutions.
The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War and
separation of Germany and Berlin. For more than 30 years tourists also
came to Berlin to view the Berlin Wall. Today tourists will be
disappointed about the Berlin Wall as a tourist attraction. In Berlin
only a few sections of the former Berlin Wall and some watch towers
still exist and it's to be expected that even more of these Berlin Wall
sections on original places will disappear within the next years. On
most streets the former course of the Berlin Wall is marked by a doubled
row of paving stones.
East Germany lost too many skilled workers in these years. Another big
problem were the two currencies in Germany and especially in Berlin.
West German DM had been exchanged into East German DM at a rate of 1:4
(1 DM West = 4 DM Ost) in West Berlin. People with West German DM could
get goods very cheaply in the Eastern part of Berlin. The East German
government saw no other way to prevent from escaping to the West via
Berlin than closing the border between East and West Berlin on August
13, 1961. 
The Berlin Wall was
erected in the night of August 13, 1961. It was a weekend and most
Berliners slept while the East German government begun to close the
border. In the early morning of that Sunday most of the first work was
done: the border to West Berlin was closed. The East German troups had
begun to tear up streets and to install barbed wire entanglement and
fences through Berlin.
The first concrete elements and large square blocks were used first on
August 15, 1961. Within the next months the first generation of the
Berlin Wall was build up: a wall consisting of concrete elements and
square blocks.
A second Wall was build in June 1962 in order to prevent from escaping to the West.
East German citizen were not allowed to leave the country without
permission. However, during the first days many people could escape
through the border but day by day it became more dangerous. At the
beginning people tried to climb over the Wall or the fences, they jumped
out of the houses which were in the border area or tunnels were build
to escape. During the first days several people lost their live or were
killed by the Eastern border guard . Günter Litwin was the first victim
who was shot down by East German border guard in Berlin on August 24,
1961.171 people were killed or died attempting to escape at the Berlin
Wall between August 13, 1961 and November 9, 1989.
The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War and
separation of Germany and Berlin. For more than 30 years tourists also
came to Berlin to view the Berlin Wall. Today tourists will be
disappointed about the Berlin Wall as a tourist attraction. In Berlin
only a few sections of the former Berlin Wall and some watch towers
still exist and it's to be expected that even more of these Berlin Wall
sections on original places will disappear within the next years. On
most streets the former course of the Berlin Wall is marked by a doubled
row of paving stones.
