It is one of the greatest symbols of the Cold War. Faced with waves of emigration from East to West, the communist authorities of the German Democratic Republic (1949-1990) decided to react. On the night of August 12 to 13, 1961, the East German government installed fences and barbed wire surrounding West Berlin. This is the beginning of the process of building the wall in Berlin, a border which will gradually be enlarged and consolidated.
The lives of an entire population are being turned upside down: thousands of Berliners are losing their jobs, in the East and West, and thousands of families are also being separated. Finally, on the night of November 9, 1989, Berliners peacefully forced the opening of the crossing points between East and West Berlin and put an end to nearly three decades of divisions in their city.
The Associated Press news agency report announcing the opening of the wall is embedded in the ground near the former East-West border checkpoint at Bornholmer Strasse in Berlin. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
Official Berlin Wall memorial site in Bernauer Strasse, Berlin, Wednesday October 23, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
Stones mark the route of the former Berlin Wall near Checkpoint Charlie, one of Berlin's border crossings which allowed passage from the western sector to the eastern sector, Monday November 4, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
Gathering in front of a painting at the East Side Gallery, a place famous for its street art frescoes on the remains of the Berlin Wall, Wednesday October 30, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
Remains of the Berlin Wall next to graves in a cemetery in the center of the German capital, Tuesday October 22, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
A section of the wall in Bernauer Strasse, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday October 23, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
Official Berlin Wall memorial site in Bernauer Strasse, Berlin, Monday October 28, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
Stones mark the route of the old wall near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Monday November 4, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER/ AP
Visitors along the remains of the wall in Bernauer Strasse, Berlin, Wednesday October 23, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER/ AP
Original remains of a wall separating the two parts of the village of Mödlareuth during the separation of Germany into East and West, Thursday October 24, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
View of a control tower on the wall separating the two parts of the village of Mödlareuth during the separation between East and West Germany, Thursday October 24, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP
