The Berlin Wall's reign began on August 13,1961 it didn't end onto November 9,1989. The barrier was upheld for 28 years. It was erected in the dead of night, when trucks of soldiers and construction workers started to dig holes in the ground. These holes were filled with concrete posts and attached barbed wire. Telephone lines were also cut off. Most of the East Berliners were asleep and were in for a surprise the next morning. The Berlin Wall, over the years, fortified into a concrete wall and a second wall was built in June 1962. In 1975, work began to make a more secure wall called the "BorderWall75". This process took five years to complete.
SizeThe Berlin Wall stood at 12 feet high, 3.9 feet wide, and of 45,000 sections(reinforced concrete) each one weighed 3 tons. It as well, had a smooth pipe running on top of it to prevent East Berliners from escaping.
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Restriction Tactics
On the scene, nearly 300 guard towers were built, it had 200 bunkers, 250 guard dog runs, 79 miles of fencing(aside from the wall), and 65 miles of anti-vehicle trenches. The area between West and East Berlin became know as "The Death Strip". It is where civilians were shot on sight, and some were left to bleed out: such as the death of Peter Fechter,who was one that was left in the same situation.
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Separation & Loss
During the Berlin Wall, many families and friends were separated. Many lost their jobs and opportunity in West Berlin. To escape, East Berliners would run cars into "The Death Strip", leap from high stories of buildings near the wall to West Berlin, dig underground tunnels, and some flew across East Berlin on hot-air balloons. More than 5,000 East Berliners met their salvation, but nearly 100 people died making this attempt.
Checkpoint Charlie was a passage, that was located in Friedrichstrasse, through which Western Berliners and Allied personnel would cross to East Berlin. Despite this movement, East Berliners were not able to depart. Many other official checkpoints were open, and needed special permission to cross the border(not the Berlin Wall). |