On August 13, 1961 the Berlin Wall was erected and devided the city of Berlin for more than 28 years. The photographs shown on this page were taken by unknown photographers in the sixties after building up the wall.
Two months before the wall was build Walter Ulbricht, the East German leader, declared at an international press conference on June 15, 1961:

"I understand your question rightly that there are people in West Germany who wish that we mobilize the building worker of the capital of the German Democratic Republic to build up a wall. Not that I am aware of a such intention exists. The building workers of our capital are mainly busy with house building and their manpower is fully used for that."

Berlin truly epitomized the Cold War in Europe. This was where it all started with the blockade of 1948, and where 40 years on it all came to an end. Two dates, one dramatic, the other a joyful occasion, mark the high points; 13th August 1961, when the Wall went up ; 9th November 1989, when it came down.

The Berlin problem already lay between the lines of the Interallied documents drawn up at the end of the Second World War. Under the terms of the agreements of 1944-1945 signed by the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France, the defeated Germany was divided up into four occupation zones overseen by four commanders-in-chief, who together formed the Control Council. Based in the former capital of the Reich. Also divided up into four sectors headed by four military governors gathered in the Kommandatura, this partitioning left Berlin (883 km? / 340 sq. mi.) stranded in the midst of the Soviet zone, 180 kilometres (110 mi.) from the border with the western zones. This unusual geopolitical situation became difficult to handle once Interallied relations began to deteriorate.

From 27th November 1958, ten years after the blockade, Berlin was the scene of another international crisis when Nikita Khrushchev issued an ultimatum to the three western powers, giving them six months to turn West Berlin into a “ demilitarized free city “, failing which he would sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany. This ultimatum marked the start of a long crisis which came to a head and to an end with the building of the Wall. Talks on Berlin between the Soviets and the West, first in Geneva (May-August 1959), then in Paris (May 1960) and finally in Vienna (June 1961), failed to produce results.

Meanwhile, tension continued to rise around Berlin, as refugees continued to flock out of East Germany, destabilizing the regime. Ulbricht repeatedly asked Khrushchev for permission to take radical steps. At the meeting of Communist Party heads in Moscow on 5th August, he finally got what he wanted ? closure of the border between East and West Berlin. Two days later, Khrushchev announced in a radio broadcast that this “ handy escape route “ via West Berlin absolutely had to be closed. This disturbing news instilled “ fear of the closing door “ among would-be escapees, and a further upsurge in the number of refugees ? over four thousand on 12th August alone!

Operation “ Wall of China “ was secretly decided on by Ulbricht and planned by Honecker. It actually began at around 4 p.m. on 12th August, when Ulbricht signed the orders to close the border and sent them on to Honecker. In preparation for this operation, 40 kilometres (25 mi.) of barbed wire and thousands of posts were stored in barracks. The police and workers? militias set up in the wake of the June 1953 riots were mobilized. The Interior Ministry announced that East German citizens would now need a “ special authorization “ to enter West Berlin. At midnight, the security services were put on the alert; East Berlin was covered by army units (NVA); 25 000 armed militiamen and the People?s Police (Vopos) armed with kalachnikovs were posted at six-foot intervals along the demarcation line.

On 13th August 1961, a holiday Sunday, at 1.11 in the morning, the official East German press agency announced that the Warsaw Pact countries had asked the East German government to set up “ effective controls “ in and around Berlin. Within an hour, 67 of the 81 crossing points were sealed off, soon followed by another seven. All traffic was stopped between East Germany and West Berlin. The underground and the S-Bahn linking the two sections of the city were no longer in operation.

Under the watchful eye of the police and the army, barbed wire and wire entanglements were placed across access points to West Berlin. Roads were dug up and barricades erected. Within a matter of hours, the entire border around West Berlin was under control. Access to West Berlin was now barred to East Berliners and East Germans; then on 23rd August, it became impossible for West Berliners to visit the East without a residence permit.

As time passed, the Wall was gradually perfected and became more and more impassible. Altogether it was overhauled four times over. To begin with, it was made up of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi.) of concrete slabs and 137 kilometres (86 mi.) of barbed wire, covered from 116 watch towers, including 32 along the East-West Berlin border. After October 1964, it was gradually strengthened, doubled up and transformed into a “ modern border “ which took on its final appearance from around 1979-1980.

The Wall cut through 192 streets (97 between East and West Berlin and 95 between West Berlin and East Germany), 32 railway lines, 8 S-Bahn and 4 underground lines, 3 autobahns and several rivers and lakes. On the waterways, the Wall consisted of submerged railings under constant surveillance from patrol boats.

Tag: The Berlin Wall