The Berlin Wall was a defensive structure. It was erected in 1961 on August 13. The construction of the Berlin Wall was an initiative of the GDR government. Until 1989, this fence separated the city. West Berlin was separated from East and the territory of the German Democratic Republic. According to her government, during the entire existence of the fence, about 125 people were killed while trying to cross it. However, according to other sources, the number of victims was at least 1245 people.
The Berlin Wall has become one of the symbols of the Cold War period.
Before the construction of the building, there was an open border between the eastern and western parts of the city. The dividing line passed through houses, waterways, streets, canals. Officially, there were 81 checkpoints on the streets, 13 in subway and railway crossings inside the city. Along with this, there were illegal paths. There were over a hundred of them. Every day for various reasons, they need from 300 to 500 thousand people crossed the border. Due to the lack of a clear physical boundary between the two zones, conflicts often arose and mass leakage of specialists into the FRG. The Germans who lived in the eastern part preferred to study in the German Democratic Republic (there it was free), and work in Germany.
The emergence of the Berlin Wall contributed to a serious aggravation in the political situation around Berlin. The West German government stepped up the "Hallstein Doctrine" in 1957. It provided for an immediate severance of diplomatic relations with any state that recognized the GDR. In addition, the West German government rejected the proposal of the eastern part of Germany to form a confederation of German states . Instead, West Berlin insisted on holding elections. At the same time, in 1958 the GDR authorities claimed sovereignty over the western part of the country on the basis of its “presence on the territory of the GDR”.
In conditions of aggravation of the situation around Berlin, from August 3 to 5, 1961, a meeting of the heads of state of the ATS was convened in Moscow. It Walter Ulbricht (leader of the GDR) insisted on closing the border. After receiving support from the Allied countries on August 12, a resolution was adopted by the Council of Ministers in the GDR in accordance with this. In East Berlin, the police were fully prepared. On August 13, at one o’clock in the morning, a project called “China Wall 2” began. About 25 thousand armed groups occupied the border. Their actions were under the cover of the East German army. And the Soviet army was also in a state of readiness.
By August 15, the completely western part was delimited by barbed wire. The construction of the Berlin Wall began. Its construction and refurbishment lasted from 1962 to 1975.
After the Berlin Wall was built, citizens of the GDR needed special permission to visit the western part of the city. Only pensioners could pass unhindered. An attempt to escape from the GDR was punishable by imprisonment for eight years. An attempt to destroy the enclosures involved imprisonment of at least five years. For assistance in trying to escape from the GDR, the government imprisoned for life.
In 1898, under the influence of Soviet perestroika, Hungary destroyed the border fortifications on the border with Austria. However, the GDR (Austria's partner in the Warsaw Pact) was not going to follow her example. Soon, the German Republic lost control of rapidly occurring events. Thousands of residents of the GDR began to go to other East European states in order to get to Germany from there. The Germans fled to the West and through Hungary. The opening of the Hungarian borders made the existence of the Berlin Wall meaningless.
On November 9, 1898, at a convened press conference, the Government Chairman in GDR Shabowski announced the new rules for visiting the country. On the same evening, residents rushed to the fence.
The destruction of the Berlin Wall has become a public holiday. Thousands of West Berliners went out to meet the eastern guests.