When the wall was destroyed. The Berlin Wall, the border of two worlds. Statements by American Presidents

The capital of Germany, Berlin, arose in the first half of the 13th century. Since 1486, the city has been the capital of Brandenburg (then Prussia), since 1871 - of Germany. From May 1943 to May 1945, Berlin suffered one of the most destructive bombings in world history. At the final stage of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) in Europe, Soviet troops completely captured the city on May 2, 1945. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the territory of Berlin was divided into occupation zones: the eastern one - the USSR and the three western ones - the USA, Great Britain and France. On June 24, 1948, Soviet troops began the blockade of West Berlin.

In 1948, the Western powers authorized the heads of state governments in their zones of occupation to convene a parliamentary council to draft a constitution and prepare for the creation of a West German state. Its first meeting took place in Bonn on September 1, 1948. The constitution was adopted by the council on May 8, 1949, and on May 23 the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was proclaimed. In response, in the eastern part controlled by the USSR, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was proclaimed on October 7, 1949, and Berlin was declared its capital.

East Berlin covered an area of ​​403 square kilometers and was the largest city in East Germany by population.
West Berlin covered an area of ​​480 square kilometers.

At first, the border between western and eastern part Berlin was open. The dividing line is 44.8 kilometers long ( total length The border between West Berlin and the GDR was 164 kilometers) ran right through the streets and houses, the Spree River, and canals. Officially, there were 81 street checkpoints, 13 crossings in the metro and on the city railway.

In 1957, the West German government led by Konrad Adenauer enacted the Hallstein Doctrine, which provided for the automatic severance of diplomatic relations with any country that recognized the GDR.

In November 1958, the head of the Soviet government, Nikita Khrushchev, accused the Western powers of violating the Potsdam Agreements of 1945 and announced the Soviet Union's abolition international status Berlin. The Soviet government proposed turning West Berlin into a “demilitarized free city” and demanded that the United States, Great Britain and France negotiate on this topic within six months (“Khrushchev’s Ultimatum”). The Western powers rejected the ultimatum.

In August 1960, the GDR government introduced restrictions on visits by German citizens to East Berlin. In response, West Germany refused a trade agreement between both parts of the country, which the GDR regarded as an “economic war.”
After lengthy and difficult negotiations, the agreement was put into effect on January 1, 1961.

The situation worsened in the summer of 1961. The economic policy of the GDR, aimed at “catching up and overtaking the Federal Republic of Germany,” and the corresponding increase in production standards, economic difficulties, forced collectivization of 1957-1960, and higher wages in West Berlin encouraged thousands of GDR citizens to leave for the West.

Between 1949 and 1961, almost 2.7 million people left the GDR and East Berlin. Almost half of the refugee flow consisted of young people under the age of 25. Every day, about half a million people crossed the borders of the Berlin sectors in both directions, who could compare living conditions here and there. In 1960 alone, about 200 thousand people moved to the West.

At a meeting of the general secretaries of the communist parties of the socialist countries on August 5, 1961, the GDR received the necessary consent from the Eastern European countries, and on August 7, at a meeting of the Politburo of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED - East German Communist Party), a decision was made to close the border of the GDR with West Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany. On August 12, a corresponding resolution was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the GDR.

In the early morning of August 13, 1961, temporary barriers were erected on the border with West Berlin, and cobblestones were dug up on the streets connecting East Berlin with West Berlin. The forces of the people's and transport police units, as well as combat workers' squads, interrupted everything transport connection at the boundaries between sectors. Under strict guard by East Berlin border guards, East Berlin construction workers began replacing barbed wire border fences with concrete slabs and hollow bricks. The border fortification complex also included residential buildings on Bernauer Strasse, where the sidewalks now belonged to the West Berlin district of Wedding, and the houses on the south side of the street to the East Berlin district of Mitte. Then the GDR government ordered the doors of the houses and the windows of the lower floors to be walled up - residents could only get into their apartments through the entrance from the courtyard, which belonged to East Berlin. A wave of forced evictions of people from apartments began not only on Bernauer Strasse, but also in other border zones.

From 1961 to 1989 on many parts of the border Berlin Wall rebuilt several times. At first it was built of stone, and then was replaced by reinforced concrete. In 1975, the last reconstruction of the wall began. The wall was built from 45 thousand concrete blocks measuring 3.6 by 1.5 meters, which were rounded at the top to make it difficult to escape. Outside the city, this front barrier also included metal bars.
By 1989, the total length of the Berlin Wall was 155 kilometers, the intra-city border between East and West Berlin was 43 kilometers, the border between West Berlin and the GDR (outer ring) was 112 kilometers. Closest to West Berlin, the front concrete barrier wall reached a height of 3.6 meters. It encircled the entire western sector of Berlin.

The concrete fence stretched for 106 kilometers, the metal fence for 66.5 kilometers, the earthen ditches had a length of 105.5 kilometers, and 127.5 kilometers were under tension. A control strip was made near the wall, like on the border.

Despite strict measures against attempts to “illegally cross the border,” people continued to flee “over the wall,” using sewer pipes, technical means, and constructing tunnels. Over the years of the wall's existence, about 100 people died trying to overcome it.

The democratic changes in the life of the GDR and other countries of the socialist community that began in the late 1980s sealed the fate of the wall. On November 9, 1989, the new government of the GDR announced an unimpeded transition from East Berlin to West Berlin and free return. About 2 million residents of the GDR visited West Berlin during November 10-12. The spontaneous dismantling of the wall immediately began. Official dismantling took place in January 1990, and part of the wall was left as a historical monument.

On October 3, 1990, after the annexation of the GDR to the Federal Republic of Germany, the status of the federal capital in a united Germany passed from Bonn to Berlin. In 2000, the government moved from Bonn to Berlin.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Germany is celebrating a quarter century since the destruction of the wall that divided the country into two parts. During this time the country was cut by a reinforced concrete fence 155 kilometers long, including about 43 kilometers within Berlin. The Berlin Wall was erected on August 13, 1961 on the recommendation of the secretaries of the communist and workers' parties of the Warsaw Pact countries (USSR, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Albania) and on the basis of a decision of the People's Chamber.

ON THIS TOPIC

After the end of World War II until 1961 More than three million fled to West Germany East Germans (this made up a third of the population of the GDR). 50 thousand Berlin residents commuted to work in the western part of the city every day. The division of Germany into two parts was not only symbolic. It was primarily of an economic and ideological nature. A Western mark was worth six times more than an Eastern mark.

On August 13, 1961, residents of both parts of Berlin saw that the dividing line was cordoned off. Construction of a permanent fence has begun. Many East Berliners understood that they are unlikely to be able to escape. By 1975, the wall acquired its final form, turning into a complex fortification structure.

At the time of demolition, the wall was not just a fence, but was a whole complex of fortifications, which included a concrete fence, about 3.5 meters high, in places a fence made of metal mesh, an electric signal fence, a ditch (length 105 kilometers), Anti-tank fortifications were built in some areas and stripes of sharp thorns. There were about 300 watchtowers along the entire length of the wall.

However, there were desperate people who attempted to flee to the West. People left by underground tunnel, tried to fly away on a hang glider, a hot air balloon, or climb over a rope thrown between neighboring houses. It was also practiced to move from the eastern part of Berlin to the western part for money. During the existence of the Berlin Wall, there were more than 5 thousand successful escapes to West Berlin.

The first person to be shot while trying to cross the wall from east to west was Günter Litfin, an apprentice tailor and member of the Christian Democratic Union, which was banned in the GDR. He tried to cross the railroad tracks, but was spotted by the police and shot dead. Litfin was one of 136 people who died trying to cross the wall.

The fall of the wall in 1989 was largely symbolic in nature, as the structure ceased to fulfill its function. The fall of the Iron Curtain began a little earlier, in the same year, when the Hungarian authorities opened the border with Austria.

On November 9, 1989, under pressure from mass popular uprisings, the GDR government lifted restrictions on communications with West Berlin, and on July 1, 1990, completely abolished border controls. During January – November 1990 all border structures were demolished.

When the Berlin Wall was destroyed, many parts of it were given to cultural, educational and other institutions around the world. Thus, part of the wall is kept in the European Parliament in Brussels. Today, several sections of the wall remain on the streets of Berlin, one of which has been turned into the world's largest piece of street art.

An undestroyed section of the Berlin Wall is located on Bernauer Straße, a street that divides the lives of Berliners in two. At one time, this border, equipped and fortified with the latest technology, ran along it. In the German Democratic Republic it was officially called the "Anti-Fascist Defense Wall". In the West, with the light hand of the then Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Willy Brandt, it was called nothing less than the “Shameful Wall,” and also quite officially. Today I can’t even believe that the cordon between the two states could have been exactly like that - cutting to the quick: the houses on Bernauer Strasse belonged to the GDR, and the sidewalk in front of them belonged to West Berlin.

The Berlin Wall was and is perceived throughout the world as the ugliest manifestation of the Cold War. The Germans themselves associate it not only with the division, but also with the unification of Germany. On the preserved section of this ominous border, a unique East Side Gallery subsequently appeared, attracting the attention of not only art connoisseurs, but also all freedom-loving citizens for whom democratic values ​​are not just nice words, but a state of mind. A separate attraction on the former border is Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous of the three checkpoints on Friedrichstrasse, which now houses the Berlin Wall Museum.

There are probably not many places in the world where you can literally touch history with your own hands, and the Berlin Wall is one of them. For many years, this former border literally cut the metropolis of millions in two, not only along the streets and the Spree River, but also through residential areas. Not to mention the separated families, shattered human destinies and the lives taken of innocent people who, in desperation, dared to cross it illegally. So this place in the German capital is more than unique and worth seeing with your own eyes at least once.

What preceded the construction

At the time the wall appeared, the two Germanys, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, were still very young entities and there was no clearly defined border between them. The same thing was observed in Berlin, the division of which into eastern and western parts was more a legal fact than a real one. Such transparency led to conflicts at the political level and a massive outflow of specialists from the Soviet occupation zone to the West. And this is not surprising: after all, they paid more in the Federal Republic, so East Germans (Ossies) preferred to work there and simply ran away from the “socialist paradise.” At the same time, both states that arose on the territory of the former Reich after the Second World War, to put it mildly, were not friends with each other, which led to a serious aggravation of the situation around the once common capital- Berlin.

During the existence of both Germanys, several so-called Berlin crises took place. The first two happened in 1948-1949 and 1953. The third erupted in 1958 and lasted three years: it turned out to be especially intense. By this point, the eastern districts of Berlin, while legally remaining under Soviet occupation, were effectively controlled by the GDR. The rest of the city was under both de jure and de facto rule of the Americans, British and French. The Soviet Union demanded West Berlin status free city. Allies in the anti-Hitler coalition rejected these demands, fearing that the enclave could subsequently be annexed to the GDR, and they would be unable to do anything.

The situation was also negatively affected by distortions in the economic policy pursued by the government of the German Democratic Republic led by Walter Ulbricht. It sought to “catch up and overtake” Germany and, it seems, was ready to sacrifice anything to achieve its goal. Following the example of the USSR, collective farms were forcibly created in the agricultural sector, and labor standards were increased for workers in cities. However, low wages and a generally low standard of living forced East Germans to seek a better life in the West, and people fled en masse. In 1960 alone, about 400 thousand people abandoned their homeland. The leadership understood perfectly well: if this process is not stopped, the young state will die for a long time.

What to do in such a difficult situation? We were actually scratching our heads over this. high level: On August 3, 1961, the top officials of the countries that were part of the Warsaw Pact gathered for an emergency meeting in Moscow. President Ulbricht believed that closing the border with West Berlin was the only way out. The Allies did not object, but had little idea how to implement this in practice. Nikita Khrushchev, first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, proposed two options. The first, an air barrier, was ultimately rejected by the negotiators because it was fraught with problems in the international arena, and above all complications with the United States. The second remained - a wall that would divide Berlin in two. We decided to stop there.

Construction of the Berlin Wall

The appearance of a physical border between both parts of Berlin came as a complete surprise to the population. It all started on the night of August 13, 1961, when the GDR troops were drawn to the conditional dividing line. They quickly, using barbed wire, closed all sections of the border within the city limits. The Berliners, who had gathered on both sides of it the next morning, were ordered by the military to disperse, but the people did not listen to them. It is unknown what this spontaneous rally would have developed into if it had not been for the water cannons brought by the authorities, which they used to hit the crowd, dispersing it in less than an hour.

For two days, military personnel, together with workers' squads and the police, surrounded the entire western zone with barbed wire. About 200 streets, a dozen trams and several lines of the Berlin metro were blocked. In places adjacent to new border, telephone communications and power lines were cut off. At the same time, the water and sewer pipes running here were plugged. Then the construction of the Berlin Wall began, which lasted until the first half of the 70s. During this time, the concrete border acquired its ominous appearance. There were high-rise buildings adjacent to it, where it was, of course, no longer possible to live, so the apartment owners were relocated, and the windows facing the “enemy” were blocked with bricks. Potsdamer Platz, which instantly became a border area, was also closed to the public.

It’s interesting that the Brandenburg Gate stood in the way of the odious structure – business card Berlin and one of the symbols of all of Germany. But it could not become an obstacle to construction. The authorities didn’t think long and decided... to surround them with a wall, from all sides. No sooner said than done: as a result, residents of not only the western part of the city, but also the capital of the GDR could not even approach the gates, let alone pass through them. So the famous tourist attraction was sacrificed to political confrontation and was closed to the public until 1990.

What the odious border looked like

The border, which could only be compared to a fortress gate, was more than just a wall. It was a complex structure, consisting of a concrete structure itself (length - 106 km, height on average 3.6 m), as well as two types of fences. The first is made of metal mesh (66.5 km), the second is made of barbed wire (127.5 km), stretched over a wall through which voltage was released. When trying to penetrate through it, flares went off, and border guards immediately headed to the site of the illegal crossing of the Berlin Wall. A meeting with them, as you understand, turned into big troubles for the violators.

The “shameful wall” stretched for as much as 155 km, of which 43.1 km were within the city limits. The border was also fortified with a system of earthen ditches stretching for 105.5 km. In some areas there were anti-tank fortifications and stripes strewn with metal spikes, which were called “Stalin’s lawns.” In addition, along the perimeter of the ominous cordon there were 302 watchtowers and other border structures (there were no fences except in places where the cordon ran along the Spree). Along it, the authorities set up a special zone with warning signs, in which it was strictly forbidden to be present.

Fall and destruction of the wall

In June 1987, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, took part in the celebrations in honor of the 750th anniversary of Berlin. It was at the Brandenburg Gate that he delivered his famous speech with the words addressed to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee: “Mr. Gorbachev, open these gates! Mr. Gorbachev, destroy this wall!” It is difficult to say whether the American leader believed that his Soviet colleague was heeding his call - most likely not. Another thing is obvious: neither the head of the White House nor the owner of the Kremlin at that time even imagined that the ominous border would not last long...

In the fall of the Berlin Wall, which another American president, John Kennedy, called “a slap in the face of all humanity,” an unexpected role was played by... Hungary. In May 1989, the authorities of this country, thanks to perestroika in the USSR, were no longer afraid of the “big brother”, decided to lift the “iron curtain” at the border with Austria. The citizens of East Germany just needed this, and they rushed en masse to neighboring Czechoslovakia and Poland. The goal is to get from these countries first to Hungary, and from there, in transit through Austria, to get to Germany. As in the early 60s, the leadership of the GDR could not contain this flow and no longer controlled the situation. In addition, mass demonstrations began in the republic: people demanded better life and civil liberties.

After the resignation of long-time leader Erich Honecker and those close to him, the outflow of people to the West became even larger, and this circumstance only emphasized the meaninglessness of the existence of the Berlin Wall. On November 9, 1989, it was announced on television that the Politburo of the SED Central Committee had decided to lift restrictions on crossing the border with West Berlin and Germany. The Ossies did not wait for the new norms to come into force, and in the evening of the same day they rushed to the ominous structure. The border guards tried to push back the crowd with the help of an already tested means - water cannons, but ultimately gave in to the pressure and opened the border. On the other side, people also gathered, rushing to East Berlin. Residents divided city hugged each other, laughed and cried with happiness - for the first time in thirty years!

The date December 22, 1989 became significant: on that memorable day the Brandenburg Gate was opened for passage. As for the Berlin Wall itself, it still stood in its original place, but little remained of its former terrifying appearance. In some places it was already broken, in some places it was painted with a lot of graffiti. People painted drawings on it and left inscriptions. Not only tourists, but also the townspeople themselves could not deny themselves the desire to break off at least one piece from the wall - as a keepsake, realizing that this was not just a souvenir, but a priceless historical artifact. Moreover, soon the wall was completely demolished, this happened a few months after the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic into single state which took place on the night of October 3, 1990.

Berlin Wall today

An object such as the Berlin Wall, having ceased to exist physically, still could not disappear without a trace. She left behind a bad memory that is unlikely to be erased from public consciousness. And it’s hardly worth forgetting such sad lessons from history, which are needed in order to prevent this from happening in the future. This border not only divided an entire city, it became a place sprinkled with the blood of innocent people who were desperately trying to escape from a totalitarian state, but died while crossing it. The exact number of victims is still unknown. According to official statistics former GDR, there were 125 people. A number of other sources give the following figure: 192 people. However, there is every reason to believe that these data are clearly underestimated. According to some media sources citing the archives of the Stasi (East Germany's secret police), the death toll is 1,245.

Most of the Berlin Wall memorial complex, opened on May 21, 2010, which was called the “Window of Memory,” was dedicated to the innocent victims of political confrontation. Made of rusted steel, the monument weighs about a ton. There are several rows of black and white photographs of the dead on it. Some met their death by jumping from the windows of houses on Bernauer Strasse - the same ones that were later blocked with bricks. Others died trying to cross from East Berlin to the western part of the city. The memorial, located on Bernauer Straße, was completed in 2012 and covers an area of ​​4 hectares. The Chapel of Reconciliation, built back in 2000 on the site of the church of the same name, which was blown up in 1985, also became part of it. The construction of the complex - initiated by the pastor of the evangelical church Manfred Fischer - cost the city treasury 28 million euros. But can historical memory be measured in money? Commemorative plaque on the site of the Berlin Wall

All these years, the surviving fragment of the Berlin Wall, 1316 meters long, remains a “living” reminder of the tragic times of division and confrontation. When the border, embodied in concrete, fell, artists from all over the world rushed here, inspired by the spirit of freedom. They painted the remaining section of the wall with their paintings. So unexpectedly and completely spontaneously a whole art gallery arose under open air, called East Side Gallery (East Side), which translates as “East Side Gallery”. The result of spontaneous creativity was the appearance of 106 paintings, united by the theme of political detente of 1989-1990 in East Germany. The most famous and recognizable work was the fresco made by our compatriot Dmitry Vrubel. The artist captured in the form of graffiti the famous kiss of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev and the First Secretary of the SED Central Committee Erich Honecker.

Special mention should be made of the former checkpoint Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse, the most famous of the three checkpoints under American control. Only high-ranking officials could cross the border through Checkpoint Charlie. Attempts by ordinary Germans to illegally enter West Berlin from here were brutally suppressed by the GDR border guards, who without warning shot to kill every violator.

At the above-mentioned border point there is now the Berlin Wall Museum, among the exhibits of which are various equipment and devices with which the inhabitants of the “socialist paradise” tried to escape into “decaying capitalism”. These include parachutes, paragliders, and small submarines and even armored cars and hot air balloons. The collection contains many photographs depicting watchtowers, bunkers, technical means of warning and much more for which the Berlin Wall became notorious throughout the civilized world. Relatives of Berliners who died trying to cross the wall often come here.

One of the popular exhibitions is of Soviet and American soldiers looking at each other, whose portraits are placed in light boxes (by artist Frank Thiel). Another famous exhibition, “From Gandhi to Walesa,” is dedicated to the theme of man’s struggle for his civil rights, but only by peaceful means, without violence and bloodshed. The history of Checkpoint Charlie itself is told in an open-air exhibition: comments on the photographic materials are available in both German and Russian. The museum will also show tourists a documentary film telling about the stages of destruction of this terrible border, which seemed to last forever.

How to get there

Considering that the Berlin Wall stretched for several tens of kilometers within the city, it does not have an address in the usual sense.

The surviving fragments of this engineered concrete structure are scattered in various areas along its entire perimeter. You can get to the most preserved and significant sections of the legendary border by metro, reaching the Niederkirchenstracce and Warschauer Straße stations.

Official website of the Berlin Wall memorial complex: www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de. Materials are duplicated in three languages: German, English and French.

When talking about, we first of all imagine the USA and the USSR and the famous arms race. And if you ask anyone a question - what symbols of this period do you know, then the person will fall into a bit of a stupor. After all, you won’t answer right away. It seems to fit, although it is not physical evidence (not counting the presence of atomic weapons). And the Iron Curtain is again something ephemeral that cannot be touched. But there is still one symbol that cannot be ignored - it runs like a red thread through the entire history of Germany and the USSR in the second half of the 20th century. Of course, after such a hint it will immediately become clear what we are talking about - of course, about the legendary Berlin Wall, which divided the current capital of Germany into 2 parts. And not only the city, but also human destinies.

Prerequisites for construction

It ended in 1945. For a long 5 years (for the USSR - 4, and for some countries even 6 years, for example, for Poland), all of Europe was in the fire of battles, bloodshed, and deprivation. Already in 1944 it became clear that Germany would lose this war. The Allies were already planning how they would divide the conquered lands. After the surrender of Germany, the country was divided into foreign zones of influence - the Western part was under the leadership of the USA, England and France. The eastern one was taken by the Soviet Union. The capital of the state, Berlin, did not escape this fate.

Despite the fact that the city was entirely in the zone of influence of the USSR, at the Potsdam conference it was decided to divide it too. Thus, two Berlins appeared on the map of Germany - East and West. Now let’s imagine what happened to the residents and their lives in the divided territories.

As you know, the USSR had a socialist way of life and worldview. Stalin and his followers pursued the same policy in relation to the conquered lands. And the USA was a capitalist country, with completely different ideas about life. And Berliners began to fully feel this difference. And not in favor of the Land of Soviets. Mass flows of emigrants began from one part to another, from total control and poverty to a more developed industrial part.

The USA and the USSR fought each other as best they could in order to surpass their rival in the political arena. In 1948, a council was held in Bonn, under the protectorate of the Western powers, to create a constitution for the new West German state. On May 8, 1949, the constitution was adopted, and after 2 weeks the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany - the Federal Republic of Germany - was officially proclaimed. Of course, in this situation, the USSR could not stand aside - in the fall of 1949 the answer followed - the creation of the GDR (German Democratic Republic). Bonn became the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin became the capital of the GDR.

A neighborhood like the United States was like a “bone in the throat,” as Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev admitted. Moreover, the standard of living in the western part was much higher (what is there to hide). Of course, the General Secretaries could not help but understand that the free movement of residents around Berlin could negatively affect the image of the Soviet government. A plan was hatched to drive the Western powers out of Germany. In 1948, the blockade of Berlin was ordered. Total!!! Soviet posts did not allow vehicles with food and things to pass through. The Americans found something to do here too - they began delivering from the air. This situation continued for more than a year, and in the end the USSR was forced to retreat.

The next 10 years were relatively quiet. The USSR was preparing for human space flight, and the Germans continued to leave the eastern part of Berlin and settle in the western part. The number of refugees grew steadily. In 10 years, more than 3 million people of the intelligent profession (doctors, teachers, engineers) left Soviet Berlin. The USSR and Western countries sat down at the negotiating table time after time, but all meetings ended in vain. Meanwhile, the situation was getting worse. In 1961, about 19 thousand people left the GDR through Berlin. Then another 30 thousand. On August 12, more than 2,400 people crossed the border in one day - the largest number of emigrants ever to leave East Germany in one day.

The Soviet leadership was seriously concerned about the current situation. Khrushchev gave an official order to stop the flow of refugees once and for all. The decision was made to build a wall. Within two weeks, the East German army, police and volunteers had constructed a makeshift wall from barbed wire and a concrete wall.

Life divided in half

Before the appearance of this structure on the streets of Berlin, all residents could move freely - to shops, to meet friends, to the cinema, to the theater. Now this has become almost impossible. It was possible to obtain a pass to the western part only at three checkpoints - in Helmstedt (checkpoint Alpha), in Dreilinden (checkpoint Bravo) and on Friedrichstrasse in the city center (checkpoint Charlie).

Let us note that there were many times fewer West Berliners among those wishing to visit the Eastern part of the capital. In total, there were about 12 checkpoints along the wall, where soldiers inspected all persons (including diplomats). And we can say with confidence that the German who received the coveted pass to the western part was a rare lucky person - the Soviet leadership did not encourage traveling to the west, where residents could become infected with the “capitalist” infection.

Over time, a stronger wall was built from reinforced concrete. Measures were taken for defectors - the so-called “death strip”. It was located on the eastern part and consisted of a sand embankment (so that footprints were visible), searchlights, wire machine guns, and patrol soldiers on top of the wall, who received permission to shoot to kill anyone who dared to cross the border.

At least 170 people were killed as they sought a better life behind the wall. It would seem that's it! You can't just cross the border. But no! The German mind was inventive. If the desire to get to West Berlin was burning, then people (during the entire existence of the wall from 1961 to 1989) jumped out of windows adjacent to the wall, crawled under barbed wire, and even used sewer pipes. In this way, about 5 thousand people fled, including border guards.

A fall

In 1989, the Cold War was already winding down. The USSR and the USA tried to establish friendly contacts with each other. These changes also affected Berlin. The representative of the USSR in Germany announced that now citizens of the city and country can freely cross borders. In the evening, more than 2 million people came to the wall, holding beer and bottles of champagne. Many brought hammers and picks to destroy the symbol of Soviet occupation forever. They were helped by cranes and bulldozers that demolished the foundation of the wall. One of the residents wrote on the wall: “Only today did the war finally end.” Prophetic words. It was November 9, 1989.

Germany was finally united on October 3, 1990, almost a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War and the harsh policies of the Soviet leadership.

The fall of the Berlin Wall united not only one people together, but also families separated by borders. This event marked the unification of the nation. The slogans at the demonstrations read: “We are one people.” The year of the fall of the Berlin Wall is considered to be the year of the beginning of a new life in Germany.

Berlin Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall, whose construction began in 1961, symbolized the end of the Cold War. During construction, wire fencing was first laid out, which later grew into a 5-meter concrete fortification, complemented by watchtowers and barbed wire. The main purpose of the wall is to reduce refugees from the GDR to (before this, 2 million people had already managed to cross). The wall stretched for several hundred kilometers. The indignation of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic was transmitted Western countries, but no protests or rallies could influence the decision to install a fence.

28 years behind the fence

It stood for a little more than a quarter of a century - 28 years. During this time, three generations were born. Of course, many were unhappy with this state of affairs. People strived for a new life, from which they were separated by a wall. One can only imagine what they felt for her - hatred, contempt. The inhabitants were imprisoned as if in a cage, and they tried to escape to the west of the country. However, according to official data, about 700 people were shot dead. And these are only documented cases. Today, you can also visit the Berlin Wall Museum, which preserves stories about the tricks people had to resort to to overcome it. For example, one child was literally catapulted over the fence by his parents. One family was transported by balloon.

Fall of the Berlin Wall - 1989

The communist regime of the GDR fell. It was followed by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the date of this high-profile incident was 1989, November 9. These events immediately caused people to react. And joyful Berliners began to destroy the wall. Very soon, most of the pieces became souvenirs. November 9 is also called the "Feast of All Germans". The fall of the Berlin Wall became one of the most notorious events of the twentieth century and was perceived as a sign. In the same 1989, no one yet knew what course of events fate had in store for them. (leader of the GDR) at the beginning of the year argued that the wall would remain in place for at least half a century, or even the entire century. The opinion that it was indestructible dominated both among the ruling circles and among ordinary residents. However, May of the same year showed the opposite.

The fall of the Berlin Wall - how it happened

Hungary removed its “wall” with Austria, and therefore there was no point in the Berlin Wall. According to eyewitnesses, even a few hours before the fall, many still had no idea what would happen. A huge mass of people, when news of the simplification of the access regime reached them, moved towards the wall. The border guards on duty, who did not have orders for precise actions in this situation, attempted to push the people back. But the pressure of the residents was so great that they had no choice but to open the border. On this day, thousands of West Berliners came out to meet East Berliners to greet them and congratulate them on their “liberation.” November 9 was indeed a national holiday.

15th anniversary of the destruction

In 2004, marking the 15th anniversary of the destruction of the symbol of the Cold War, a large ceremony was held in the German capital to commemorate the opening of a monument to the Berlin Wall. It is a restored part of the former fence, but now its length is only a few hundred meters. The monument is located where the former location of a checkpoint called "Charlie" was located, which served as the main connection between the two parts of the city. Here you can also see 1,065 crosses erected in memory of those who were killed from 1961 to 1989 for attempting to escape from Eastern Germany. However, there is no exact information about the number of those killed, since different resources report completely different data.

25th anniversary

On November 9, 2014, German residents celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The festive event was attended by the President of Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel. Foreign guests also visited it, including Mikhail Gorbachev (former President of the USSR). On the same day, a concert and a ceremonial meeting took place in the Konzerthaus, which was also attended by the President and Federal Chancellor. Mikhail Gorbachev expressed his opinion about the events that took place, saying that Berlin is saying goodbye to the wall, because there is new life and history. On the occasion of the holiday, an installation of 6880 glowing balls was installed. In the evening, filled with gel, they flew away into the darkness of the night, being a symbol of the destruction of the barrier and separation.

Europe's reaction

The fall of the Berlin Wall became an event that the whole world talked about. A large number of Historians claim that the country would have come to unity if it had happened in the late 80s, which means a little later. But this process was inevitable. Before this, lengthy negotiations took place. By the way, Mikhail Gorbachev also played a role, speaking for the unity of Germany (for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize). Although some assessed these events from a different point of view - as a loss of geopolitical influence. Despite this, Moscow has demonstrated that it can be trusted to negotiate complex and fairly fundamental issues. It is worth noting that some European leaders were against the reunification of Germany, for example, Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister of Britain) and (President of France). Germany in their eyes was a political and economic competitor, as well as an aggressor and military adversary. They were concerned about the reunification of the German people, and Margaret Thatcher even tried to convince Mikhail Gorbachev to back down from his position, but he was adamant. Some European leaders saw Germany as a future enemy and openly feared it.

End of the Cold War?

After November the wall was still standing (it was not completely destroyed). And in the mid-nineties, a decision was made to demolish it. Only a small “segment” was left intact in memory of the past. The world community perceived the day of the fall of the Berlin Wall as a unification not only of Germany. And throughout Europe.

Putin, while still an employee of the KGB representative office in the GDR, supported the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as the unification of Germany. He also starred in documentary film, dedicated to this event, the premiere of which could be seen on the 20th anniversary of the reunification of the German people. By the way, it was he who persuaded the demonstrators not to destroy the building of the KGB representative office. V.V. Putin was not invited to the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the wall (D.A. Medvedev was present at the 20th anniversary) - after the “Ukrainian events”, many world leaders, like Angela Merkel, who acted as the hostess of the meeting, considered his presence inappropriate.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was a good sign for the whole world. However, unfortunately, history shows that fraternal peoples can be fenced off from each other without tangible walls. Cold wars exist between states even in the 21st century.