Berlin Wall Rises: Germany Divided Overnight
Walter Ulbricht, East Germany's leader, declared on June 15, 1961, "Nobody has the intention of building a wall." Two months later, on August 13, 1961, East German soldiers began stringing barbed wire across Berlin at midnight, eventually replacing it with a concrete barrier that divided the city for 28 years. The wall was built to stop the hemorrhage of skilled workers fleeing to the West: roughly 3.5 million East Germans had emigrated since 1945, threatening the state's economic survival. At least 140 people were killed attempting to cross. The wall became the most powerful symbol of the Cold War until it fell on November 9, 1989, when a confused press conference led thousands of East Berliners to swarm the checkpoints.
August 13, 1961
65 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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