This Day in History: 13 August 2020
13 August 1961
59 years ago, today, Berlin was divided, as construction of the Berlin Wall began. Walter Ulbricht, the Communist leader of East Germany, received permission from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to begin the sealing off of all access between East and West Berlin in August. Throughout the night of August 12, soldiers began to lay more than 100 miles of barbed wire inside the East Berlin border, which was soon replaced by a brick wall. This wall was patrolled day and night by East German officers, known as the Volkspolizei, and was complete with guard towers, machine gun posts and searchlights.
After World War Two, Germany was divided into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation. The city of Berlin was also split, with the Soviets taking the eastern part of the city. Their influence over the section grew stronger after the Western powers foiled a Soviet attempt to blockade West Berlin. Over the next 12 years, East Germany saw between 2.5 to 3 million of its citizens head to West Germany in search of better opportunities. The two parts of Germany were finally unified on October 3, 1990, after the wall was dismantled by East and West Germans, destroying the largest symbol of the Cold War.
Want to find out more about the Berlin Wall? Click here for more information, or here for a video about the mistake that toppled the wall.
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