BBC Announces the wall Aug. 13, 1961

The wall goes up. Photo from www.cs.utah.edu/.../ europe/berlin.buildwall.jpg Headline: Berliners wake to divided city "Troops in East Germany have sealed the border between East and West Berlin, shutting off the escape route for thousands of refugees from the East. "Barbed wire fences up to six feet (1.83 metres) high were put up during the night, and Berliners woke this morning to find themselves living in a divided city. "Train services between the two sectors of the city have been cut, and all road traffic across the border has been stopped. "Thousands of angry demonstrators quickly gathered on the West Berlin side of the divide. At one crossing point, protesters tried to trample down the barbed wire, only to be driven back by guards with bayonets. "The West German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, appealed for calm, saying in a broadcast to the nation this evening: “Now, as always, we are closely bound to the Germans of the Russian zone and East Berlin. “ 'They are and remain our German brothers and sisters. The Federal Government remains firmly committed to the goal of German unity.' "There has been outrage from the international community at the abrupt decision to cut off one side of the city from the other. "A Foreign Office spokesman in London said the restrictions were contrary to the four-power status of Berlin, and therefore illegal. "The American Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, called it a 'flagrant violation' of East-West agreements, and said there would be a vigorous protest to Russia. "The tide of people fleeing East Germany has grown to a flood in recent days, as the Soviet Union has taken an increasingly hard line over breaking away from the three Allied powers and forming a separate peace treaty with East Germany over Berlin. Nearly 12,500 people left East Germany this week - over 2,000 more than the previous week. "The East German government has been taking desperate measures to stem the flow. Yesterday, border guards were intercepting trains near Berlin and interrogating passengers. Those who arrived in Berlin said only one in 10 was allowed through. There had been rumours of a decisive crackdown on refugees since the East German parliament met yesterday and approved new, unspecified measures against them. The rumours provoked an even more frantic exodus. Just before the borders were closed, the numbers more than doubled, with some 3,000 East Germans fleeing to the West in just 24 hours." (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/13/newsid_3054000/3054060.stm Aug 13 1961)

Statistics

Diagram from http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/ "The total length of the Berlin Wall was 96 miles. Twenty-seven miles went through the center of the city. Twenty-three miles went through residential areas. Sixty-six miles comprised a concrete barrier 13 feet high. It also consisted of 302 watch towers and 20 bunkers. More than 5,000 people successfully crossed the Berlin Wall to freedom. About 3,200 people were arrested in the border area. More than 160 people were killed in the death area, and another 120 people were injured." (http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1867.html)

Great Escapes

“The East German government decided to close the 'last gap' in the border to West Berlin and the Berlin Wall was build up. East German citizen were not allowed to leave the country without permission. However, during the first days many people could escape through the border but day by day it became more dangerous.At the beginning people tried to climb over the Wall or the fences, they jumped out of the houses which were in the border area or tunnels were built to escape. During the first days several people lost their live or were killed by the Eastern border guard .Günter Litwin was the first victim who was shot down by East German border guard in Berlin on August 24, 1961. 171 people were killed or died attempting to escape at the Berlin Wall between August 13, 1961 and November 9, 1989.” (http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/escape.htm)

Famous Places

The main purpose of Checkpoint Charlie was to inform and register Western military forces before they crossed into East Berlin. Photo from http://www.iivs.de/taufk/schule /real/events/berlin01/Checkpoint_Charlie.jpg "Checkpoint Charlie: Military personnel of the Western Powers were only allowed to enter East Berlin via the crossing point at Berlin Friedrichstrasse. "Soon the US military police opened the third checkpoint at Friedrichstrasse. The other two checkpoints were Helmstedt at the West German-East German border and Dreilinden at the West Berlin and East Germany border. Based on the phonetic alphabet the Helmstedt checkpoint was called Alpha, Dreilinden Checkpoint Bravo and the checkpoint at Friedrichstrasse got the name Charlie. "The main function of the checkpoint was to register and inform members of the Western Military Forces before entering East Berlin. Foreign tourists were also informed but not checked in the West. "The German authorities in West and East Berlin were not allowed to check any members of the Allied Military Forces in Berlin and in Germany." (http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/ checkpoint-charlie.htm) "Brandenburg Gate: The Brandenburg Gate was a symbol of a divided Germany. People approaching the gate were greeted by signs reading, 'You are leaving the American sector' in English, Russian, French, and German. This was the famous 'Checkpoint Charlie' leading into the Soviet Sector, one of four passageways between East and West Germany. It was also were President Ronald regean gave his famous 'Tear Down this Wall' speech. In 1989 the Brandenburg Gate became a symbol of hope to a new generation. They tore down the Berlin wall and most of the frontier between East and West Germany evaporated -- seemingly overnight." (http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/DE/BerlinBrandenburgGate.html)