Outdoor Lifestyles

Creation commenced on The Berlin Wall early in the morning of Sunday, August 13, 1961. It was a desperate yet effective cause by the GDR (German Democratic Republic) to stop East Berliners evading the Soviet-controlled East German state into the West of the city, which was then occupied by the Americans, British and French. You should go to Berlin yourself to check this out and stay in one of the many Berlin apartments

Berlin’s rare state as a city half-controlled by Western forces, in the focus of the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany, made it a main end for tensions between the Allies and the Soviets and a place where disagreeing ideologies were forced side-by-side. However, as more and more people in the Soviet-controlled East grew disillusioned with communism and the increasingly oppressive financial and political conditions, an growing amount began defecting to the West. By 1961 an predicted 1,500 people a day were going to the West, damaging both the credibility and - more importantly - the personnel of the GDR. Soon rumours began to spread about a wall, and it wasn’t long after that those rumours were made a solid reality.

In a masterfully-planned operation, spanning just 24 hours, the streets of Berlin were torn up, barricades of paving stones were erected, tanks were gathered at crucial places and subways and local railway services were interrupted, so that within a day the West of Berlin was entirely sealed off from the East. As of that same day inhabitants of East Berlin and the GDR were no longer permitted to go into the West of the city (including the 60,000 who had been commuters). In response to international criticism that such drastic measures unavoidably drew, the GDR claimed that the barricade had been raised as an ‘anti-fascist protection wall’, and that they had moved to prevent a third world war.
The adaptation of the ‘Wall’ that began life in 1961, was in fact not a wall but a 96 miles barbed wire fence. However, following this incarnation proved too easy to scale, work started in 1962 on a second fence, parallel to the first but up to 100 yards further in. The region in between the two fences was demolished to create an empty space, which became widely identified as “death strip” as it was here that many would-be escapers met their doom. The strip was covered with raked gravel, making it easy to spot footprints, it provided no cover, was mined and booby-trapped with tripwires and, most prominently, it offered a clear field of fire to the armed guards - who were orderded to shoot on sight.

Later on even these measures were deemed insufficient and a concrete wall was added in 1965, which served until 1975 when the infamous ‘Stützwandelement UL 12.11’ was built. Known also as Grenzmauer 75 (Border Wall ’75), it was the final and most sophisticated version of the Wall. It was made from 45,000 separate sections of unbreakable concrete, each 3.6 m high and 1.5 m wide, and topped with a smooth pipe, intended to make it more difficult for escapers to scale it. The Grenzmauer was reinforced by mesh fencing, signal fencing, anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire, over 300 watchtowers, and thirty bunkers… Just to be on the safe side!

So why don’t you go to Berlin and experience this first hand. You will educate yourself a great deal on this large history and have an amazing time in the German capital. You may also consider staying in one of the many apartments in Berlin all around the city when you visit.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!