The Cold War
Berlin
Map from the era, illustrating Berlin's division between the Allied forces.
Berlin, 15 June 1961. "Nobody intends to build a wall", said East German leader Walter Ulbricht before the Wall was built.
Wire fences and barbed wire were initially erected around West Berlin. Roads and railways leading to West Berlin were then blocked by 14,500 members of the East German armed forces. Man from West Berlin waving to his family in East Berlin.
People could still cross the frontier without too much difficulty up until September 1961. 85 border guards and 216 civilians successfully made the crossing. The iconic photo of a border guard jumping over the barbed wire to join the West. Copyright Peter Leibing.
In the following weeks, a concrete wall was constructed, completely encircling West Berlin. West Berlin became an enclave in the middle of East-German territory.
At the end of that same year, only seven crossing points remained out of the 81 which had previously existed between East and West. The barrier opens for a West Berlin car driving to the eastern sector.
Checkpoint Charlie was one of the crossing points in the Berlin Wall located at the junction of Friedrichstraße with Zimmerstraße and Mauerstraße
The Wall was 140 kilometres long.
Between 1975 and 1980 the Wall became increasingly sophisticated. It consisted of two walls reaching a height of 3.6 metres, for the most part electrified, with ramparts and more than 116 watchtowers. It was equipped with numerous alarm systems and watched over by some 14,000 guards and dogs.
The Wall separated entire families. Several hundred people died trying to reach the West and many were wounded.
Olga Segler, aged 80, died in September 1961 while attempting to reach West Berlin to attend her daughterâs wedding. She is thought to be the oldest person to have died trying to cross the Berlin Wall.