The Battle of Britain

The Berlin Wall

The opening of the Berlin Wall, 1990; This photograph taken early in 1990 shows the West German flag flying over the Brandenburg Gate, with a graffiti covered section of the Berlin Wall in the foreground. Marks on the wall left by hundreds of Berliners chipping away at the concrete are clearly visible. By the end of the year, much of the Wall had been demolished.

The opening of the Berlin Wall, 1990

photographs

This photograph taken early in 1990 shows the West German flag flying over the Brandenburg Gate, with a graffiti covered section of the Berlin Wall in the foreground. Marks on the wall left by hundreds of Berliners chipping away at the concrete are clearly visible. By the end of the year, much of the Wall had been demolished.

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For almost 30 years, the Berlin Wall stood as a physical symbol of the ideological divisions within Europe during the Cold War.

At the end of the Second World War in 1945, Germany had been divided into American, British, French and Soviet...

For almost 30 years, the Berlin Wall stood as a physical symbol of the ideological divisions within Europe during the Cold War.

At the end of the Second World War in 1945, Germany had been divided into American, British, French and Soviet zones. Berlin was similarly split and was isolated in the Soviet zone of the country. Despite Soviet intimidation, notably a blockade that led to the Berlin Airlift in 1948-1949, the Western powers were unwilling to surrender their agreed sectors of the city.

On Sunday 13 August 1961, Berliners woke to find that their city had been physically divided by the closure of established crossing points and a makeshift barrier of barbed wire.  Over the following months and years this barrier developed into a heavily guarded concrete wall fortified with watchtowers and bordered by the 'death strip' – a mined area of gravel under constant surveillance. The main reason for the construction of the wall was to prevent East Germans fleeing to the freer and more affluent West via West Berlin.

The wall divided districts and separated families. Over 5,000 escape attempts were made. Some were successful, but over 100 people are known to have died trying to cross the wall.

During 1989, political changes in other Eastern bloc countries and weeks of civil unrest weakened the East German regime. On the evening of 9 November 1989, the Wall opened and East Berliners flocked to the West. German reunification followed on 3 October 1990.

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  • Section of the Wall

    souvenirs and ephemera

    Section of the Wall; Section of the Berlin Wall on display at IWM London. This section of the Berlin Wall sits outside Imperial War Museum London, and is a great favourite for visitors. The colourful artwork with the positive Change Your Life message was created by the graffiti artist 'Indiano', and is said to have been inspired by a Rainer Maria Rilke poem. The colourful front of the Wall was on the West side, whereas the reverse side – facing East – is dull and grey and forbidding.

  • Warning sign

    equipment

    Warning sign; Warning sign, border of British Sector, Berlin. Berlin was divided into four Sectors. The British, French and American Sectors made up West Berlin, while the Soviet Sector became East Berlin. This sign marked one of the demarcation points between the British and Soviet Sectors.