The Berlin Wall

         from the west side of the Berlin wall showing the constantly patrolled no-man's land to the east

After World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones, each controlled by one of the four major allied powers which were the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union. Germany's capital Berlin was located near the eastern border of Germany and therefore was well within the Soviet occupation zone. Berlin was divided into four occupation zones as well.

Within a few years, the US, UK and French zones were merged as German reconstruction proceeded. However, East Germany remained under Soviet control and became part of the eastern bloc of Soviet dominated satellite states.
    The three zones controlled by Allied powers in Berlin were merged as well, forming West Berlin (the small grey dot in East Germany on the map to the left) . East Berlin remained separate, and under control by the Soviet Union.

    Initially, there was no border between east and west Germany, but that changed as East Germany became more firmly established as part of the Soviet Bloc. In 1948, Joseph Stalin instituted the Berlin Blockade, disrupting the flow of food and supplies through East Germany to West Berlin by rail. This was countered by the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49. When the unsuccessful blockade was lifted in 1949, more materials were coming to West Berlin by air than had been previously coming by rail. In all, over 200,000 airlift flights were flown.

The border between East and West Berlin was the most porous for those who wished to flee Soviet life. Subways still ran in the city. Many lived in the east and worked in the west since most of the jobs were in West Berlin. A huge exodus and brain drain from the Soviet Union was occurring in Berlin. Once in West Berlin, those who wished to leave Germany or travel to West Germany could do so. By 1961, 3.5 million, or 20% of the East German population had fled to West Germany and beyond.

Immediately after midnight, Sunday morning 13-August 1961, the border to West Berlin was sealed without warning. Families were split. East Berliners could not get to their jobs if they worked in the west. The easiest place to emigrate to the west suddenly became the hardest. The wall started as a highly patrolled wire fence, with actual construction of a concrete wall beginning in 1965. A wall between East and West Berlin was insufficient. The wall had to completely surround West Berlin.

In its final form from 1975 to 1989, the 96 mile long wall consisted of 45,000 sections of reinforced concrete, each about 12 feet high. Barriers were set up about 100 meters outside the wall creating a "death strip". Intruders were shot.
     Adjacent to the "death strip", watch towers were spaced every few hundred meters and bright lights were on all the time. There were mine fields, dogs, and numerous other unpleasantries that made crossing virtually impossible.

Any structure in the path of the death strip

was doomed, including The Church of Reconciliation

The clip shows the destruction of the church, and the Chapel of Reconciliation at the site today.

Nonetheless, people tried, and people died. The death toll is estimated to be at least 200, probably much higher. About 5,000 East Germans did escape in remarkably creative ways. Digging underground tunnels, hot air and gas balloons, light aircraft, the sewer system, and abandoned subway tunnels were some of the chosen escape routes.

Presidents from the United States weighed in as well. On June 26, 1963, John F. Kennedy gave his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. On June 12, 1987, Ronald Reagan gave his famous "Mr. Gorbachev tear down that wall" speech at the Brandenburg Gate.

Bruce Springstein got into the act as well. As an aging Woodstock rocker, I could not be more proud of The Boss and his performance in East Berlin on July 19, 1988.

I am not for or against any government. I've come to play

Rock n' Roll for you in the hope that one day,

all barriers will be torn down.

The Berlin wall would come down one year later. The real, mostly unsung hero of the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall was Mikhail Gorbachev and perestroika. The people, particularly the young people, brought the wall down, but many believe that Bruce Springsteen was a catalyst. In chemistry, a catalyst greatly speeds up a reaction that would have happened eventually. And so it was with The Boss. He was The Spark.

Things really began to fall apart on August 19, 1989. The border defenses between Hungary to the east and Austria to the west came down, and during the next month, more than 13,000 East Germans escaped to Austria through Hungary. Attempts to stop the exodus through Hungary resulted in similar actions in Czechoslovakia. At this point, the Peaceful Revolution was well underway on multiple fronts. On November 4, 1989, 500,000 people demonstrated in Berlin. On November 9, 1989 the Berlin wall was no longer a barrier between east and west. The checkpoints were opened.


Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie is a major tourist attraction. Berliners call it Checkpoint Disneyland. Today, the guard house is a replica (the original is at the Allied Museum). The guards are replicas, actually actors who demand to be paid if they are included in pictures. Folks are running around hawking trinkets and picking pockets.

The name Charlie was simply the third letter of the phonetic alphabet, after alpha and bravo. This became the site of a standoff which was the culmination of the Berlin Crisis of 1961. As early as 1958, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev issued an ultimatum that western powers withdraw from Berlin. Western powers said no. The ultimatum was withdrawn in 1959 in favor of searching out a political solution. However, all discussion between Khrushchev and President Eisenhower ended when Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union while flying the U-2 spy plane.

Emigration from east to west through Berlin had risen to the level of a crisis for the Soviet Bloc. By early 1961, the Soviets were convinced that only force would stop the mass emigration. However, prior treaty specified that there would be free travel within the sectors of Berlin. Despite this, the wall went up in August 1961, but allied authorities were allowed access to all sectors of the city as specified by the Potsdam Conference of 1945.

Two months after construction of the wall, on October 22, 1961, US Chief of Mission, E. Allan Lightner was stopped at Checkpoint Charlie while attempting to cross into East Berlin. Although the occasional tank had been close to the checkpoint, the confrontation escalated at this point, and 33 Soviet tanks arrived at the Brandenburg Gate, 10 of which proceeded to Checkpoint Charlie. This was met by equal force on the Allied side of the checkpoint. Both groups of tanks were loaded with live munitions, and both sides had orders to fire if fired upon. They were less than 200 meters apart.

Kennedy and Khrushchev negotiated indirectly by telephones through their representatives on the ground in Berlin. The agreement reached was that the Soviets would back off initially 5 meters, matched by a similar allied response. Ultimately the situation was defused. In return, Kennedy apparently agreed to take no military action against the wall.

Checkpoint Charlie, allied side 1963

Checkpoint Charlie, Soviet side 1982

Replicated Checkpoint Charlie today with actors

Buildings at Checkpoint Charlie

Kaffee Einstein is one the right, ground floor

Interesting historical note:  Legend has it that John le Carré wrote The spy Who Came in From the Cold while looking out at the Berlin Wall from his seat at the Café Adler. Café Adler has since closed, but Kaffee Einstein presently occupies the same space.