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East Germany began building the Berlin Wall on 13 August 1961 to stop its people leaving for the West. It divided the city for 28 years, until the night of 9 November 1989, when the guards opened the crossings and crowds poured through.

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Before the Wall, about 3.5 million East Germans, a fifth of the population, had left for the West, many simply by crossing from East to West Berlin. Overnight on 12–13 August 1961, soldiers and workers sealed the border with barbed wire; concrete followed. East Germany called it the “Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart”, while West Berlin's mayor, Willy Brandt, called it the “Wall of Shame”. Its final version, begun in 1975, was made of 45,000 concrete slabs 3.6 metres high, with more than 100 watchtowers and a guarded strip of open ground behind it, the death strip. Even so, more than 5,000 people escaped, about 400 of them through tunnels dug underneath, and at least 140 people died at the Wall. In 1963 President John F. Kennedy told West Berliners “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner”), and in 1987 Ronald Reagan urged the Soviet leader to “tear down this wall”.

Türkçe oku
Doğu Almanya, halkının Batı'ya geçmesini engellemek için 13 Ağustos 1961'de Berlin Duvarı'nı örmeye başladı. Duvar şehri 28 yıl boyunca ikiye böldü; 9 Kasım 1989 gecesi nöbetçiler sınır kapılarını açtı ve kalabalıklar karşı tarafa aktı.

Duvar örülmeden önce yaklaşık 3,5 milyon Doğu Alman, yani nüfusun beşte biri Batı'ya gitmişti; birçoğu için bunun yolu, Doğu Berlin'den Batı Berlin'e geçmekti. 12'yi 13 Ağustos 1961'e bağlayan gece askerler ve işçiler sınırı dikenli telle kapattı; beton duvar daha sonra geldi. Doğu Almanya duvara “Antifaşist Koruma Seddi” adını verdi; Batı Berlin Belediye Başkanı Willy Brandt ise ona “Utanç Duvarı” dedi. Duvarın 1975'te yapımına başlanan son biçimi, her biri 3,6 metre yüksekliğinde 45.000 beton bloktan oluşuyordu. Duvar boyunca yüzü aşkın gözetleme kulesi yükseliyor, arkasında da “ölüm şeridi” denen, sıkı korunan açık bir alan uzanıyordu. Buna rağmen 5.000'den fazla kişi kaçmayı başardı; bunların 400 kadarı duvarın altından kazılan tünellerden geçti. Duvarda en az 140 kişi hayatını kaybetti. ABD Başkanı John F. Kennedy 1963'te Batı Berlin'de yaptığı konuşmada “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“Ben bir Berlinliyim”) dedi; Ronald Reagan da 1987'de Sovyet liderine “Bu duvarı yıkın” diye seslendi.

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