The Berlin Wall came down 35 years ago today. Fragments of the famous border still exist today.

Communist East Germany closed its border with Berlin on Aug. 13, 1961, when he built the wall that eventually became an expanding fence through the city and around the capitalist West Berlin.

A heavily fenced border—i Berlin Wall- it closed the last gap between East and West.

On the 9th of Nov. 1989, the border was opened, and the Berlin Wall came down in celebration as the world watched. It marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Communist dictatorship in East Germany, paving the way for German reunification in 1990 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Most of the wall was demolished soon after, but 35 years later, there are still places where visitors can see its remains.

What was the Berlin wall?

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 and for 28 years, it stood as the front line of the Cold War between the Western world system, led by the US, and the Soviets.

The East German leadership had already closed the country’s main border with West Germany, which ran from the Baltic Sea to Czechoslovakia, in 1952.

This 96 kilometer long wall was built by the communist regime to cut off East Germany from perceived Western pollution and to stem the tide of people fleeing Germany. It cut through the center of the city and surrounded West Berlin.

But even barbed wire and the Wall could not stop people from fleeing. Efforts to repair the border fortifications in Berlin continued until 1989.

President John F. Kennedy’s promise of freedom

President John F. Kennedy visited West Germany on June 26, 1963. While addressing a crowd of about 150,000 people in West Berlin, he promised that the United States would defend the city’s freedom.

“Freedom is indivisible, if one person is enslaved, he is not free,” he said. “When all are free, we can look forward to that day when this city will be united as one, and this country and this great continent of Europe on the globe with peace and hope.”

“When that day comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take great satisfaction in the fact that they have been at the forefront for nearly two decades,” Kennedy added.

He then closed with his now iconic quote: “All free people, no matter where they live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I am proud of these words, I am a Berliner.”

“Tear down this wall!”

President Ronald Reagan, commemorating the 750th anniversary of Berlin, spoke at the foot of the Brandenburg Gate, near the Berlin Wall, on June 12, 1987. Thanks to the loudspeaker system in use, Reagan’s words could be heard in East Berlin.

During his speech, the American president made the now-famous command, “Tear down this wall!,” to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Reagan’s speech that day is considered by many to have heralded the beginning of the end of the Cold War, which culminated in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

When did the Berlin Wall fall?

In the late 1980s, the power of the Soviet Union began to falter, especially when Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985. He abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine, the central political principle of Soviet foreign policy that called for the limited sovereignty of the Warsaw Pact. tribes.

This allowed the Eastern Bloc states to change their foreign policies, and on May 2, 1989, Hungary demolished its border fence – making the first hole in the “Iron Curtain.”

In East Germany, a growing protest movement and a wave of immigration to the West forced the end of the dictatorship there in 1989. A new tourism law that was mistakenly announced on November 9, 1989, led to a rush of people to the Berlin Wall.

How did the Berlin Wall fall?

The Bornholmer Strasse crossing in Berlin was the first to open that night. The border guards, who had not yet received orders to allow anyone to pass, gave way under pressure from the crowd who wanted to be released after the unofficial announcement of the new rules by Politburo spokesman Günter Schabowski.

It crossed new boundaries, leaving huge gaps in the Wall. The border troops started tearing down fences and other barriers.

In June 1990, the planned demolition of the Wall began, and pieces of concrete were sold around the world. Some sections were placed under protection as historical monuments.

The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for the reunification of Germany in Oct. 3, 1990, less than a year after the border was reopened. The demolition of the Wall ended in 1994.

Where can you see parts of the wall today?

Today, a section of wall slabs with photos and a series of plaques – including a warning sent by the Associated Press’ Germany service – stands at the former Bornholmer Strasse crossing in Berlin.

The longest remaining part of the wall in Berlin is in the so-called East Side Gallery, where the once gray concrete slabs are covered with paintings by 118 artists after the border was opened.

Otherwise, the wall has largely disappeared now and much of the former “death line” – between the outer wall facing West Berlin and the inner wall facing East – has been built over.

Among the exceptions is the former border line at the Bernauer Strasse memorial in downtown Berlin, and there are pieces that are surrounded elsewhere in the city and on its outskirts.

In most cases, the main East-West German border outside of Berlin consisted of fences rather than walls. There was an exception, however: the most famous in the town of Moedlareuth, divided between Bavaria and the eastern region of Thuringia, which earned the nickname “Little Berlin.” Part of the border of Moedlareuth can still be seen today.

What is Checkpoint Charlie?

One of the most famous – and most visited – crossings commemorating the Berlin Wall – is Checkpoint Charlie.

The history of crossing the US-controlled border between East and West has been stagnant for three decades. There, Allied guards registered members of the American, British and French forces before traveling to East Berlin, and foreign visitors could find out about their stay there.

In October 1961, it was the site of a tank clash between American and Soviet forces who took up positions and engaged in artillery fire.

The test booth was removed on June 22, 1990, almost half a year after the wall was opened. The original booth is now on display at the Allied Museum in Berlin-Zehlendorf. Previous photo US Army player Seargent Jeff Harper it is part of a series of portraits that hang near the original site commemorating the last Allied troops in Berlin in 1994.