The fall of the Berlin Wall
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November 9 marks the 32nd anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This date symbolizes the fall of communism in Europe.
Shortly after midnight on August 13, 1961, the German government ordered 40,000 East German soldiers and policemen to barricade the entire border with barbed wire, leaving only 13 crossing points into West Berlin, the National Historical Museum reports. 10,000 kilometers of wire were laid around the 155 kilometer perimeter of West Berlin.
The wall was reinforced from time to time and by 1989 it had 45,000 concrete blocks and 302 observation towers.
The Berlin Wall was built to stop the departure of East Germans to the West, becoming a symbol of the lack of freedom, as well as the political division of the Eastern and Western blocs. Despite this barricade, hundreds of people took the courage to cross to the other side, some managed to escape. 270 people were killed while trying to escape, over the wall, passing under it, or through crossing points, 3200 were arrested while trying to cross the wall.
Five thousand East Germans managed to get to West Berlin. More than 75 thousand citizens were imprisoned for trying to escape from East Germany.
11 months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany was reunited.
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