Cold War Berlin: A City Divided
The East Germans called the Berlin Wall the anti-fascist protection barrier. But the 103 mile long concrete barrier was meant to keep the people of East Berlin in rather than keeping the West Berliners out. On the night of August 23, 1961 Berliners on both sides of the invisible line that divided their city went about business as usual. In the early years people were (for the most part) free to cross from East to West.
But shortly after midnight all that came to an abrupt halt. Most Berliners had gone to bed and didn’t have clue of what was going on (until the jackhammers started that is). Those caught out in the streets saw firsthand the ten thousand East German and Soviet troops ringing the city. Soon a small army of construction workers began tearing up the streets.
Concrete posts were sunk into the ground and barbed wire was stretched across the border between East and West Germany. The East Germans had done a great job at keeping their plans of the wall hush hush. But the noise of construction soon brought people out of their homes. West Germans, used to enjoying freedom of speech, yelled at the workers and guards. East Germans remained silent or quickly made a run for freedom at any place they could find an opening. Over the next two years the barbed wire barricade would be replaced with a 12 foot high concrete wall that would remain in place until 1989.
Hans Conrad Schumann, was an East German Bereitschaftspolizist (riot control police) who escaped to West Germany during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
The Soviets Take Control
After World War II, Berlin became one of the strangest flashpoints of the 20th century. In 1945, the Soviet Red Army stormed the city from the east, while British, American, and French forces advanced from the west, leaving Germany’s capital in ruins after 363 bombing raids. At the Potsdam Conference, the Allies agreed to divide Germany—and Berlin—into four zones, intending it to be temporary until Germany was “de-Nazified” and stable enough for reunification. Instead, tensions between the communist East and capitalist West turned Berlin into a Cold War battleground. By the late 1940s, the Western zones merged into West Germany with the help of U.S. Marshall Plan aid, while the Soviets kept tight control over East Germany, stripping it of resources to rebuild their own war-torn economy.
City of Berlin was divided between the Soviets and the allies (America, France, and Great Britain). The plan was to reunite all four sectors once Germany had been de-nazified.
Life in East Germany
Berlin was a tale of two cities. In the west, new housing, cafes, cinemas, and good-paying jobs signaled prosperity, while the Soviet-controlled east struggled under a communist government modeled after the Soviet Union. Farms and factories were state-run, eliminating unemployment but also wiping out high wages. Life in East Germany grew harsher as the government banned western books and newspapers, crushed free speech, and relied on the Stasi—East Germany’s secret police—and networks of spies to monitor citizens. It’s estimated that one in ten East Germans agreed to spy on friends and neighbors, often in exchange for privileges like foreign travel. Those who criticized the government risked losing jobs, imprisonment, or worse.
Despite strict controls, thousands of East Berliners crossed the border daily to work or visit friends in West Berlin, only to return home at night. Branded as “parasites” and “capitalist spies” by East German newspapers, many never returned. Between 1949 and 1961, over 3 million people—roughly 20% of the population—fled, draining East Germany of skilled professionals like doctors, engineers, and teachers. The government responded by promoting political loyalty over qualifications, leading to poor construction and unreliable infrastructure, with some apartments crumbling within a year of being built. Meanwhile, East Germany’s currency was far weaker than the thriving West German mark, highlighting the stark economic divide between the two sides.
The Berlin Wall cut straight through roads, buildings, even people's homes to ensure that East Germans couldn't flee to the western sector of the city.
The Wall Goes Up
On August 15, 1961, 21-year-old Hagen Koch stood in the middle of Potsdamer Platz, once the bustling heart of Berlin, now a bombed-out mess. With a paintbrush in hand, he drew a 31-mile white line that would soon become the Berlin Wall—a concrete scar slicing the city in two. Behind him, barbed wire had already gone up three days earlier, sealing off East Berlin from the West. That line, and the wall that followed, would completely upend life in Berlin.
For decades, Potsdamer Platz had been Berlin’s version of Times Square—bright lights, busy shops, and plenty of life. But by 1961, it was ground zero for Cold War drama. The wall didn’t just divide the city; it tore through streets, factories, homes, and parks like a bad breakup. Families woke up to find themselves cut off from loved ones. Margot Feist, who lived just feet from the border, remembered the chaos: “We had no warning. One moment we could visit my sister, and the next, we were cut off.” Police went door to door,
kicking people out of homes that straddled the line. Some grabbed what they could, but many had to leave almost everything behind.
Daily life got weird fast. Subway and railway lines were cut, leaving thousands without jobs in the West. Markets and shops that once buzzed with shoppers felt like ghost towns. Schools and churches split down the middle, with friends and families left waving at each other from across the divide. Inge Hänsch, a shopkeeper in East Berlin, said: “It felt like we were trapped in a cage, watching life continue on the other side.”
The physical changes hit hard. Roads were blocked, phone lines were severed, and even sewer pipes were sealed to keep people from sneaking out. Streets that once bustled with cars and bicycles now stood eerily empty, patrolled by guards with orders to shoot anyone who stepped too close. Buildings along the border had windows bricked up, turning once lively neighborhoods into concrete tombs. Parks became no-man’s-lands, wrapped in barbed wire and topped with guard towers. The skyline of Berlin didn’t just change—so did the mood. People felt like prisoners in their own city.
Emotionally, the wall was just as heavy. East Berliners felt trapped, isolated, and constantly watched. Rumors about spies and informants made people paranoid, even around friends and family. Conversations became hushed, and trust fell apart. Many described the wall as not just a physical barrier but a giant emotional weight. Hans Becker, a former teacher, said, “It wasn’t just a wall—it was a wound that divided our lives into before and after.”
The East German government tried to sell the wall as an “Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier,” saying it was there to keep out Western spies and troublemakers. But most people knew it was really about keeping them in. Posters and slogans promised unity and socialism, but behind closed doors, people worried about what was coming next. Jobs and promotions often went to those who were loyal to the party, not necessarily the most qualified, and workers had to get used to strict government rules that controlled farms and factories.
Meanwhile, the streets of Berlin fell eerily quiet. Guards patrolled the wall, ready to stop anyone who got too close. Checkpoint Charlie, one of the most famous crossings, became a tense spot where soldiers faced each other just yards apart. The wall wasn’t just concrete and barbed wire—it was a daily reminder that Berlin, once a united city, was now completely divided.
Police guard any escape attempts as the wall went up.
Two children talk to each other through the barbed wire that was put up during the first phase of the Berlin Wall.
Great Escapes & Almost Escapes
On the eastern side two walls were built: an inner and an outer wall with 300 yard no man’s land known as “death strip”. To escape to the western side you had to first cross two rows of barbed wire. Then run through death strip with its 116 machine gun towers and high powered search lights trained on you. Guards were always posted in pairs to prevent the other from defecting. The wall was painted stark white, not to make it prettier, but to make it easier for troops to shoot at people escaping over the wall. In some spots anti-tank barriers zigzagged across the road to prevent cars from racing through the gates.
The punishment for trying to escape was either spending your life in the slammer or being executed. East German papers proudly ran stories of people executed for trying to escape as a warning to would-be runners. But that didn’t stop the more than 5,000 people who successfully made a bid for freedom. The wall forced people to get creative in finding a way through, over, under, or around.
The Strelzyks built a hot air balloon out of scraps of cloth and a foot powered sewing machine. But things weren't all smooth sailing. The first attempt the balloon couldn't even get off the ground. On the second attempt the wind changed directions and took them deeper into East Berlin. But on September 16, 1979 the third time was the charm literally sailing them and another family over the wall into West Germany. Their story was made into a 1982 Disney filmed called Night Crossing.
In the early days of 1961, the wall was built up against an existing house or building. Many East Germans snuck past the police and made their way out second and third story windows that had not been boarded up (yet). Using an mattress or rope they climbed to freedom. Often a passing West Berliner would help them get down.
Sometimes the West Berlin firefighters would be waiting. Again the police put an end to this by boarding up all windows and eventually demolishing any building close enough to the wall to escape from. The government even went so far as to ban the sale of rope strong enough to hold the weight of a person! Of course, climbing from a window was dangerous work. You could be pulled back in or shot by the Vopos (border police) patrolling nearby. If the Vopos didn’t do you in the fall just might. This is what happened to Ida Siekmann who became the wall’s first casualty when she died from injuries after jumping from a third story window.
Our favorite escape story is about a group of young people who literally drove out to freedom. Their plan was to disguise themselves as soviet army personnel and simply drive through a checkpoint. After stealing a soviet-car and putting stolen military plates on it further added to the ruse by putting maps and other “official looking papers” on the dashboard. To make themselves look like Soviet officers they sewed cardboard stars onto their raincoats. When the three young men (with a women hidden under a blanket) drove up to the checkpoint they were waved through by the border guards, no questions asked!
Look to the left of the wall and you'll notice the cleared land known as the "Death Strip".
Why It Matters
The Berlin Wall wasn’t just a physical barrier; it reshaped lives and shattered communities. Families were torn apart, friends were cut off, and daily routines were completely disrupted. People lost jobs, businesses collapsed, and entire neighborhoods fell silent. It turned East Berlin into a pressure cooker of fear and distrust, where neighbors spied on each other and the government used surveillance to keep people in line. At the same time, it became a global symbol of oppression and control, exposing the harsh realities of life under communism. For those in the West, the wall was a stark reminder of the freedoms they enjoyed and the lengths people in the East would go to escape.
The wall also highlighted the sharp contrast between democracy and dictatorship. In the West, life moved forward with rebuilding and prosperity, while in the East, the wall froze progress and reinforced isolation. It showed how quickly freedom could be taken away and how difficult it was to win it back. Even after it came down, the scars—physical, emotional, and cultural—remained. The Berlin Wall matters because it serves as a warning about what can happen when walls are built, not just with concrete but with fear and division.
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