One of the first things that comes to mind when we think of Berlin is undoubtedly the Berlin Wall. We have heard about the existence of such a wall, we know more or less that it divides Berlin in two, but the event is much more than that and is full of facts that will surprise us all.. So what you need to know about the Berlin Wall, also known as the Wall of Shame, is What is the Berlin Wall, where is it, why was it built, why and when , how long was it, who are the men kissing at the Berlin Wall and the story of Uncle Osman from Yozgat who built a shanty near the Berlin Wall I gathered all kinds of information in All about the Berlin wall.
The information you will read, as usual, is the information that I first understand myself as a result of my research from Turkish, English and German sources and then try to explain to you as simply and not boringly as possible. not “copy-paste” information. Considering that I even draw the maps myself, you can calculate how much effort I put into it.. If you see similar sentences later in other sources (which often happens), they are simply friends who steal information from me
Before we start, if you’re going to travel to Berlin and haven’t booked a place to stay yet, Let me remind you that you should take care of the hotel business as soon as possible due to the popularity of the city.. The article WHERE TO STAY IN BERLIN, where I describe the most beautiful areas of Berlin and make hotel recommendations, will help you in choosing a hotel.
Today’s bright Let’s look at the dark recent history of Berlin as a city.
What is the Berlin Wall?
The Berlin Wall is a 155 km long and 3.6 meters high wall built to separate the western part of Berlin, which was divided into East and West after the Second World War, from East Germany and East Berlin.
First, let’s look at the map I drew below to understand this sentence. On the map on the left, we see that the territory of Germany is divided between four countries; The lands of England-France-America form West Germany and the lands of Russia constitute East Germany.
Germany on the left and on the right We see how Berlin is divided between which countries. Note that Berlin itself falls within East Germany.
We see how Berlin, which is located within the borders of East Germany, is divided on the map on the right; There is a territory belonging to Western states in it.. The dark black area around this Western state area becomes the Berlin Wall.. In other words, the Berlin Wall is a wall that surrounds the Western land within the East.. So why?
Why Build the Berlin Wall?
The Berlin Wall was built to draw an impassable border between the states that won the Second World War, after they had divided Germany and Berlin, and had disagreed over their form of government.
The territory of Germany, which lost WWII, was divided into quarters between the war-winning Russia, France, England and America. While France, England and America wanted to build a new and modern Germany where democracy reigns, Russia adopted communism.. For this reason, they could not come to an agreement and divided Germany into democracy on one side and communist on the other.. The part to the west was called West Germany, and the part to the east was called East Germany. Since Berlin is the capital of the country, Berlin was divided into two in the same way as in Germany in general.. East Berlin was dominated by the Russians, and West Berlin by three other allied states.
The full name of East Germany at that time was Demokratisches Deutsches Rebuplik (DDR) while West Germany was known as Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD). Especially the abbreviation DDR is still used among Germans to describe East Germany.
The official purpose of the Berlin Wall, as East Germany is called, is to allow western fascists to enter East Germany. and to prevent them from undermining their own socialist state.. Although East Germany pretended to protect itself from the West by saying this, the whole world knew that the main purpose was to prevent mass migration from the East to the West.. So nobody in the west had any intention of going east anyway.. Because while West Germany developed rapidly with the benefits of democracy and modernization, East Germany, dominated by the authoritarian communist regime, could not keep up with this situation and fell behind in every sense.
The warning sign “You are leaving America’s territory” standing at Checkpoint Charlie today.
Many well-educated people fled this authoritarian regime and sought refuge in West Germany. East Germany was quite disturbed by these escapes and increased border measures.. Barbed wire, barriers, watchtowers, dogs, and even mines were deterrent but insufficient.. As a last precaution, they built the Berlin Wall.
Now I repeat the information so far so that the whole purpose of the wall is formed in your mind (see the map above again). Berlin in the divided territory of Germany remained within East Germany. A part of Berlin, which was divided into two despite being in the East, was given to the West.. This western piece of Berlin needed to be isolated as everyone wanted to escape the East. I guess it can’t be explained more easily
Although the total length of the wall surrounding the isolated part is 155 km, the 43 km part that passes through the middle of the city has become more popular because it contains more stories.
American warning with Berlin wall. (Photo: worldatlas.com)
When Was the Berlin Wall Built?
The Berlin Wall was built by thousands of East German soldiers in August 1961 at 01:00 at night connecting the 12th to the 13th. Those who woke up on August 13 were never able to cross the other side for 28 years.
Thus, West Berlin became a walled island, representing freedom and democracy, within the territory of communist East Germany.
Western bloc countries were not happy with this situation.. After the 6-year war to save Europe from Nazi terror, they did not want East Germany to be ruled by a dictatorship now.. But neither side wanted a new war, and they tried to manage this situation with diplomacy, namely the Cold War.
There was no hot conflict between countries after that date, but diplomacy was not easy either.. The Cold War lasted another 30 years and the Berlin Wall became the most important symbol of the Cold War.
In How Many Days Was The Berlin Wall Built?
The Berlin Wall was unbelievably built in just one night thanks to the quick work of thousands of soldiers. The first version of the wall, built overnight, was a simple version of brick and supported by barbed wire.. Later, it was renovated over the years and became a 3.6-meter-high concrete block.
The Berlin Wall was first built as a simple wall, but over time it tried to escape. strengthened as employees increase. (Photo: courierpress.com)
When Did the Berlin Wall Fall?
The Berlin Wall was symbolically demolished on November 9, 1989, after 28 years of existence.. In other words, on this date, the border gates were opened and the peoples of East and West Berlin united.. The physical demolition of the wall began on 13 June 1990 and continued for two years.
Why/How did the Berlin Wall fall?
Germany was a divided state and Berlin was a divided city. While West Germany and West Berlin started to develop after the war, kept up with democratic and modern life, went further at the level of rights and freedoms, things did not work this way in East Germany.. The discomfort of years of separation and living under the dictatorship of communism was gradually increasing the tension.. There was no freedom of movement, no freedom of thought and thought, and the economy was very bad.
So the protests began in East Germany. Protests turned into clashes with the police and escalated. To prevent this situation leading to civil war, the East German government listened to its people and released the passage through the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.
The Berlin Wall was symbolically demolished when the east side freed up the crossings. (Photo: independent.co.uk)
This clearance was the first blow to bring down the wall. With permission, thousands of people gathered at the crossing points and met their relatives on the other side to the bewilderment of the border guard soldiers.. It took almost two years for the remains of the wall to be completely cleared, but that night the Berlin Wall fell for the whole world.
How is the Berlin Wall Final? (remains, souvenir, fragment)
There is no such wall that divides the city in half.. What remains of the Berlin Wall is only the remains that have been turned into monuments so that what happened at that time is not forgotten and repeated.. The largest and most famous of these is the East Side Gallery, which is the longest open-air museum in the world with a length of 1.4km.. Check Point Charlie, Potsdamer Platz and the Berlin Wall Museum are other places where you can see the remains of the wall.. I have also shared the details about these places in my FREE PLACES TO VISIT IN BERLIN article.
Also, it is possible to buy the remains of the wall or allegedly so in many gift shops.. It’s even on Amazon, it’s on sale for $30
In the video below, I explained the intact part of the Berlin Wall that appears from the Berlin Wall Museum.
Berlin Wall Map
You can find the answer to the question of where the Berlin Wall would have passed if it was still standing today, on this map.
Berlin Wall Escape Stories
In the 28 years from the first day the Berlin Wall was built to the day it fell, more than 5000 people managed to escape to West Germany.. Moreover, 600 of them were East German border soldiers.. According to known records, 140 people lost their lives during these escapes.. One of these 140 people was a Soviet soldier and 8 of them were East German border soldiers.. It is an important detail that shows how bad the conditions were that day, not only the people, but even the soldiers, after a point, darkened their eyes and took their place in the escape stories.
Even the Eastern soldiers who wanted to get rid of the oppressive regime fled to the West side, the famous photo of one of those escapes.
It is very interesting and a great experience thanks to the lucky people who managed to get to the other side of the wall safely. so many dangerous escape stories have emerged. The most interesting ones among them were crossing the wall with a hot air balloon, walking on a tight rope, slipping over a tight rope, and hiding inside the speakers of a band that came to a concert in East Germany.
It is possible to learn the most escape stories at Underworld Museum (Berliner Unterwelten), which I believe should be among the top places to visit in Berlin. In this museum, you witness the striking stories of people who made underground tunnels and jumped from the moving subways in order to pass the wall.
In the video below, I told the stories of escaping the Berlin Wall, which I learned as soon as I left this tour. .
Movies About the Berlin Wall
Dozens of movies have been shot about the Berlin Wall. I’ve rounded up five of the most popular and top-rated on Imdb:
1984 tells the story of a secret agent spying on a writer and his lover in East Berlin.
The fantastic story of two angels watching over Berlin in the late 1980s.
A true-life story, Tünel tells the adventure of a champion East Berlin swimmer and his family to escape to the west.
The story of a young man who tries to keep his mother, who fell into a coma before the wall collapsed, as if she were still in the old East Germany, so that when she wakes up from the coma, she is still in the old East Germany.
A story about the agent/prisoner bargain and exchange between America and Russia during the Cold War.
Bonus: Wall – The Wall: Live in Berlin 1990 – Imdb 8.6
Bryan Adams and Sinéad O, held in Berlin in 1990 and led by Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters ‘The recording of the gigantic concert featuring many celebrities such as Connor.
Underworld Museum tour used by those who want to escape from the Berlin Wall while tunneling showing materials and more.
Songs About the Berlin Wall
There are a lot of songs about the Berlin Wall, but three of my favorites because of their story and suit my musical taste are:
When I found out that this song has to do with Berlin I am very surprised and I am sure you will be too.. Iggy Pop wrote this very popular song while he was in Berlin.. He was talking about the traveling punks of that period.
2. Scorpions – Wind Of Change
Did you know that The Scorpions is a German rock band? After the Soviet leader Gorbachev started to follow a more moderate policy, a peace concert was held in Moscow 3 months before the wall was demolished in 1989 and Scorpions were also invited.. Klaus Meine, the lead singer of the group, inspired by the political environment at that time and the felt change process, wrote “Wind of Change”.. While on a boat trip on the Moskva river with Bon Jovi! This song made Scorpions famous all over the world and became the unofficial anthem of East-West German reunification in 1990.
This song has a side that concerns Turks as well as Berliners.. You ask why? Because the Berlin Wall seen in the background throughout the clip has a huge “Down with Fascism” inscription The song tells the story of Elton John, who falls in love with the beautiful East German soldier serving at the border.
Checkpoint Charlie, one of the crossing points between East and West, is among the places to visit in Berlin.
Berlin Wall Words Related to
- No one has any intention of building any walls.
“Nobody has the intention of building a wall.” – DDR chairman Walter Ulbricht, East Berlin, June 15, 1961 (And they built the Berlin Wall 2 months later..)
- After all, Don’t shoot at your own citizens.
“Above all, don’t shoot at your fellow countrymen!” – Mayor of West Berlin Willy Brandt, West Berlin, August 16, 1961 (Criticizing East Germany’s stance a few days after the wall was built.)
- I am proud to say that I am a Berliner.
“I take pride in the words, ich bin ein Berliner.” – America President John F. Kennedy, June 26, 1963, West Berlin
American president John F. Kennedy’s famous “I am from Berlin” speech in support of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Photo: usatoday.com)
- Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
“Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” – American President Ronald Reagan, West Berlin, June 12, 1987
- This wall will still stand 50 or even 100 years from now.
“The Wall will be standing in 50 and even in 100 years” – DDR president Erich Honecker, East Berlin, January 19, 1989 (And the wall falls in 10 months .. Keep in mind this guy’s name, it will be mentioned again in the next topic)
- According to the information I have, the application is valid from now on. (Press conference at the opening of the border)
“It comes into effect, according to my information, immediately” – Günter Schabowski, East Berlin, 9 November 1989
- Things that belong together will now grow together.
“Now what belongs together will grow together.” – Willy Brandt, Berlin, November 10, 1989 (Note, I no longer say East or West Berlin, because when that word was spoken, the doors opened.)
- The wall is a manifestation of fear. was proof. It became the place for entertainment on November 9.
“The Wall was an edifice of fear. On November 9th, it became a place of joy.” – Former German President Horst Köhler, Berlin, 9 November 2009
The part of the Berlin Wall in the East Side Gallery is colorfully painted today
Who are the Men Kissing on the Berlin Wall?
We can call these two men the hardest defenders of the wall. One of them is Erich Honecker, who ruled the DDR (East Germany) from 1971 until the fall of the wall, remember above, I said. The person who says that the wall will stand for another 50 or even 100 years as if it is a very good thing. The other is Leonid Brezhnev, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982.
This painting in East Side Gallery is DDR’s 30th anniversary. In fact, the photo taken during the anniversary celebrations (in 1979) is depicted on the wall.. In other words, the men really kissed like this and that photo took its place in the world’s newspapers as “The Kiss”.
The real men kissing on the Berlin Wall photo (Photo: rarehistoricalphotos.com)
So what’s the point, this kind of sincere kisses known as “The fraternal kiss” (friendly kiss) are socialist with Eastern Orthodox religion. It was a ritual of joy that was considered normal for people.
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Soviet artist Dmitri Vrubel decided to paint this famous photograph on the east side of the Berlin Wall.. The painting soon became the most famous work on the East Side Gallery.
Just below the image, “Mein Gott, hilf mir diese tödliche Liebe zu überleben” ( Lord, help me get rid of this deadly love) writes; because if it was up to these two politicians, that wall would never come down.. The “fatal love” under the kissing picture and the “Berlin wall love” of the men are telling, that is, not their love for each other or anything
Erich Honecker is so worried that the wall will stand for another 100 years. He believed and wanted that he even risked a civil war.. However, with Gorbachev’s appointment, the Soviet Union and therefore East Germany took a more peaceful approach and Honecker was forced to resign.. One of the most important events in the fall of the wall was this resignation.
The famous kiss on the Berlin Wall is in the East Side Gallery. the most famous work.
A Slum (Turkish house) on the Berlin Wall
There is a story in front of us now where a Turk can not be the hero of anyone else.. Our story began when East German soldiers took the easy way out in the construction of the part of the Berlin Wall that runs through Bethaniendamm street.. Since the street is curved, the workers saved labor and built the wall flat as I have shown in the figure below.. The response to this unexpected action from the Germans was not delayed either, and Uncle Osman from Yozgat taught the Germans the lesson they deserve
When the soldiers flatten the wall behind the wall, which belongs to East Berlin but within the borders of West Berlin an empty area of approximately 300 m2 was formed.. This small piece of land was left unclaimed when the Eastern soldiers did not touch this area because it was outside their borders and the Western soldiers did not touch this land because it belonged to the Easterners.. Come and go, people started to throw rubble, garbage and unused belongings here.. This continued until 20 years after the wall was built.. Until Uncle Osman retired and settled in this neighborhood.
While the Germans were taking the easy way out of building the wall, they did not know that Uncle Osman would evaluate this situation. Of course.
Uncle Osman, who caught his eye on this plot from the window of his house, found an occupation for his retirement and started to clean the garbage in the plot.. He chased the West and East German soldiers who thought he was digging a tunnel to escape and wanted to get him away from there with a nice shovel and showed the Turkish power they even gave. Uncle Osman started cultivating the land for his occupation at first and then he planted a shanty house.. Over time, it became the darling of the soldiers, policemen, young and old people in that area.
For those who want to see it, Uncle Osman’s Tree House or the slum on the Berlin Wall is still standing upright today. he is standing. You can find it by typing The Treehouse or Baumhaus an der Mauer on the map. I intended it, but then I didn’t have a chance to make my way there.
This is what Osman Uncle’s shanty looks like, notice the Turkish flag on the left. (Source: alamy.com)
The Woman Who Married at the Berlin Wall
There are many stories about the Berlin Wall that have been the subject of movies, but this is the most unusual story in my opinion.. Swedish Eija-Riitta Eklöf-Berliner-Mauer aka Miss Berlin Wall married to the Berlin Wall on 17 June 1979. Yes, he is married! We may all be one more year old together.
As far as I learned while researching this story, Miss Berlin Wall had Object Sexuality Disorder, which many people in the world have.. People with this disorder do not have any emotional/sexual intimacy with their fellow or opposite sex, they only relate to the object or objects they are in love with.. There are people who marry the Eiffel Tower, but it’s a wall, I don’t know.
If you want detailed information, there are documentaries on the subject on YouTube.
BONUS
What is Iron Curtain?
The name given to the border separating the Iron Curtain, the Soviet Union and other pro-communist Eastern European countries from Western European countries. Churchill used this term for the first time in one of his speeches, saying, “From Stettin in the Baltic Sea to Trieste in the Adriatic Sea, an iron curtain has been drawn over the Continent of Europe”.. Since then, the term Iron Curtain has been used to describe the border between Eastern and Western Europe and the secret and closed politics of the socialist states.. In other words, the East and West administrative differences, which divide Germany and Berlin very clearly, have actually been effective in the whole of Europe.
This Iron Curtain map is as follows.
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