Changes

Armed guards patrolled the eastern side of the wall. In 1962, Peter Fechter was shot while attempting to cross into West Berlin, and slowly bled to death in front of a large crowd, <ref>http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/09/1st.draft</ref> which started a riot and led to Fechter becoming a symbol of resistance against the wall. Onlookers did not attempt to aid Fechter, as they feared the communist guards might fire upon them as well.

Armed guards patrolled the eastern side of the wall. In 1962, Peter Fechter was shot while attempting to cross into West Berlin, and slowly bled to death in front of a large crowd, <ref>http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/09/1st.draft</ref> which started a riot and led to Fechter becoming a symbol of resistance against the wall. Onlookers did not attempt to aid Fechter, as they feared the communist guards might fire upon them as well.

 

The symbolism of the wall as a representative of the divide between capitalism and communism was not lost on [[United States|American]] President [[Ronald Reagan]], who, in a famous 1987 speech, urged [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] to "tear down this wall!" These words proved prophetic, on November 9, 1989 the German Democratic Republic announced that the border would be re-opened. The wall was promptly destroyed. In the following year the parliament of the German Democratic Republic voted for reunification and became new states (Bundesländer) of the Federal Republic of [[Germany]].

The symbolism of the wall as a representative of the divide between capitalism and communism was not lost on [[United States|American]] President [[Ronald Reagan]], who, in a famous 1987 speech, urged [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] to "tear down this wall!" These words proved prophetic, on November 9, 1989 the German Democratic Republic announced that the border would be re-opened. The wall was promptly destroyed. In the following year the parliament of the German Democratic Republic voted for reunification and became new states (Bundesländer) of the Federal Republic of [[Germany]].

==Construction==

==Construction==

The Wall was erected overnight on 13-14 August 1961. This was a Saturday night and most Berliners slept while the East German government began to close the border and install barbed wire fences through Berlin. The first concrete sections were installed on 15 August 1961, and over the following few months the concrete block sections were extended. In June 1962 the wall was further consolidated, and in 1965 the "third generation" of Wall replaced this earlier construction. Consisting of concrete slabs between steel girder and concrete posts with a concrete sewage pipe along the top, this was itself replaced in many areas after 1975 with newer concrete segements which were more resistant to breakthroughs.<ref>''Berlin Wall History: Facts'' [http://dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/facts.htm Berlin Wall Online]. Accessed 30 January 2008</ref>

The Wall was erected overnight on 13-14 August 1961. This was a Saturday night and most Berliners slept while the East German government began to close the border and install barbed wire fences through Berlin. The first concrete sections were installed on 15 August 1961, and over the following few months the concrete block sections were extended. In June 1962 the wall was further consolidated, and in 1965 the "third generation" of Wall replaced this earlier construction. Consisting of concrete slabs between steel girder and concrete posts with a concrete sewage pipe along the top, this was itself replaced in many areas after 1975 with newer concrete segements which were more resistant to breakthroughs.<ref>''Berlin Wall History: Facts'' [http://dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/facts.htm Berlin Wall Online]. Accessed 30 January 2008</ref>

[[Image:Berlin Wall layout.jpg|center|thumb|350px|Diagrammatic layout of the elements of the Berlin Wall]]

[[Image:Berlin Wall layout.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Diagrammatic layout of the elements of the Berlin Wall]]

Key to image:

Key to image:

==Escapees==

==Escapees==

East Germany jailed more than 75,000 people who tried to flee to the West across the Wall, and 809 died in escape attempts. Of those who died, 250 were killed at the Berlin Wall itself; 370 died on the border between East and West Germany; and 189 had been trying to get out via the [[Baltic Sea]]. An average of seven people were jailed every day for trying to get out between 1961 and 1989. Many thousands of East German border guards ('''''Grenztruppen''''', known colloquially as "Grenzers") also tried to escape, and around 2,500 succesfully made it to the West. However, 5,500 were captured in the attempt and received an average jail sentence of five years, compared to civilians who were imprisoned for an average of one or two years.<ref>''Scale of East German exodus revealed'' [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1477570.stm BBC News] 7 August 2001. Accessed 30 January 2008</ref>  

East Germany jailed more than 75,000 people who tried to flee to the West across the Wall, and 809 died in escape attempts. Of those who died, 250 were killed at the Berlin Wall itself; 370 died on the border between East and West Germany; and 189 had been trying to get out via the [[Baltic Sea]]. An average of seven people were jailed every day for trying to get out between 1961 and 1989. Many thousands of East German border guards ('''''Grenztruppen''''', known colloquially as "Grenzers") also tried to escape, and around 2,500 succesfully made it to the West. However, 5,500 were captured in the attempt and received an average jail sentence of five years, compared to civilians who were imprisoned for an average of one or two years.<ref>''Scale of East German exodus revealed'' [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1477570.stm BBC News] 7 August 2001. Accessed 30 January 2008</ref>