Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a wall in Germany that separated Communist East Germany from democratic West Germany. It was one of the most visible symbols of the Iron Curtain. The wall was built in 1961 by the East German government in order to stop the tide of emigration to West Germany due to poor economic and political conditions in East Germany. [1] Armed guards patrolled the wall. In 1962, Peter Fechter was shot while attempting to cross into West Germany, and slowly bled to death in front of a large crowd, [2] which started a riot and led to Fechter becoming a symbol of resistance against the wall.

The symbolism of the wall as a representative of the divide between capitalism and communism was not lost on American President Ronald Reagan, who, in a famous 1987 speech, urged Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!" These words proved prophetic, as East Germany on November 9, 1989, accidentaly announced that the border would be re-opened. The wall was promptly destroyed. Germany reunified the following year.