listen)) was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Construction of the wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) on 13 August 1961. The Wall cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin.

To stop the exodus of its population, the East German government, with the full consent of the Soviets, erected the Berlin Wall, isolating West from East Berlin. West Berlin, then literally an island within the surrounding GDR, became the symbol of Western freedom.

Innerdeutsche Grenze

West Germans and West Berliners were allowed visa-free travel to the East Berlin and East Germany starting 23 December 1989. Thus, in the weeks between 9 November 1989 and 23 December 1989, East Germans could travel more freely than Westerners as they were able to cross into West Berlin with just passport checks.

During the Cold War people did not go around the Berlin Wall because the Berlin Wall totally surrounded West Berlin. Because it was built around West Berlin. People in East Berlin or GDR could walk around it, but not enter West Berlin. Inside, you were trapped and could not get out.

Escapees had various motives for attempting to flee East Germany. The vast majority had an essentially economic motive: they wished to improve their living conditions and opportunities in the West. Some fled for political reasons, but many were impelled to leave by specific social and political events.

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Berlin’s ‘Palace Of Tears,’ A Reminder Of Divided Families, Despair : Parallels The Berlin Wall separated many German families, and their anguish was visible at the former Berlin railway station — now a museum — that was the main crossing between East and West.