Politicians gathered in Germany's capital, Berlin, to remember the initial laying of the foundations of the Berlin Wall. On this day 56 years ago, East Germany's communist regime started dividing Berlin in two.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Robine
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Politicians laid wreaths at the main memorial site for the wall at Bernauer Strasse in downtown Berlin. A service commemorating the 56th anniversary was held earlier at the nearby Chapel of Reconciliation.
Among those attending the services was the German commissioner of cultural affairs, Monika Grütters. Grütters referred to the Berlin Wall as the "most recognized symbol of the ruthlessness of the SED regime," referring to the communist party of East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party. The minister also stressed that the wall separated not only the city but entire families, friends and neighborhoods.
Grütters added that it was important to commemorate such historic events. "This is an elementary part of our collective, national culture of remembrance," she said during the event. Because of this work, she added, "especially young people today get to understand the importance of freedom, democracy and rule of law without having to suffer the experience of dictatorship."
The Berlin Wall: A city torn in two
The Berlin Wall went up in almost a single night in 1961. It would take nearly three decades to come down, and impacted the lives of many millions of Germans every single day.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Zinken
Barbed wire divides Berlin
East German authorities began patrolling the inner-German border in 1952. Until then it had been relatively easy to pass between the two. They sealed off West Berlin in 1961. Here, soldiers keep people from crossing as the Berlin Wall is built.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The day the wall went up
In 1961, communist East Germany was having trouble keeping its young, educated population from emigrating to the West. The Berlin Wall was erected almost to completion in a single night, without warning, on August 13.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Escape atempt
This famous photo from September 1961 shows a woman trying to escape East Berlin through an apartment block where one side of the building faced the West. Some men try to pull her back inside while others wait underneath, hoping to aid in her escape.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Fall of the Wall
Amidst mounting internal and international pressure, a mistaken announcement by an East German official on November 9, 1989 led to the wall being opened. Germans on both sides of the border celebrated for days. New openings were made in the wall, like here at Potsdamer Platz two days later.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Malie
East Side Gallery
Today, some parts of the Berlin Wall still stand as a memorial to hard-won freedoms. The famous East Side Gallery allows different artists from around the world to add murals to the part of the wall that remains on Mühlenstrasse in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.
Image: picture-alliance/S. Lubenow
Berlin remembers
Politicians for the state government of Berlin lay flowers along the site of the Berlin Wall on Bernauer Strasse, 56 years to the day after it was constructed. At least 140 people were shot dead by East German border guards at the wall from 1961 to 1989.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Zinken
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A divided city
The first stone for the Berlin Wall was laid on August 13, 1961. The wall stood for 28 years, symbolizing the division of the city, the nation and the schism between the capitalist West and communist East.
"In the early hours of the morning, construction workers started erecting a barbed-wire fence on the sector border between East and West Berlin," the German government said in an official statement.
Over the next years, the barriers in Berlin were expanded to a 160-kilometer-long (100 miles), heavily-guarded border system.
The federal culture ministry allocates more than 1.26 million euros ($149 million) of their annual budget to the charity in charge of the upkeep of the Berlin Wall memorial, which features parts of the original wall as well as museums chronicling the history of the structure.
At least 140 people are estimated to have been killed by East Germany's border officials whilst trying to cross over into the West. Twenty-four-year-old Günter Litfin was the first to die after being shot at the wall on 24 August, 1961.
The division of East and West Germany ended when the Berlin Wall came down as part of a peaceful revolution on November 9, 1989, less than 11 months later, the two German nations were reunified.
Berlin Wall Trail: 10 must-see locations
Following the path of the former Berlin Wall, which divided the German capital for nearly 30 years, this trail offers a great opportunity for exploring Berlin and its history.
Image: Sabine Lubenow/DUMONTpicture alliance
Berlin Wall Trail
The Berlin Wall divided West and East Berlin for 28 years. Since German reunification in 1990, the city is finally whole again. Still, one of the best ways to explore the last traces of this Cold War past is to cycle or hike along the Berlin Wall Trail. The 160-kilometer tour is well signposted.
Berlin Wall Memorial
The tour can easily be started anywhere you want. An interesting place to begin is the Berlin Wall Memorial. Following the wall's former location on Bernauer Street, it shows how the border fortifications were set up and pays tribute to those who fled or died trying to escape East Berlin.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
Cobblestone markings
These cobblestones will help you recognize where the Berlin Wall once stood. However, only certain parts of the former frontier are marked out in this way. When the wall came down on November 9, 1989, East and West Germans were eager to get rid of all traces of it.
Image: DW/E. Grenier
Brandenburg Gate
Following the Berlin Wall Trail toward the center of town, it will lead you to the government district, Spree River and the iconic Brandenburg Gate — which stood in a kind of no man's land when the city was still divided.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie remains the most famous former crossing point between East and West Berlin. Tourists now stop there to snap a picture, under a replica sign reading: "You are leaving the American sector."
Image: Britta Pedersen/ZB/dpa/picture alliance
Watchtower near Potsdamer Platz
More than 300 watchtowers used to overlook the Berlin Wall, allowing East German border guards to catch people trying to flee. Only a few were left standing, such as this concrete structure near Potsdamer Platz, now listed as a historical monument.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/W. Steinberg
East Side Gallery
Another classic attraction that can't be missed on the Berlin Wall Trail is the East Side Gallery. International artists painted an array of colorful murals on this 1.3-kilometer (0.8-mile) long stretch of the wall in 1990, making it one of the largest open-air galleries in the world. This depiction of Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker kissing is one of its most famous murals.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Glienicke Bridge
The route continues through the city proper until it reaches the suburbs and finally Potsdam's Glienicke Bridge, where spies used to be exchanged in Cold War times. In 1962, a KGB agent and an American pilot were swapped at this very place. The story served as inspiration for Stephen Spielberg's 2015 movie "Bridge of Spies."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger
Hennigsdorf Watchtower Museum
Large parts of the route pass through forested areas surrounding the city. Right on the bank of the Havel River, this watchtower in Hennigsdorf, about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) northwest of Berlin, houses a small museum on the history of the frontier. It's free to visit.
Image: DW/M. Fürstenau
Pankow's cherry tree avenue
Returning to the city, you'll be greeted by a cherry tree avenue in Pankow, which is most spectacular toward the end of April, when the trees are in full bloom. The Japanese donated some 10,000 trees "to bring peace in the hearts of the people." They were planted in different sections of the former wall. This avenue is right by Bösebrücke, the first crossing to open on the day the wall came down.
