The Berlin Wall: day of parity between its rise and fall
February 5, 2018
On February 5, the Wall will now have been gone for as long as it stood. On the night of November 9, 1989, with the communist-ruled German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the throes of collapse, the Wall was finally breached - peacefully. That was 28 years, 2 months and 26 days ago.
According to experts, at least 140 people died at the Berlin Wall, while 327 people died on the inner-German border. Many were shot trying to flee from the East or were killed by landmines.
Communist East Germany, under party leader Walter Ulbricht, began building the Wall on August 13, 1961. The wall, winding for 155 kilometres, effectively sealed West Berlin off from East Berlin and
the surrounding East German countryside.
It was finally breached on the night of November 9, 1989, paving the way for the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990.
Relive the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall by clicking on the picture gallery above.
Read more: Opinion: The Berlin Wall is gone — but is it really?
sb (with dpa)