1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
German coalition collapseDonald TrumpCOP29
HistoryGermany

Berlin Wall: history of an iconic border

August 6, 2021

On August 13, 1961, the East German government built the Berlin Wall to stem the flow of refugees to the West. Painter Matthias Koeppel and musician Andrej Hermlin on the construction and legacy of the wall.

https://p.dw.com/p/3yf4Q
Skip next section Similar stories from Germany

Similar stories from Germany

A woman stands in front of a piece of the graffiti-covered Berlin Wall.

Segments of Berlin Wall — 35 years after fall

The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. A DW team went looking for still-standing segments of the structure.
HistoryNovember 9, 202405:30 min
A woman stands with a historical photo of a watchtower along the former site of the Berlin Wall, next to the watchtower today

Culture redefines path of former Berlin Wall

The Spree River was once part of the border to West Berlin. Today, the area is bustling with art and culture.
LifestyleAugust 6, 202104:17 min
People look at artworks lined up as an open-air installation at river Spree marking the former course of the Berlin Wall

How the Berlin Wall split the city in two

In 1961, Communist East Germany built a massive barrier throughout Berlin, dividing the city into east and west.
HistoryNovember 9, 202402:46 min
Skip next section More on History from Europe

More on History from Europe

Doku Plan KW 23 Operation Overload

D-Day and the tremendous cost of victory

“Operation Overlord” is recorded for posterity as a success story.
HistoryJune 5, 202442:34 min
Former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin speaks into a DW microphone in Auschwitz

Holocaust remembrance vital as antisemitism rises in Europe

Nearly eight decades after the end of World War II, antisemitism in Europe is on the rise again.
HistoryJanuary 23, 202402:47 min
Two people dressed as knights fight in a mock battle

Medieval fighting enthusiasts face off in Spain

Dressed and armed as knights, teams of men and women compete in battle in Castile, Spain.
HistoryMarch 14, 202305:03 min
Skip next section More on History from around the world

More on History from around the world

external

South Africa: Winning the fight against apartheid

Thirty years after the end of apartheid, Albie Sachs looks back at his lifelong struggle for dignity — with gratitude.
HistoryApril 25, 202404:41 min
external

Why Togo was not a German "model colony"

We explore how people in German Togoland suffered punitive expeditions and subjugation to benefit German imperialism.
HistoryMarch 7, 202401:29 min
DW The 77 Percent (Sendungslogo englisch)

The 77 Percent - The Magazine for Africa's Youth

The 77 Percent takes a closer look at Germany's brutal colonial rule in Africa and asks how it affects young people.
HistoryMarch 6, 202426:05 min
Show more