Thread by @HistoryNed

#GDR #OTD 1961 – Construction of Berlin Wall begins - it will stand for the next 28 years. (1)

Berlin was already a divided city, but thousands still commuted daily across the East-West border until 1961 (2)

A huge outflow of refugees from East Germany to the West, as well as problems with currency controls and daily border crossers, prompted the construction of the Berlin Wall (3)

Construction workers at the Berlin Wall were closely guarded by military and worker militias (4)

Temporary barriers put hastily in place were vastly expanded in the coming years. The Berlin Wall soon became Walls (5)

By the time it was torn down, the Berlin Wall was 155km long with 302 towers, 20 bunkers (6)

The first casualty of the Berlin Wall was Ida Siekmann who died jumping from a 4th floor apartment trying to cross the border (7)

The last death was Winfried Freudenberg on March 8, 1989; he died trying to cross the Berlin Wall in a hot air balloon (8)

140 Berlin Wall deaths total: escapes attempts, border guards, and accidental deaths due to the militarized border (9)

The SED called it the “Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart” as it ostensibly defended against Western invasion (10)

In West Berlin, it was simply called the “Schandmauer” or “Wall of Shame” (11)

For more on the 140 who died due to the Berlin Wall, check out historyned.blog/2015/08/24/of-…

On the long fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, check out historyned.blog/2015/11/10/an-…