The Berlin Wall: 25 Startling Facts, History and How the Wall Came Down, Germany, Russia, Hope, A Reason We Can Overcome, West Berlin, Germany

When Did it Really Come Down?

You’ve been told that 25 years ago, the Berlin Wall crumbled. The history books say it came down on November 9, 1989. Well, it didn’t happen that way at all. On that day, unsure what would happen, a few West Berlin kids bravely began dancing atop the hated symbol of tyranny that had kept their East German counterparts imprisoned for almost three decades. Thousands of wary East Germans watched, then crowds began surging across the barbed wire that marked the deadly no-man’s land around the wall. The hated Russian-backed guards, who had had killed hundreds of their own countrymen attempting to climb the wall, this time did not open fire. Ecstatic East Berlin kids scaled the wall, too, some with sledgehammers. Some of the guards threw down their weapons and joined in. And history was made. But the wall did not come down – not yet.

The Captives’ Revolt

In Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and the eastern part of Germany, entire factories had been dismantled and shipped to Russia. Elections were a sham – only Russian-approved candidates allowed. Atheism and the Russian language were taught in the schools – where children were indoctrinated in Communist ideology and encouraged to report anyone who dissented, including their parents. Brutal secret police arrested anyone who resisted. But in the fall of 1989, Hungary, where the people’s 1956 attempt to kick out the Soviets had been crushed brutally, the Hungarian government defiantly opened the border to Austria – allowing a flood of refugees. Next door, Czechoslovakia, deeply resentful of Russia’s decades of exploitation and the Soviet tanks that had stifled their attempt for freedom in 1968, did the same – defying the Soviets to do anything about it. The entire world watched: what would the Russians do?

An Unarmed Opponent

An Unarmed Opponent Across the border in Russian-occupied Poland, the Soviet Union was struggling to clamp down on a freedom movement led by shipyard electrician Lech Walesa, who demanded the Russians go home. Poland’s anger seethed, its rebellion grew and the world tensed, expecting another Russian military invasion and violent crackdown. But in the Vatican, the new Polish-born pope, John Paul II, warned Moscow that if Russian tanks rolled into his beloved homeland, he would return home and personally meet the invaders at the border, armed only with his shepherd’s staff. Would the Soviet atheists risk an armed confrontation with the world’s 2 billion Christians?

Fleeing their Russian Rescuers

Between 1945 and 1952, almost a million Germans living in Russian-occupied eastern Germany had fled to western Germany. To stop the exodus, on April 1, 1952, East Germany sealed its borders, blocking any further escape. However, 100 miles inside East Germany, Berlin was also split into Russian-occupied East Berlin and West Berlin, administered by Britain, France and the United States – and officially part of what became the independent nation of West Germany. With the borders to the west closed, East Germans began fleeing through Berlin – 3.5 million by 1961, 20 percent of East Germany’s population. The emigrants tended to be young and well-educated.

The “Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart”

It’s unclear whether Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev or East German head of state Walter Ulbricht gave the direct order to build the wall, “but its purpose was clear,” writes Bill Holand.

“While the rest of the world knew why the wall was built, the East German government’s official reason for its construction was pure propaganda. Officials announced that the ‘Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart,’ as the Berlin Wall was christened by East Germany, would protect its population from ‘fascist elements conspiring to prevent the will of the people in building a Socialist state in East Germany.’ No matter the name, the Berlin Wall immediately became the unofficial symbol of the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc nations.”

The Death Strip

The Berlin Wall underwent several transformations during its three decades. The original was no more than a barbed-wire fence. It was replaced by a concrete wall – actually two barriers 110 yards apart. “Powerful spotlights lit the area between the two fences and it was layered with sand and fine gravel so that footprints would be easily seen,” writes Holland. “This area became known as the ‘Death Strip’ because so many who tried to defect and made it through the first fence found themselves in an impossible situation and were often shot for their efforts. The dimensions of the Berlin Wall were impressive. It measured 103 miles in length and stood 12 feet tall and at its peak, held 302 watchtowers and 20 bunkers. There were hundreds of armed guards as well as guard dogs. Yet thousands of people attempted escape in some rather inventive ways.”

How Many Got Through?

“The estimated number of escape attempts varies widely,” says Holland. “There is a verified figure of close to 5,000 escape attempts but some estimates put the figure as high as 40,000. Between 100 and 200 people were killed. The figures vary so widely because of the secretive nature of the East German government and its reluctance to share news that would obviously hurt the country’s political image.” Those who built the Berlin Wall “failed to take into account the ingenuity and creativity of those willing to risk anything to escape the Communist system,” writes Kirsten Grieshaber. Some of the escape attempts were amazing acts of bravery and attracted international attention. “Early on,” writes Holland, “there were residential buildings along 23 miles of the wall and people attempted to simply jump over the wall from upstairs windows and roofs. Many were successful. Bulldozers eventually leveled those residential areas so more inventive means of escape were devised. There are verified accounts of ultra-lights and hot air balloons being flown over the wall.”

Driving Mom to Freedom

On May 5, 1963, lathe operator Heinz Meixner pulled up to one of the most famous border crossings – dubbed Checkpoint Charlie by the U.S. military. “Something must have seemed odd about his red Austin Healy Sprite convertible,” writes Ethan Trex. “Namely, it was missing its windshield. A closer inspection would also have revealed that his mother was hiding in the trunk. When the East German guard directed Meixner to pull over to a customs shed, Meixner instead floored the accelerator and ducked. His tiny car slipped right under the three-foot-high barrier dividing the East from the West.” A 1986 Los Angeles Times article by Gordon E. Rowley described how some border crossers simply approached the guards and flashed membership cards from Munich’s Playboy Club. The cards so closely resembled diplomatic passports that the guards waved them through to freedom. “Perhaps the most amazing escape,” writes Holland, “was performed by Martin Kasten in October 1976. Kasten, a young doctor who craved freedom, covered his body with animal fat and swam the Baltic Sea for 18 hours, finally being pulled from the water by a fishing boat.”

On a Tightrope

East German acrobat Horst Klein made one of the most daring escapes over the wall in 1963. “Thanks to his acrobatic skill, Klein was able to turn an unused high-tension cable that stretched over the wall as his route,” writes Trex. “He moved hand-over-hand while dangling from the cable 60 feet over the head of patrolling guards, then when his arms became fatigued, he swung his whole body up over the cable and inched his way along. Klein’s dismount wasn’t particularly graceful – he fell off of the cable – but he landed West Berlin.” On March 31, 1983, before ziplines became popular tourist attractions worldwide, Michael Becker and Holger Bethke climbed to the attic of a five-story building on the eastern side of the wall and fired an arrow tied to a thin fishing line over a building in West Berlin. “An accomplice grabbed the arrow and reeled in the line,” writes Trex, “which was connected to a slightly heavier fishing line, then to a quarter-inch steel cable. Once the steel cable was attached to a chimney on the western side of the wall, Becker and Bethke zipped across the quarter-inch cable using wooden pulleys.”

America’s President Declares Himself a Berliner

On June 26, 1963, John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin and speaking to a crowd of a half-million at the wall, he declared: “Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum ["I am a Roman citizen"]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner!" All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!" It was a powerful morale boost to West Berlin – they knew the United States would stand by them, which it did both militarily and economically. A modern, bustling, free-market West Berlin rose out of the ashes of World War II. Not so East Berlin on the other side of the wall.

But East Berlin Stagnated

Jane Hampton Cook remembers visiting during the 1980s:

“The 12-foot tall, three-feet-wide concrete Berlin Wall is something I’ll never forget. Ugly graffiti tattooed the west side while sharpshooters at guard towers stood ready to permanently mark and martyr a would-be escapee on the other side. I’ll also never forget the tension we felt as East German guards checked and doubled-checked our tour bus while we waited to enter East Berlin. When we did arrive, I felt as if I’d gone back in time. The cars, buildings, clothing and technology all screamed the 1960s. On the west side a young couple would lift their child high into the air in hopes that their elderly parents on the east side could catch a glimpse of their unknown grandchild.”

Thirty Years of Stalemate

The Berlin Wall remained until the end of the Cold War. In 1989, Poland refused to endure the Russian occupation any longer, Hungary defied the Soviets by opening its border with Austria and Czechoslovakia followed. More than 13,000 East German “tourists” escaped. Mass demonstrations erupted throughout East Germany, mostly people chanting "Wir wollen raus!" ("We want out!").

On November 4, a half-million East Berliners gathered, demanding freedom. On November 9, the East German government announced anyone could leave – but their East German citizenship would be revoked and they could never return home. The new regulations were to take effect the next day. Word spread like wildfire. Vast crowds of East Germans began gathering at the Berlin Wall, demanding that border guards immediately open the gates a day early. The surprised and overwhelmed sentries made many hectic telephone calls to their superiors. Finally, at 10:45 p.m., Commander Harald Jäger allowed the guards to open the checkpoints. As East Berliners swarmed through, they were greeted by a vast crowd of West Berliners waiting with flowers and champagne amid wild rejoicing.

Yet, it Still Stood

The official dismantling of the wall by East German military units didn’t actually begin until June 13, 1990 and took until November 1991. Today, the Russians have withdrawn and the Soviet Union has collapsed. Germany is again one nation. Several sections remain as memorials to the dark time that was the Cold War.

“The longest section of the Berlin Wall still standing lies north of the bridge Oberbaumbrücke in the Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain borough,” reports the tourism website Wanderlust.

“This 1.3-kilometer-long section of the Wall along Mühlenstraße was painted in the spring of 1990 by artists from 21 different countries who produced 106 large-scale murals. Some of the best-known images include the Russian artist Dimitri Vrubel's "MeinGott hilf mir, diese tödliche Liebe zu überleben" (Dear God, help me to survive this fatal love), a picture of [East German leader] Honecker and [Russian leader] Brezhnev's brotherly kiss.”

The Ghost Stations

Berlin, like many major cities, has a subway transit system. After construction of the wall, trains could only operate on the side in which they were based. However, three lines were used by West Berliners but which went through East Berlin for a small part of their journeys. “They travelled through several stations which became known as Ghost Stations, dimly lit and heavily-guarded stations that the trains were unable to stop at,” writes the 10 Facts About website. “When the Ghost Stations were reopened after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first people using them found them preserved as they were when they closed in 1961 with the same signage and advertisements on the walls.”

Pieces of the Wall Can be Found Worldwide

The notorious wall was about 100 miles long. Great sections were preserved and donated to museums and institutions around the world, such as the Imperial War Museum in London, the Vatican Museum in Rome, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The most appropriate memorial, however, may be found at the Main Street Station Casino, Brewery and Hotel in Las Vegas. There, a section is in the men's restroom. Yes, if you wish to express yourself about the Berlin Wall while in Vegas, you are allowed to relieve yourself in one of mankind’s oldest and very biblical expressions of disrespect (1 Samuel 25:22 and 34, 1 Kings 14:10, 1 Kings 16:11, 1 Kings 21:21 and 2 Kings 9:8.) The longest stretch of Berlin Wall in the United States stands in front of the Variety magazine building on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Two segments of the Berlin Wall are highlights of the 1,606-room Hilton Anatole in Dallas, which hosts a massive art collection of more than a thousand pieces throughout 27 floors.