The Berlin Wall

In 1961, the German city of Berlin became ground zero in the struggle between the Communist and democratic worlds when Communist East Germany began building a wall to divide the city in half. The 100-mile Berlin Wall created an awful, if awesome, scar across the landscape of Germany's capital. The efforts of the East German authorities to plan and build this barrier were matched only by the continuing exertions of East German citizens to go over, under, and around it.