155 km of concrete and wireThe foundations of the Berlin Wall are laid out on August 18, 1961. Photo: DPAThe Soviet-allied East German authorities built the Berlin Wall from August 1961 to stop a flood of defections to the democratic West through the city. 7,000 guardsThousands of soldiers stand in front of the Berlin Wall after its opening on November 9th, 1989. Photo: DPAAbout 140 people died attempting to make the crossing between 1961 and 1989, according to the Berlin Wall Memorial. Electronics engineer Winfried Freudenberg was the last to die, crashing in March 1989 in West Berlin having made it over using a self-built inflatable balloon.

Source: The Local October 02, 2019 07:41 UTC