Fall of the Berlin wall

9 November 2014 will mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall.

The Berlin wall, erected on 13 August 1961 by the communist regime in East Germany divided not only the city but families and friends. We’d like to document the effect the wall had on those living and working in Berlin at the time but also the changes that have happened for people, on both sides of the wall, since it came down. 

Berlin Wall in Google Street View

Berlin’s modern face – glass skyscrapers, busy roads, overgrown lots – shows little trace of its old scar. Our Street View expert takes us back to Checkpoint Charlie, the death strip ... and the wall’s glorious fall, 25 years ago this coming 9 November

August 1961: Military water trucks with high-pressure hoses are lined up by the Brandenburg Gate

23 August 1961: American troops and tanks occupy the border sector at Friedrichstrass

4 December 1961: Friedrichstrasse crossing point, which became known as Checkpoint Charlie. American soldiers watch as construction workers, heavily guarded by East German security forces, build a massive stone barricade






Checkpoint Charlie



1963: The wall along Bernauer Street blocks the entrance to a church in East Berlin

1963: In East Berlin looking north into Potsdamer Platz

http://www.theguardian.com/