This August 13th marks the 50th Anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall. It marks that day in 1961 when the world was changed this time by putting a physical scar on what used to be, up to that point, purely a virtual mark on a map. On the morning of Sunday, August 13, 1961, the citizens of Berlin, Germany woke up to the sounds of construction crews quickly erecting a barrier that snaked through the middle of the city. Up to this day, the only formal notice of division within the city of Berlin were signs declaring the impending departure of the Soviet, US, British, and French Sectors into the other sectors, throughout the entire city. Now a formal demarcation line was being put in place. At first, it was just some barbed wire and some guards, then the construction of the concrete wall that the world came to know and despise was subsequently built.
Over the years, individuals successfully and in some cases, unsuccessfully, attempted to escape from the Communist nation of the Deutsches Demokratische Republik (DDR). Then 28 years later, on November 9, 1989 the gates were opened and the wall ceased being the notorious symbol of division of one German people. Then, just as quickly as the wall came down, on October 1, 1990 the two German nations were unified as one, again. Thus the Federal Republic of Germany was born. Now, 50 years after the construction of the most horrific man-made symbol of division of people, countries, and way of life, we take time to remember the boundaries that were imposed on that Sunday morning in 1961 and we rejoice in the the limitless boundaries that are left to be discovered since that November Thursday evening in 1989.
You can visit our commemorative page at http://www.BerlinBrigade.com/50
image of Berlin Wall is a copyrighted image of David G. Guerra, All Rights Reserved.
