Witness Berliners crossing the Berlin Wall erected by the Soviet communist regime to enter West Germany
The Berlin Wall
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.English and Czech and Swahili, oh my!Media Editor: Lauren Sims
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Media Editor: Lee Goldstein
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Media Editor: Lauren Sims
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Meinzahn/Dreamstime.com; © minnystock/Dreamstime.com; © Vasile Bobirnac/Dreamstime.comOverview of the decision to make Berlin—rather than Bonn—the capital of reunified Germany.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Views of Berlin, including Unter den Linden, the Brandenburg Gate, and Kurfürstendamm.
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Sean Pavone/Dreamstime.comOverview of Berlin.
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzJohn F. Kennedy visiting West Berlin in June 1963 and delivering his “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I Am a Berliner”) speech.
Transcript
NARRATOR: Soon after the defeat of Nazism, the Iron Curtain was erected by the Soviet communist regime. For nearly 30 years the Berlin Wall closed off East Germans’ access to West Berlin. Many risked their lives attempting to flee from East to West Germany.
With the collapse of communism in the late 1980s, the Berlin Wall was opened in November 1989.
With the collapse of communism in the late 1980s, the Berlin Wall was opened in November 1989.