The Berlin wall, a symbol of the cold war that restricted free movement between East and West Berlin, stood for how many years?

The physical barrier that split a major European capital in two emerged suddenly, but its foundations were laid in the post-World War II division of Germany. The country and the city of Berlin were carved into four occupation zones controlled by the Allied powers: the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. As Cold War tensions escalated, the Soviet-controlled German Democratic Republic (GDR), or East Germany, saw a massive exodus of its citizens to the democratic, economically prosperous West. To halt this "brain drain" that threatened its stability, the East German government, on the morning of August 13, 1961, began to seal the border, initially with barbed wire and then with a concrete wall.

Overnight, streets were torn up, and families and neighborhoods were severed by the imposing structure. What began as a simple barrier evolved into a complex system of fortifications stretching over 155 kilometers, complete with guard towers, anti-vehicle trenches, and a wide "death strip" where guards were ordered to shoot anyone attempting to flee. For 28 years, the Berlin Wall stood as a stark physical representation of the "Iron Curtain" that separated the communist Eastern Bloc from the democratic West. Despite the danger, over 5,000 people successfully escaped over, under, or through the Wall during its existence.

By the late 1980s, a wave of peaceful revolutions was sweeping across Eastern Europe. Following weeks of civil unrest and growing pressure on the East German government, a spokesman made a surprise announcement on November 9, 1989: East Germans would be free to travel to the West. That evening, massive crowds of jubilant citizens from both sides converged on the Wall, crossing freely for the first time in a generation and chipping away at the hated symbol of division. The fall of the Wall paved the way for the formal reunification of Germany in October 1990.