CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON BERLIN WALL
East Berlin (JFK+50) On August 13, 1961, the government of communist East Germany announced that a wall was being constructed in order to permanently divide the eastern and western parts of the city of Berlin.
East German guards were posted to stop anyone from crossing the border. While the wall was under construction, barbed wire was used to separate the two parts of the city. The Newseum says...
"The Berlin Wall was built to keep citizens in, rather than to keep an enemy out."
Along the border of East and West Berlin the wall ran 26.8 miles and 96 miles around West Berlin. The concrete portion of the wall rose to 11.8 feet high and stretched 66 miles in length.
President John F. Kennedy publicly condemned the wall and predicted the future reunification of Germany. Privately he reportedly said, "A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war."
*The Berlin Wall (1961-1989) a guarded concrete barrier dividing the German city of Berlin. While the wall was up, more than 100,000 East Berliners attempted escape with 5000 succeeding. The wall was toppled on Nov 9 1989 as communist regimes fell in Eastern Europe. It was completely demolished by 1992 & Germany reunified in Oct 1990.
East Berlin (JFK+50) On August 13, 1961, the government of communist East Germany announced that a wall was being constructed in order to permanently divide the eastern and western parts of the city of Berlin.
East German guards were posted to stop anyone from crossing the border. While the wall was under construction, barbed wire was used to separate the two parts of the city. The Newseum says...
"The Berlin Wall was built to keep citizens in, rather than to keep an enemy out."
Along the border of East and West Berlin the wall ran 26.8 miles and 96 miles around West Berlin. The concrete portion of the wall rose to 11.8 feet high and stretched 66 miles in length.
President John F. Kennedy publicly condemned the wall and predicted the future reunification of Germany. Privately he reportedly said, "A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war."
*The Berlin Wall (1961-1989) a guarded concrete barrier dividing the German city of Berlin. While the wall was up, more than 100,000 East Berliners attempted escape with 5000 succeeding. The wall was toppled on Nov 9 1989 as communist regimes fell in Eastern Europe. It was completely demolished by 1992 & Germany reunified in Oct 1990.
Berlin Wall Display
The Newseum
Washington, D.C. (2017)
Photos by John White
JFK at the Berlin Wall
June 26, 1963
Photo by Robert Knudsen
JFK Library Photo
