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On the night of August 12, 1961, East Germany begins building the Berlin Wall to divide East and West Berlin to stem the tide of refugees attempting to leave communist East Berlin. They began to seal off all points of entrance into West Berlin from East Berlin by stringing barbed wire and posting sentries. In the days and weeks to come, construction of a concrete block wall began, complete with sentry towers and minefields around it.
Construction of the wall caused a short-term crisis in U.S.-Soviet relations, and the wall itself came to symbolize the Cold War.
In late 1989, the Berlin Wall was finally opened and then demolished.
Under the watchful eye of Communist police, East German workers near the Brandenburg Gate reinforce the wall dividing the city.
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