West of the Wall West of the Wall "West of the Wall" is a 1962 song written by Wayne Shanklin, which was recorded as a single by Toni Fisher. The song tells of the sadness of lovers separated by the Berlin Wall which divided Germany into East and West at the time, and expresses the hope that the wall will soon fall. The Berlin Wall had been constructed in 1961, and in fact did not fall until 1989. The song was a Top 40 hit for Toni Fisher in the United States, where it reached #37 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in July 1962.
Berlin Wall East German border guards shot and killed would-be defectors. Such fatalities were later treated as acts of murder by the reunified Germany. The Berlin Wall was more than long. In June 1962, a second, parallel fence was built some farther into East German territory. The houses contained between the fences were razed and the inhabitants relocated, thus establishing what later became known as the "death strip". The death strip was covered with raked sand or gravel, rendering footprints easy to notice, easing the detection of trespassers and also enabling officers to see which guards had neglected their task; it offered