Berlin Wall Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall cut off (by land) West Berlin from virtually all of surrounding East Germany and East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and finished in 1992. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir
The Fall of Berlin (film) architect of Germany's defeat. Denise J. Youngblood wrote that shortly afterwards, there remained only three kinds of war heroes: "the dead, the maimed and Stalin." Mikheil Chiaureli, Stalin's favourite director, and writer Pyotr Pavlenko have already collaborated to create the 1946 personality cult picture "The Vow". The Soviet Minister of Cinema, Ivan Bolshakov, instructed them both to begin work on "The Fall of Berlin" shortly after the release of "The Vow" in July 1946. The film was conceived as the Mosfilm studio's gift to Stalin for his official 70th birthday, which was to be held on 21 December 1949. "The