Dr Christina Spittel, Senior Lecturer in English & Media Studies University of NSW Canberra, joins Michael to talk about the fall of the Berlin Wall, which was the guarded concrete barrier that physically, & ideologically, divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989.

Construction of the Wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic on 13 August 1961 cutting off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin.

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 beds” and other defences.

In 1989, a series of revolutions in nearby Eastern Bloc countries, Poland & Hungary in particular, caused a chain reaction in East Germany that ultimately resulted in the demise of the Wall.

The Brandenburg Gate in the Berlin Wall was opened on 22 December 1989 with the demolition of the Wall officially beginning on 13 June 1990… and was completed in November 1991.

The “fall of the Berlin Wall” paved the way for German reunification, which formally took place on 3 October 1990.

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