Building the Berlin Wall (August 13, 1961)

Since 1945, the the French and Soviet sectors of Berlin had met at Bernauer Straße. With the building of the Wall in August 1961, the street was divided in half: one side belonged to West Berlin, the other to East Berlin (with the walls of the houses on the Soviet side actually forming part of the border fortification.) In this photo, stunned residents watch the construction from the Western side of Bernauer Straße. Photo by Klaus Lehnartz.

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© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz/ Klaus Lehnartz.