On the border between the Western world and the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War. Starting out as a simple barbed wire fence, it would grow in scale and complexity to become a 27-mile concrete edifice, incorporating watchtowers, trenches, electric fences, and landmines. But what was its purpose? How did it impact the people whose city it divided? And what did it take, in the end, to bring it down?

This is a Short History of the Berlin Wall.

Written by Duncan Barrett. With thanks to Iain MacGregor, author of Checkpoint Charlie: The Cold War, The Berlin Wall, and The Most Dangerous Place on Earth.

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