13 August 1961

Border Control in Berlin

Neues Deutschland, the newspaper of the East German communist party, is full of official announcements on 13 August 1961. It has been decided to "introduce a system at the West Berlin border to prevent further subversive activities against the socialist countries by guaranteeing a reliable guard and effective control around the complete West Berlin area, including the boundary with democratic Berlin." That night the majority of the check points to West Berlin are closed. The Berlin wall is raised.

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