On this day in 1961, East Germany laid down barbed wire surrounding the western portions of Berlin administered by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France as well as the border between those sectors and East Berlin, effectively cordoning off the Western portions of the city from the rest of the country. Construction began that same day for what would shortly become the Berlin Wall.
While West Berlin was officially an independent city, West Germany (officially the Federal Republic of Germany) saw it as a part of their own territory, albeit unofficially, while East Germany (the ironically titled German Democratic Republic) pined to take over West Berlin.
So why put down the wire and build the Berlin Wall? Simple: People hated living in East Germany and wanted a chance at a better life. Millions had left the GDR to have greater freedom in the western part of the country. By building the wall, the GDR could stop Berliners from doing the same—under penalty of death. It would take nearly three decades before the wall was destroyed in 1989 by Berliners on both sides who were fed up with the oppression.
For more on what’s now dubbed Barbed Wire Sunday and the Berlin Wall, read this article from History.com.
