From its construction in 1961 until it was finally breached in 1989, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the post-war division of Europe and the Cold War conflict between East and West [GALLO/GETTY]
Published On 9 Nov 20099 Nov 2009
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The wall was built in 1961 after East Germany's leaders became worried that the growing exodus headed for the west threatened the viability of the communist state. By then an estimated 3.5 million East Germans, or 20 per cent of the population, had left [AP]
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Surrounding West Berlin in concrete, steel and tank traps, the wall divided families and friends and cut a city in half [GALLO/GETTY]
One of the most famous crossing points was Checkpoint Charlie, which came to be seen as one of the frontlines in the Cold War [GALLO/GETTY]
In 1963, two years after the wall went up, US president John F Kennedy visited Berlin in what was seen as a major morale boost for the isolated city [GALLO/GETTY]
East German guards monitoring the wall had orders to shoot to kill anyone trying to escape [AP]
More than 130 people were killed trying to cross the barrier and make it to the West [GALLO/GETTY]
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In 1989, as communism in Eastern Europe began to crumble, democracy protesters took to the streets across East Germany [AP]
On November the fourth 1989, the communist government of East Germany resigned. Five days later, the wall was opened, triggering huge celebrations [AP]
Thousands of Germans from east and west travelled to Berlin to view history in the making. Many chipped off a part of the wall as a souvenir [AP]
Less than a year after the wall came down, East and West Germany were formally reunited as one country [AP]
Twenty years after the fall of wall, Berlin is marking the anniversary with huge celebrations planned [EPA]
Today much of the wall has been demolished, but parts of it remain standing as a memorial to the city's divided past [AFP]
