1961 photographs people waving first cement block Berlin Wall, gable end flats building, Bernauer Strasse at Wolliner Strasse

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These five historic photographs, illustrating the history of the Berlin Wall along Bernauer Strasse, date to 1961 and show people waving to relatives and friends in East Berlin over the first cement block wall crossing streets and dividing the city. As the border strip evolved into a multi-layered system of barriers, screens were erected on the East Berlin side of the wall to stop people waving and calling out to each other, the SED thinking such gestures could be used to plan an escape. Inner walls were later erected to replace the screens.

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Size: 2772px × 4159px
Location: Berlin Wall, Bernauer Strasse at Wolliner Strasse, Berlin Germany
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1960s, apartment, apartments, barrier, berlin, bernauer, block, building, cement, city, cold, divided, divisions, gable, germany, graffiti, grey, historical, history, information, monochrome, paint, painted, panels, people, photographs, political, scrawl, sky, strasse, wall, war, waving, wolliner