Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall appeared before dawn on Aug. 13, 1961. Using barbed wire, tanks and hundreds of troops, East Germany was aiming to stem the tide of refugees from the communist East to the democratic West, adding a more solid structure over the next few days.

Over the next quarter century, the wall embodied the division between East and West, between totalitarianism and democracy.

"The Berlin Wall was not built to prevent an invasion," wrote U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger in The Wall Street Journal, 10 years after the wall fell. "The Soviets built it to ensure that people in lands without freedom could not ever see what they were missing."

The very appearance of the Berlin Wall reflected the two societies it divided. Seen from the West, it was colorful graffiti-covered concrete slabs about four meters high. From the other side, it was a "death strip" nearly a kilometer wide with barbed wire, armed guards and bullet-riddled buildings left standing from the war.

As we approach the 20th anniversary on Nov. 9, we will chronicle the events that precipitated the fall of the Berlin Wall as they played out in the pages of The Wall Street Journal.

Late in the summer of 1989, winds of change were sweeping the Eastern bloc. Hungary and Poland had undertaken major democratic reforms. East Germany's relatively strong economy had allowed its leaders to hold fast but new economic troubles, such as shortages in fruits and vegetables and other commodities, were making the pressure harder to resist. he Berlin Wall appeared before dawn on Aug. 13, 1961. Using barbed wire, tanks and hundreds of troops, East Germany was aiming to stem the tide of refugees from the communist East to the democratic West, adding a more solid structure over the next few days.

Over the next quarter century, the wall embodied the division between East and West, between totalitarianism and democracy.

"The Berlin Wall was not built to prevent an invasion," wrote U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger in The Wall Street Journal, 10 years after the wall fell. "The Soviets built it to ensure that people in lands without freedom could not ever see what they were missing."

The very appearance of the Berlin Wall reflected the two societies it divided. Seen from the West, it was colorful graffiti-covered concrete slabs about four meters high. From the other side, it was a "death strip" nearly a kilometer wide with barbed wire, armed guards and bullet-riddled buildings left standing from the war.

As we approach the 20th anniversary on Nov. 9, we will chronicle the events that precipitated the fall of the Berlin Wall as they played out in the pages of The Wall Street Journal.

Late in the summer of 1989, winds of change were sweeping the Eastern bloc. Hungary and Poland had undertaken major democratic reforms. East Germany's relatively strong economy had allowed its leaders to hold fast but new economic troubles, such as shortages in fruits and vegetables and other commodities, were making the pressure harder to resist.