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The Documentary: The Day the Wall Went Up

The Documentary: The Day the Wall Went Up: Episode 2

Episode 2

The Day the Wall Went Up

BBC World Service - The Documentary, The Day the Wall Went Up, Episode 2

On the Berlin Wall's 50th anniversary, Gerry Northam looks at its political context

On the Berlin Wall's 50th anniversary, Gerry Northam looks at its political context and its human consequences.

On Sunday 13 August 1961, Berliners awoke to find telephone wires cut and a wall being erected across the city. 

The wall, which ultimately extended for over 100 miles, separated them from family, friends and jobs for 28 years. 

In so doing, it became a potent symbol of the Cold War. 

On the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Wall going up Gerry Northam examines the Wall’s political context and re-visits the day which signified the peak of the Cold War, the constant threat of nuclear war, and the human price paid for yet more failed ideologies.

BBC World Service

On the Berlin Wall's 50th anniversary, Gerry Northam looks at its political context.

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