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On this day - 13 August

Historical items of interest as featured in the papers of the day.

Image of the newspaper page from Daily Express 13/08/1961

Berlin Wall construction begins

Daily Express 13/08/1961

Between 1961 and 1989 a wall between East and West Germany existed in Berlin. The wall was constructed by the East German government who were aiming to prevent East German citizens from fleeing to West Germany.

At midnight on August 12th 1961, the border was closed and construction began on the wall. By the morning of August 13th 1961, a wall of barbed wire had been run and teams had damaged roads to make them impassable by vehicle. The wall was reinforced with concrete and more permanant structures over the coming months.

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