Germany marks 50 years since Berlin Wall

Klaus-Michael Keussler: "We thought this could not last longer than weeks" - Archive video courtesy British Pathe

Germany is marking 50 years since the building of the Berlin Wall when the communist East closed its border, dividing the city for 28 years.

Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit told a ceremony on Bernauer Street: "The Wall is history but we must not forget it."

President Christian Wulff said Germany had been securely established as a reunified country.

The city observed a minute's silence at noon (10:00 GMT) in memory of those who died trying to escape.

Soldiers from the East began construction on the morning of 13 August 1961

• Initially a barbed wire fence, it became a wall which spread for nearly 160km (100 miles)

• More than 300 watchtowers were erected to spot escapees

• Minefields were laid in some sectors

The BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin says the East German authorities portrayed the Wall as a barrier to keep the fascist West out - what came to be known as the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart.
But he says the accepted view now is that it was to keep East German potential migrants in.
source by BBC .