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People on the Berlin Wall by the Brandenburg Gate in November 1989
Image: Norbert Michalke/imageBROKER/picture alliance Image: Norbert Michalke/imageBROKER/picture alliance

Berlin Wall

This year marks 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, which was built by East Germany's Socialist-ruled government in 1961. It cut off West Berlin from East Berlin and surrounded East Germany.

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All Content on this topic

Stefan Roloff with large video stills in background

What was it like to peer over the Berlin Wall?

Looking over the Berlin Wall into East Germany must have been ominous. Artist Stefan Roloff shows what it was like.
SocietyAugust 11, 2017
Erich Honecker

Erich Honecker's arrest: 25 years later

From the throne to jail: Erich Honecker was hunted, homeless, exiled and jailed in his last years of life.
HistoryJuly 29, 2017
An Andy Warhol-style portrait of Kohl

Germany's 'cultural sovereign'

Helmut Kohl initiated a large number of national artistic institutions that changed Germany's cultural landscape.
CultureJuly 1, 2017
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How will history look at Kohl's legacy?

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl will be honored by the European Union on Saturday.
PoliticsJune 28, 201701:58 min
1990 Kohl signing reunification treaty, smiling

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl dies, aged 87

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has died. In office for 16 years, he was the longest serving post-war chancellor.
PoliticsJune 16, 2017
Deutschland Helmut Kohl in Dresden

Online tributes

PoliticsJune 16, 201703:57 min
US-Mexican border

Dresdner Sinfoniker forced to move protest concert to Mexico

A German symphony orchestra planning a concert along a stretch of the US-Mexico border will have to reconsider its idea.
CultureMay 22, 2017
David Hasselhoff

David Hasselhoff on his AI-generated alter ego 'The HoffBot'

David Hasselhoff told DW about his comeback and the blurry line between his self-referential alter egos and himself.
CultureMay 5, 2017
DDR Erich Honecker & Heinz Keßler

Last GDR defense minister dies in hospital

A GDR devotee until he died, Kessler was jailed for his role in the deaths of those who tried to cross the Berlin Wall.
SocietyMay 4, 2017
Mossul Bartella Weihnachten Andacht Kirche

WorldLink: Sidelined voices

On this week's show, we meet Iraqi Christians who are struggling to rebuild their lives after escaping "Islamic State" rule, and a Syrian journalist in Germany who is unable to return home. Plus, how scientists are using the impacts of climate change to make music, and the man working to keep Martin Luther King's message of love and nonviolence alive.
PoliticsMarch 31, 201758:59 min
Berliner Mauer, DW-Mitarbeiterin Tamsin Walker

Is Germany still divided?

This year, the Berlin Wall has been down for as long as it stood - 28 years. In that time, there has been huge social and political change, shaping the lives of millions of people. But although the Wall no longer divides the country, is Germany as unified as its name? Tamsin Walker went to find out.
HistoryMarch 31, 201703:58 min
Berliner Mauer, DW-Mitarbeiterin Tamsin Walker

In Germany, old divisions die hard

This year, the Berlin Wall has been down for as long as it stood. Tamsin Walker asks if the country is really one.
SocietyMarch 31, 2017
Street Food Thursday in Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

10 podcasts with amazing Germany-related stories

From popular US podcasts to Berlin-based series, here are 10 English-language shows you should listen to.
CultureMarch 29, 201710 images
01.2012 DW Euromaxx Highlights

Euromaxx - Highlights of the Week

Headfirst down a bobsled track, fashion inspired food, and a visit to the Berlin Wall Museum.
CultureMarch 20, 2017
Euromaxx Rollerman

Rollerman takes on an ice canal

Jean-Yves Blondeau skids down an ice canal, looking like a superhero on wheels.
CultureMarch 19, 201704:19 min
Euromaxx Mauerpanorama

Time travel: Berlin Wall panorama

A 360-degree panorama of the Berlin Wall stands at the former Checkpoint Charlie border crossing.
CultureMarch 16, 2017
01.2012 DW Euromaxx

Euromaxx - Lifestyle Europe 16.03.2017

Jean-Yves Blondeau skids down an ice canal. A new look at the Berlin Wall. And robots at the museum.
CultureMarch 16, 2017
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Euromaxx - Lifestyle Europe

Jean-Yves Blondeau skids down an ice canal. A new look at the Berlin Wall. And robots at the museum.
CultureMarch 16, 201726:03 min
Euromaxx Mauerpanorama

Time travel: Berlin Wall panorama

A 360-degree panorama of the Berlin Wall stands at the former Checkpoint Charlie border crossing.
CultureMarch 16, 201704:28 min
Berlin East Side Gallery Kani Alavi

Iranian-German artist invites Trump to the Berlin Wall

Artist Kani Alavi would like to give President Trump a personal tour of the Berlin Wall he has painted.
CultureFebruary 1, 2017
Donald Trump Portest Berlin

Berlin mayor tells Trump: 'Don't build this wall!'

The mayor turned Reagan's Cold War plea to Gorbachev to tear the wall down into a plea for Trump not to build one.
PoliticsJanuary 28, 2017
Berliner Mauer-Gedenkstätte

The Berlin Wall Memorial Site

976,000 people visited the Berlin Wall Memorial Site in 2016.
TravelJanuary 6, 2017
Margaret Thatcher und Helmut Kohl

Thatcher's anti-German fears

Margaret Thatcher was warned of Germany's aggressive character in the run-up to German reunification, new files show.
HistoryDecember 30, 2016
DW Euromaxx - Berliner Mauerweg

Walking the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall trail is 160 kilometers long and takes in numerous landmarks.
CultureNovember 9, 2016
DW WorldLink, Blumenladen | Tamsin Walker

WorldLink: Behind the flower shop counter

DWs latest insight into the oddities and idiosyncrasies of German life and culture.
CultureOctober 28, 201604:07 min
07.09.2015 DW Doku + 2+4+X Mauer

A short history of German reunification

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, tensions were high as negotiations about Germany's future began.
SocietyOctober 4, 201642:32 min
DW Euromaxx Bernard Larsson

Bernard Larsson's Berlin Photographs

250 photos of a divided Berlin are on show in the German capital.
September 19, 2016
Daniel Cohn-Bendit demonstration in 1968 Copyright: Imago

You say you want a revolution? - The decade of the rebels

An exhibition in London is now dedicated to this rebellious time, which also caused a social upheaval in Germany.
September 9, 2016
Berlin Gedenken Opfer des Mauerbaus Mauergedenkstätte Deutschland

Berlin marks 55 years since Wall was built

Berlin Foundation rues lack of historical understanding of the Berlin Wall among present-day pupils.
August 13, 2016
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World Stories - The Week in Reports

India: Skating for school. Berlin Wall dumped on a rubbish heap. Turkey: fleeing repression.
August 13, 201612:06 min
Berliner Mauer im Müll

Down in the dumps

In Germany, remains of the Berlin Wall were found at a garbage dump.
PoliticsAugust 13, 201601:47 min
Painter Victor Landeta Copyright: V. Landeta

What it's like to paint on the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall is not only a magnet for graffiti sprayers, but also for artists like Victor Landeta.
August 12, 2016
Pieces of the Berlin Wall, Copyright: DW/G. Schließ

Why the Berlin Wall is still a big business

More than 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, its leftovers are still being sold. But are they real?
August 12, 2016
Berlin East Side Gallery

10 highlights of the Berlin Wall Trail

Combining culture and nature, the Berlin Wall Trail is a great way to discover the last remains of the Cold War.
August 9, 2016
The Berlin Wall in the trash, Copyright: DW/G. Schließ

Does the Berlin Wall belong in the trash?

Parts of the Berlin Wall stand as a memorial in Berlin and worldwide. DW unexpectedly found many more - in a junkyard.
August 1, 2016
Towers, Arwed Messmer, 2016

A new view of the Berlin Wall - from the East

A new exhibition presents the border between the two former German states from a different view - that of the guards.
May 31, 2016
Deutschland Car-to-go an der East Side Gallery in Berlin

Memorial Sites: Cold War and Berlin Wall

Historically significant sites, from the East Side Gallery, to the Wall Museum, to Checkpoint Charlie.
May 18, 2016
Design for a unity monument in Berlin, by Johannes Milla and Sascha Waltz, Copyright: picture-alliance/dpa/BBR

Berlin cancels plans for unity monument

A monument honoring the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification has been deemed too expensive.
April 13, 2016
Berlin David Bowie Trauer Blumen Porträt Kerzen

David Bowie's Berlin

Revisiting some of David Bowie's old Berlin haunts and the Hansa recording studio.
CultureJanuary 11, 201602:38 min
Celebrations in Berlin to mark the 25th anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall

Why Germans love the '80s

A study shows: Germans remember the 1980s with a deep sense of nostalgia.
January 3, 2016
Kurt Masur Salzburg

Music is the elixir of life: Kurt Masur

He was one of the world's great conductors. Always modest, he never wanted to be a "star." Music was what drove him.
December 20, 20157 images

"It makes me cry"

The Fall of the Berlin Wall is a day people remember: Where are you and what were you doing when the wall fell?
November 9, 2015
Along the Berlin Wall, Copyright: Jefferson Chase

Searching for the real Berlin Wall

Millions of tourists come to Berlin every year to see remnants of the Wall, but what precisely are they looking at?
November 9, 2015
Gedenken an die Pogromnacht in Berlin

A significant day in German history

November 9 is remembered both positively and negatively in Germany.
HistoryNovember 9, 2015
Türkei Griechenland Grenze Evros Internierungslager Archiv 2010

The 'huge' walls of the world

US President Donald Trump has ordered the start of construction for a wall along the US border with Mexico.
ConflictsNovember 9, 20156 images
Volunteers enthusiastically help restore a mural in Berlin's East Side Gallery

Berlin Wall remnant to be protected

After "unbelievable" acts of vandalism, Berlin decides to build a barrier around the East Side Gallery.
November 5, 2015
Fachwerkhäuser am Domplatz in Erfurt

Erfurt becomes Italian mafia's German HQ

German and Italian authorities say that the city of Erfurt has become an operational hub for the 'Ndrangheta.
November 4, 2015
Deutschland Mauerfall Grenzöffnung Berlin Günter Schabowski Pressekonferenz

East German official Schabowski dies

The man who accidentally declared the Berlin Wall to be open in November 1989, ahead of schedule, has died in Berlin
November 1, 2015

Born after the fall of the Berlin wall

Young Germans only know the past from history books.
LifestyleOctober 3, 201505:51 min

25 years of German unity

One day back in 1989 radically changed the course of history.
LifestyleOctober 3, 201506:17 min