The 1961 Berlin Wall: Inside the Night the City Was Cut in Half cover art

The 1961 Berlin Wall: Inside the Night the City Was Cut in Half

The 1961 Berlin Wall: Inside the Night the City Was Cut in Half

Listen for free

View show details
On August 13, 1961, Berliners woke to find their city sliced in two by barbed wire and concrete. This episode follows the secret planning, the stunned crowds, and the desperate escapes that followed. We trace East German leader Walter Ulbricht's push for the wall, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev's approval, and the Berlin Crisis of 1958–1961 that led to it. We walk through Checkpoint Charlie, hear about the first escape attempts — including the famous tunnel digs and the tragic death of 18-year-old Peter Fechter at the wall. We also examine how US President John F. Kennedy and the West reacted, from the standoff of tanks at the checkpoint to Kennedy's 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech in 1963. This episode focuses on the human drama of the wall's construction and its immediate aftermath — a turning point that froze the Cold War for nearly three decades. #BerlinWall #ColdWar #EastGermany #Ulbricht #Khrushchev #Kennedy #CheckpointCharlie #PeterFechter #EscapeTunnels #BerlinCrisis #1961 #GDR #Border #Stasi #IchBinEinBerliner #History #FexingoHistory #SovietUnion Fexingo founder and producer: Ibnul Jaif Farabi Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet