Facts On the Berlin Wall

Video Transcript

"The Berlin Wall has been an interesting thing historically because it's one of the few places where there was a physical division between countries. And, instead of just a border, the people actually built the wall and they put things that were - parts of buildings became part of the wall. It all came along where it divided East and West Germany and people died trying to get from one side to the other because it was a very serious situation. This was all in the 1960s and Checkpoint Charlie was where the Americans kept a place and people could go from one side to the other. But oftentimes, if people were trying to escape, they might try to get through the minefield at the wall. Later in the late 80s, as the Cold War was winding down and people became more interested in getting along and East and West German reunited, then it was grand celebration when people were able to take sledgehammers and actually take down - almost all of the wall has been taken down. Some of it has been left as a reminder and I think that's an important thing."