5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Berlin Wall

A wall that defines the actual scenarios of the well known cold war. East Germany and the Soviet Union called it as Die anti- Faschistischer Schutzwall (i.e Anti-fascist Protective wall). According to the ancient book of battles, it was a tactical way to stop the western spies from entering the borders of East Berlin. By this, we can easily tell that the wall had a lot of significance and importance at that period of time and is a great piece of history.

So here are 5 things you did not know about the Berlin wall:

1. It was actually two walls:

Many of the great archaeologists have said that there was only one wall since the construction, but to the truth and reality, there were two walls that were built initially. The gap between these two parallel walls measured to a 100 meters. The first wall was built on 13th August 1961 and right after one year of its completion, the second wall was inaugurated. Between the two walls was the area called as ‘no man’s land’ or the ‘death strip’.

2. More than 6000 patrol dogs guarded the death strip:

According to the famous book of battles, a total of 6000 well trained and ready to kill dogs guarded the death strip all day long. These dogs were also called the ‘’wall dogs’. German Shepherds were the most preferred dogs on duty but other breeds like the Rottweiler, Great Dane and Griffons were also used. The dogs did not run freely inside the walls. They were tied up with a 5-meter long metal rope that allowed them to run in any direction without a hitch in the motion.

3. A forgotten part of the wall was recently discovered:

A huge part of the Berlin wall was demolished in the year 1989. The leftover parts are still standing on the deserted fields of woods. Though parts of this wall still standing were thought to have been discovered completely but then recently, a part of the wall which was forgotten to be found was discovered. A wall stretch of 80 meters was rediscovered in 2018 by the great historian Christian Bormann.

4. It still helps in dividing Germany today also:

This wall was built and structured in a manner that it divides Germany into two parts.  Partitioning of the German lands into two half was not only a mere thing, it had a great effect at that course of time. The western part was filled with the ideology of capitalism and the eastern part was communistic. This greatly affected the kind of politics that existed between the two parts of the countries and had a deep impression on the success rates of the same.

5. It extended all the way to the Subway:

Though the wall was fabricated to stop the western spies above ground, the effects of the wall were felt and could be witnessed underground also. Right, below the wall, situated the underground subway systems which helped people migrate from one place to another. Before the wall was constructed, both of the sides took possession over the subway underline systems, but as soon as the wall separated the two half, both of the sides took possession of their side of the area. To prevent havoc and chaos amongst both of the sides, the government tabbed barbed wires and poles on the tracks dividing the sides equally.