A City Torn Apart Building of the Berlin Wall
From the end of World War II in 1945, the question of Berlin’s status 90 miles within the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (East Germany) and the Soviet Union’s zone of occupation, along with the status of Germany among the community of nations, remained a source of tension between the East and West.
The first of a three-part project, this collection covers the period of 1945 to the end of 1961. The wealth of documents, videos, and photographs show Berlin’s journey from a battered post war region occupied by the Allies to a city literally divided - with its western half becoming an island of freedom surrounded by a sea of Communist repression.
This is a joint project with the National Archives and Records Administration – National Declassification Center and more materials can be found on the NARA website.