Constructed in August of 1961, the 96-mile long Berlin Wall began cutting off access between West Berlin and East Berlin. Claiming that the wall was constructed to protect its people from fascists, the heavily Soviet-populated regions of the Eastern Bloc saw the Berlin Wall as a preventative measure against the defeat of communism. Twenty-two months after the completion of the wall, President Kennedy spoke out in support of West Germany during a 1963 speech in which he is quoted as saying “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner”). Making clear its stance on the spread of communism, the United States continued to fight for West Germany until the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, marking the end of the Cold War.
Designed by Cory Schmitz for the Momentus Project.