Todesopfer an der Berliner Mauer - Fatalities at the Berlin Wall - Victimes de mort au mur de Berlin

Tomorrow, 48 years ago, August 13, 1968, Berlin was divided, barbed wire strung along the border between East and West Berlin, and the malignity known as the Berlin Wall was born. We are nearing the 20th anniversary of its fall, November 9, 1989.

Latest records show that a total of 136 people were killed at or died in connection with the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1989. The Projekt der Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer and the Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam collect and collate all available data, commissioned by the German government, and presented the newest results a couple of days ago. It is more than worth while to follow the link here to the complete list of all those who died because one system felt dissidents and departures must be hindered at all costs. They are listed year by year. Whether you understand German or not, you can click on a year for the list of names, then on a name for pictures of the victims, some as they attempted to cross this border. This is a tribute to those who refused to accept this limit on their freedom of movement.

The list of those who fall victim to government and government-tolerated repressions and limitations on freedom continues to grow daily - in Russian republics, in Iran, in China.

ALL the walls must fall!

Here, the RIAS radio report on the closing of the border at the Brandenburg Gate, the sound of jackhammer can be clearly heard as workers are digging a trench one-half meter wide and one-half meter deep for the foundation of the Wall.