Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall

On one night in August 1961, a few railway cars and a lot of barbed wire were moved into position in Berlin, dividing East Germany from West. It was a barrier that would be extended and become increasingly more sophisticated over the 18 years of its existence, a technological counter to each escape attempt. In this feature length special, History uses a computer imagery to reconstruct how the wall grew from a meager obstacle to a 97 mile barrier of concrete slabs, watchtowers and guards. It charts the rise and then the sudden fall of the wall on Nov.9, 1989. Rise And Fall Of The Berlin Wall is filled with first-person accounts of escapes by any means possible, including tunnels, hot air balloons, wind surfing, bi-planes and a cable railway. Other interviews with people who were there during the rise and fall of one of history’s most dramatic symbols of the Cold War included historians, journalists, East German guards, and diplomats.