The Berlin Wall wasn’t always the wall that people think of, it went through many different phases before becoming the large concrete wall that many people know from when it fell. The wall was first constructed on November 17th, 1961, but before that, the East German military began putting up fences made out of wood and barbed wire to prepare for the coming wall. The first concrete structures were erected on November 17th but were renovated many times in the wall's 28-year history.

Towards the end of the Cold War, the Iron Curtain was weakening. Many countries formerly controlled by the crumbling USSR were finding cracks and holes that they could escape through. Dissent towards communism was growing in the Soviet Bloc, and outbursts were becoming more common. Poland was the first to break free from the iron grip of communism. Trade union led movements in Warsaw in the 80s eroded the legitimacy of the failing government (Rabel). Other nations and regions were unhappy too.

The division of Berlin into the West and East by the Berlin Wall’s establishment was a separation of worldviews. The West stood for democracy and the East stood for what they viewed as protection and control. Despite the fact that some of the people on the East believed they were protected by their government, the wall provided an outlet of violence and heartache for many.