Nature takes its toll on the wall as well. The sandstorms wear down the wall a great deal. The Great Wall is aging and decaying but it remains with us for now as a beautiful wonder of our world.
Construction on the Berlin wall began on August 13, 1961. It was a desperate attempt made by the German Democratic Republic to stop the people from East Berlin from escaping the Soviet controlled side of the town. At the time East Berlin was occupied by the Americans, British and French. Since Berlin was a city where half was controlled by the German Democratic Republic and the other half was controlled by the Communist Soviets. The master plan to build a wall had been a rumor going around and soon enough it came true. In just 24 hours the streets of Berlin were torn up and walls were put up to separate the two halves of the city. The German Democratic Republic did not want the east side of Berlin to become communist so they built the wall to keep the communist leaders on the west side of the wall. The inhabitants of the east side of Berlin were forbidden to enter the west side of the city and vice versa.
They built a second wall in 1962 that was next to the first wall but left a strip in between the two walls. This strip was known as the “death strip.” Many people trying to escape the east side of the Berlin wall didn’t make it and it was here that they met their death. The strip was covered with