In Images: Berlin Wall at 50
Posted on August 13, 2011By Callie Oettinger
Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall. This is the fifth of a series of posts about the Wall, events leading to its construction, world reactions to its existence—and decades later, its removal.

Soldiers from the U.S. Army Berlin Command face off against police from the former East Germany during one of several standoffs at Checkpoint Charlie in 1961. On several occasions that year, a U.S. quick reaction force of tanks and infantry Soldiers. Credit: U.S. Army.

Soldiers from the U.S. Army Berlin Command face off against police from the former East Germany during one of several standoffs at Checkpoint Charlie in 1961. On several occasions that year, a U.S. quick reaction force of tanks and infantry Soldiers. Credit: U.S. Army.

U. S. Army tanks face off against Soviet armor at Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, October 1961. Credit: U.S. Army.

A U.S. tank crew stands guard at Checkpoint Charlie in West Berlin in 1961 during one of several standoffs between U.S. personnel and East German police that year. Credit: U.S. Army.

President John F. Kennedy Speaks in Rudolph Wilde Platz. June 26, 1963. Credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Jutta Gallus stands with signs at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin in the 80s telling the world she is separated from daughters Claudia and Beate, who were forcibly kept in East Germany. Credit: U.S. Army.

A West German man uses a hammer and chisel to chip off a piece of the Berlin Wall as a souvenir. A portion of the Wall has already been demolished at Potsdamer Platz. November 6, 2009. Credit: Staff Sgt. F. Lee Corkran, DVIDSHUB.

A crowd of West German citizens gathers at the newly created opening in the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz. November 6, 2009. Credit: Staff Sgt. F. Lee Corkran, DVIDSHUB.
CALLIE OETTINGER was Command Posts’ first managing editor. Her interest in military history, policy and fiction took root when she was a kid, traveling and living the life of an Army Brat, and continues today.
Tags: Berlin Wall, Cold War