The latest article from the German Culture site is both topical and historical, because fifty years have passed since the foundations were laid for the Berlin Wall.

FIFTY YEARS OF THE BERLIN WALL, GERMANY REMEMBERS

During the night of 12th to 13th August 1961 a wall began to be erected across Berlin, effectively cutting off East from West. As morning broke Berliners were faced with the sight and sound of pneumatic drills, as the road in front of the Brandenburg Gate was broken up by workmen under the watchful eye of heavily armed East German soldiers.

The Berlin Wall had defined the cold war and the division of Europe, and when in November 1989 the exits were opened by government decree it was possible for families, who had been separated for decades, to be reunited.


http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172761.asp







Many more articles covering 'life and living' in Germany on germanculture.bellaonline.com, and the site has a forum

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=247

If you have any comments, questions or topics you would like to have covered I hope to hear from you, either in the forum or by email.



Francine McKenna, German Culture Editor
http://germanculture.bellaonline.com