The Berlin Wall was history – and so soon after was the decades-long division of Germany. “After I gave the order, I walked around in a circle. I felt as if I was somehow no longer myself ...

In this Nov. 11, 1989, photo, East German border guards are seen through a gap in the Berlin wall after demonstrators pulled down a segment of it at Brandenburg gate.

Wall divided East and West Germany for 28 years. West Berliners crowd in front of the Berlin Wall, Nov. 11, 1989, as they watch East German border guards demolishing a section of the wall in order ...

BERLIN — A 26-year-old former East German border guard at the Berlin Wall became yesterday the first person sentenced to prison for carrying out the orders of his government by killing a man ...

One November night 35 years ago, the Berlin Wall cracked and thousands of Berliners poured through. The Iron Curtain had already started to tremor by this point: travel restrictions were easing in ...

1 East German troops installing the Berlin Wall near the Reichstag in November 1961. ... 10 East Berlin border guards stand atop the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate on November 11, 1989.

To reduce the opportunity for escape to the West, East German guards at the Wall are required to patrol in pairs. Last week, however, a 19-year-old corporal grabbed his companion's carbine and ...

This story originally published on Nov. 10, 1989. It is being republished as part of the commemoration of USA TODAY's 40th anniversary on Sept. 15, 2022. AT THE BERLIN WALL — East Germans ...

East German soldiers monitored the barriers 24/7, conducted surveillance on West Berlin, and had shoot-to-kill orders should they spot an escapee. People did try to escape.