On 10 November 1958, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, deplores Western policy concerning the German Democratic Republic and the City of Berlin.

On 27 November 1958, in a note sent to the US Administration, the Government of the Soviet Union questions the division of Berlin into four sectors and expresses its wish to renegotiate the status of the German city.

On 31 December 1958, in reply to the Soviet note dated 27 November 1958, the United States Administration reaffirms its support for West Berlin and refutes the arguments put forward by the Soviet Union in support of a change in the status of the City of Berlin.

On 16 December 1958, following suggestion by Moscow that West Berlin be granted the status of a free city, the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) renews its guarantees with regard to the presence of American, British and French troops in West Berlin.

‘No way through — go back the way you came’. This is the order issued by the Soviets in December 1958 when faced with Westerners waiting at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

On 5 January 1959, in a note sent to the Soviet leaders, the West German Government deplores the Soviet Union’s proposals regarding a change in the status of Berlin and refutes the accusations made by the USSR against the Federal Republic of Germany.

On 16 March 1959, the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, delivers an address in which he considers the question of the status of the City of Berlin and deplores Soviet policy on the former German capital.

On 30 May 1959, at a conference in Geneva attended by the Foreign Ministers of the Four Powers, the Soviet representative, Andrei Gromyko, outlines the advantages of the conversion of Berlin into a free, demilitarised city.

On 5 June 1959, at the Four-Power Conference in Geneva, the US Secretary of State, Christian A. Herter, criticises Moscow’s position on the settling of the question regarding the status of the City of Berlin and reaffirms the United States’ support for the citizens of West Berlin.

On 15 June 1959, illustrating the settlement of the status of the City of Berlin, the British cartoonist, Michael Cummings, considers the risk of military confrontation between the Western powers and the Soviet Union (rocket on the left, from left to right: the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the French President, Charles de Gaulle, the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, and the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. Rocket on the right: Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and his Foreign Minister, Andrei Gromyko).

On 21 May 1960, Nikita Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, gives an address at the Sports Arena in East Berlin beneath a banner calling for an end to provocations by the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), as well as for general disarmament.

During meetings with the US President John F. Kennedy held in Vienna on 3 and 4 June 1961, Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, reiterates his proposals for the conclusion of a peace treaty with Germany and for West Berlin to be granted the status of a free city.

On 17 July 1961, the United States forwards to Andrei Gromyko, Soviet Foreign Minister, an official note protesting against Moscow’s proposal to put an end to the four-power agreements governing the status of the City of Berlin.

In einer Rede zur Berlin-Krise warnt der amerikanische Präsident am 25. Juli 1961 die UdSSR davor, in Berlin einen Fehler zu begehen, und fordert eine Erhöhung der amerikanischen Militärausgaben, um der kommunistischen Bedrohung zu begegnen.

On 25 July 1961, in a speech on the Berlin crisis, the US President John F. Kennedy warns the USSR against any false moves in Berlin and calls for increased US military spending in order to counter the Communist threat.

On 8 August 1961, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir outlines the diplomatic implications of the settlement of the issue of the status of City of Berlin.

On 21 November 1961, during an address given to the National Press Club in Washington, the Belgian Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak draws attention to the issue of settling the status of Berlin.

'Berlin viewpoints'. In January 1962, the international status of the City of Berlin is a stumbling-block and a cause of tension between East and West.

On 2 July 1962, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera gives an account of the difficult negotiations between US and Soviet diplomats over the future status of the City of Berlin.

On 25 August 1962, commenting on the removal of the Soviet military command from Berlin, the French daily newspaper Le Monde refers to the dispute between the three Western Allies and the Soviet Union over the future status of Berlin.

Border-crossing point in the American sector of divided Berlin, nicknamed ‘Checkpoint Charlie'.

On 12 August 1961, the authorities of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) block the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin. US soldiers immediately prepare to face the East German National People’s Army.

Am 12. August 1961 verabschiedet der Ministerrat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik einen Beschluß, in dem die imperialistischen Absichten und die aggressive Politik des Westens gegenüber der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR) angeprangert werden, und auch verschärfte Kontrollen an den Grenzen zwischen Westberlin und Ostberlin vorgesehen werden.

Am 13. August 1961 veröffentlichen die Mitgliedsstaaten des Warschauer Pakts eine gemeinsame Erklärung, in der sie die imperialistische Politik des Westens kritisieren und die Abriegelung der Grenzen zwischen Westberlin und Ostberlin begründen.

On 13 August 1961, Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State, criticises the measures adopted by the East German authorities to restrict freedom of movement to the West for the inhabitants of East Berlin and for the citizens of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Troops and police officers from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) watch the building of the Berlin Wall (13–14 August 1961).

On 15 August 1961, the Commandants of the Western sectors of Berlin send a note to their Soviet counterpart to protest against the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Diese Karte zeigt die verschiedenen Etappen der Abriegelung zwischen dem sowjetischen Sektor und den westlichen Sektoren Berlins, auf die der Mauerbau und die Einrichtung der Grenzübergänge zwischen West-Berlin und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD) folgten.

On 12 August 1961, in a bid to put a stop to the mass emigration of East German nationals to the Western sectors of Berlin, the authorities in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) decide to build a wall between the Eastern and Western sectors of Berlin.

During the night of 12 to 13 August 1961, some 15 000 members of the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) block the roads and railways leading to the western sectors of Berlin and begin putting up fencing and barbed wire around West Berlin. The building of the Berlin Wall, separating the eastern and western sectors of the city, becomes a symbol of the division of Germany and of Europe.

On 15 August 1961, this soldier in the People's Army of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) deserts and flees to the Western sector of Berlin.

Since 13 August 1961, a wall erected by the authorities of the German Democratic Republic has separated East and West Berlin. This is the Brandenburg Gate.

During the visit to Berlin of US Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson on 16 August 1961, Berliners hold aloft placards criticising the lack of reaction from the Allied forces to the construction of the wall separating the city in two a few days earlier.

"Es geht ja gar nicht um Berlin!" Im August 1961 veranschaulicht der Karikaturist Fritz Behrendt die Berlin-Krise und warnt vor dem Hegemoniestreben der Sowjetunion in der ganzen Welt.

On 17 August 1961, the US Ambassador to West Germany expresses his indignation at the closure, by the East German authorities, of the borders between East and West Berlin during the night of 12 to 13 August 1961.

In this note to the Soviet authorities, dated 17 August 1961, the representative of the French Government in West Germany expresses France’s indignation at the closure of the border between East and West Berlin by the East German authorities during the night of 12–13 August 1961.

Am 18. August 1961 verurteilt Konrad Adenauer, Kanzler der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, vor dem Bundestag die Abriegelung der Grenze zwischen West- und Ost-Berlin durch die Machthaber der sowjetisch besetzten Zone Deutschlands in der Nacht vom 12. auf den 13. August 1961.

Starting on 13 August 1961, the Berlin Wall was built in the very centre of the German capital, separating the Soviet sector from the Western sectors. This hermetic seal aimed to prevent thousands of East German citizens from fleeing to the West. This photo, taken on the Harzer Straße, shows workers, closely monitored by soldiers from the German Democratic Republic, busy constructing the wall.

Am 18. November 1961 hält Willy Brandt, Regierender Bürgermeister von Berlin, vor dem deutschen Bundestag eine Rede in der er die Teilung Berlins durch den Bau der Mauer und die Verletzung des Viermächtestatuts durch die Sowjetunion verurteilt.

On 18 August 1961, the Soviet Commandant in Berlin sends a note to his Western counterparts in which he justifies the construction of the Berlin Wall.

In der Nacht vom 12. auf den 13. August 1961 errichten die Behörden der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR) eine Mauer, der die Ost- und Westsektoren Berlins voneinander trennt. Um ihre Solidarität mit der eingeschlossenen Bevölkerung West-Berlins zu bekunden, fahren Lyndon B. Johnson, Vizepräsident der Vereinigten Staaten, und General Lucius D. Clay, der die Luftbrücke während der Berlin-Blockade im Jahre 1948 organisiert hatte, nach Berlin. Aber Konrad Adenauer, Bundeskanzler der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD) kann seinerseits erste einige Tage später nach Berlin reisen, da die Amerikaner weitere Provokationen vermeiden wollten. Der Zeitpunkt der Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands scheint in immer weitere Ferne zu rücken.

‘Thus far and no further …’ In August 1961, Ernst Maria Lang, German cartoonist, commenting on the construction of the Berlin Wall, describes the American reaction to the territorial appetites of the Soviet ‘ogre’.

On 13 August 1962, to mark the first anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall, people living in the Western sectors of the City hold a rally in front of one of the symbols of the Cold War.

On 26 June 1963, the US President, John F. Kennedy, gives a historic address in the Rudolph Wilde Platz in Berlin. At the height of the Cold War, he declares ‘Ich bin ein Berliner', implying that every inhabitant of the ‘free world' is behind the Berliners in the city's American, British and French zones.

Am 26. Juni 1963 hält der amerikanische Präsident John F. Kennedy in Berlin eine historische Rede auf dem Rudolph-Wilde-Platz. Mitten im Kalten Krieg erklärt er „Ich bin ein Berliner“ und zeigt mit diesen Worten, dass jeder Bewohner der „freien Welt“ sich mit den Berlinern in den amerikanischen, britischen und französischen Sektoren solidarisch fühlt.

On 26 June 1963, the US President, John F. Kennedy, gives a historic address in the Rudolph Wilde Platz in Berlin. At the height of the Cold War, he declares ‘Ich bin ein Berliner', making it clear that every inhabitant of the ‘free world' is behind the Berliners in the city's American, British and French zones.

On 26 June 1963, the final day of his official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, John F. Kennedy, President of the United States, travels to West Berlin, where he receives a triumphant welcome. The photo shows the US President, accompanied by the current Mayor of West Berlin, Willy Brandt, and the German Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, being greeted by a jubilant crowd.

On 26 June 1963, during his official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the US President, John F. Kennedy, visits the City of Berlin and the Wall that divides the City into two distinct areas.

On 26 June 1963, the US President, John F. Kennedy, visits West Berlin and contemplates the ‘wall of shame’, accompanied by Willy Brandt, the Mayor of West Berlin.

‘Two worlds in Berlin.’ On 26 June 1963, the German cartoonist, Bensch, illustrates the visit to Berlin, in the middle of the Cold War, of the US President, John F. Kennedy, and emphasises the hope of freedom that this trip imagines in the West German people faced by the oppressive, police state regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) led by Walter Ulbricht.

The outer limit of the ‘Iron Curtain’ is symbolised by three former boundary posts which mark the meeting point between the territories of the former Duchies of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Saxe-Meiningen and the former Kingdom of Bavaria.

The ‘Iron Curtain’ divides the East German border town of Hirschberg, on the banks of the River Saale.

Sketch representing the ‘Iron Curtain’ at the edge of the Soviet zone, published in May 1965 by the Federal Ministry for All-German Questions.

Am 14. August 1961 greift die Westberliner Tageszeitung Der Abend die Entscheidung der ostdeutschen Regierung an, in der Nacht vom 12. auf den 13. August 1961 die Grenzen zwischen den Ost- und den Westsektoren der Stadt militärisch abzuriegeln.

On 15 August 1961, the French daily newspaper Le Monde publishes statements by Konrad Adenauer, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, criticising the closure of the East German border posts in Berlin.

On 15 August 1961, the French daily newspaper Le Monde describes the reactions of Willy Brandt, the Mayor of West Berlin, to the closure of the East German border in Berlin during the night of 12–13 August 1961.

In einem Kommentar zum Bau der Berliner kritisiert die italienische Tageszeitung Corriere della Sera am 15. August 1961 diese Machtdemonstration der ostdeutschen Behörden und zeigt sich besorgt über das Schicksal der Bevölkerung in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR).

In August 1961, in an article in the French monthly publication Le Monde diplomatique, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Willy Brandt, gives his reaction to the unilateral decision taken by the Soviet authorities to construct a wall in Berlin separating the eastern and western zones of the city.

On 16 August 1961, the cartoonist Lang deplores the attitude of Walter Ulbricht, the First Secretary of the East German Communist Party, who ordered the construction of the Berlin Wall during the night of 12–13 August in order to prevent large numbers of East Germans from escaping to West Germany. Lang describes this as ‘The Cutting’.

In September 1961, Dutch Senator Max van der Stoel analyses the power struggle in West Berlin between the Western forces and the Soviet Union since a wall was erected on 13 August 1961 by the authorities of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to separate the Eastern and Western sectors of Berlin.

‘Quick Comrades, another wall — there are swarms of public enemies and spies!’ In August 1961, Walter Ulbricht, Secretary-General of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), orders the closure of crossing points to the West and the building of a wall to stem the exodus of East German nationals to the FRG.

‘The balance of terror'. In October 1961, facing the risk of military escalation in Berlin, the cartoonist Abu portrays, in the British left-wing Sunday newspaper The Observer, a world that is prey to human folly.

On 24 August 1962, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera condemns the death of a young man, Peter Fechter, shot down by East German border guards at the foot of the Berlin Wall, and deplores the political and economic situation in East Berlin.