BERLIN WALL (PART 1) 1990 AND THE WALL'S INFAMOUS "DEATH STRIP" AND CHECKPOINTS.

View, from the West Berlin side, of graffiti art on the wall in 1990. The wall's infamous "death strip", on the east side of the wall, here follows the curve of the long closed Luisenstadt Canal.
Map of the location of the Berlin Wall, showing checkpoints
Satellite image of Berlin, with the wall's location marked in yellow
Occupation zone borders in Germany as of 21 February 1947 (valid up to 22 Apr 1949). The territories east of the Oder-Neisse line, under Polish and Soviet administration/annexation are not shown. Map-Germany-1945 Berlin is the multinational area within the Soviet zone.
The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses. The Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc officially claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a Socialist State in East Germany. However, in practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period.