- Title: Germany marks anniversary of Berlin Wall's construction
- Date: 13th August 2021
- Summary: STEINMEIER WALKING TO LECTERN (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN PRESIDENT FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING: "The worst concerns for many Berliners, many Germans and politically attentive people worldwide came true on August 13, 1961: the iron curtain that divided Berlin, Germany, Europe, and the world, had now been closed for the foreseeable future."
- Embargoed: 27th August 2021 11:53
- Keywords: Berlin Steinmeier anniversary wall
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Europe,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA003EQ43FBB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Germany marked the 60th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall on Friday (August 13), with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier saying "the worst concerns for many Berliners, many Germans came true" on that day in 1961 when Communist East Germany started building what it called an "anti-fascist protection barrier" in the middle of the night.
Steinmeier, who holds a largely ceremonial role and grew up in what was then West Germany, told dignitaries gathered at Berlin's Wall memorial at Bernauer Strasse street that "August 13, 1961, was a fateful day, for us Germans and also for the world, a day that destroyed dreams and hopes, that separated children from their parents and grandchildren from their grandparents."
The Berlin Wall fell on the night of November 9, 1989.
East and West Germany reunified to become Germany on October 3, 1990.
(Production: Ulrike Heil, Ute Swart, Michele Sani) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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