The Berlin Wall (TRIH ep 83)
1961 · Resource
This episode examines the history and human impact of the Berlin Wall with guest Iain MacGregor, author of Checkpoint Charlie. Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook set the context in the aftermath of the Second World War, the Potsdam agreements, and the emergence of the Cold War. MacGregor traces the buildup to the Wall—mass emigration from the GDR, pressures on Walter Ulbricht and Khrushchev, and the decision to close borders in August 1961 (Operation Rose).
On these timelines: The Rest Is History (podcast), Resources: Combined
Around 1961
- Cuban Revolutionary War (1953)
- Prague Spring (1968)
- US Civil Rights Movement (1954)
- The Troubles (1968)
- Apollo 11 moon landing (1969)
- Suez Crisis (1956)
- Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
- Vietnam War (American phase) (1965)
- Six-Day War (1967)
- Decolonisation of Africa (1952)