Crich Tramway Village marks 60th anniversary of building the Berlin Wall

On Friday, August 13, volunteers will be on hand to tell the story of the Berlin tram which arrived at the village’s National Tramway Museum in 1996 and what life was like for the residents of the German capital city who were divided by the concrete wall.

At least 140 people died attempting to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin during the 28 years in which the wall split the city’s residents.

Initially the inhabitants on each side of the wall were unable to visit or even telephone each other. From the mid 1960s West Berliners were allowed to visit their relatives in the east at Christmas. In 1971, following negotiations by the four occupying powers the restrictions were relaxed.

Even then those in the East could only cross to the West for work, important family events and if they were pensioners or deemed no further use to the State. In the first two cases the existence of relatives in the East provided insurance that travellers to the West would return.

The restrictions on East Berliners travelling to the West were revoked in 1989 and reunification of Germany followed the following year.

Find out more about the Berlin Wall and tram at the museum on Friday between 10am and 5.30pm.

For more details go to www.tramway.co.uk

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