Rick Steves' Europe

"The Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart." That's what the East German government called this Wall. They built it almost overnight in 1961 to stop their people from fleeing to freedom in the West. Over two million East Germans escaped before this Wall was built. The Berlin Wall Memorial is a stark reminder of the millions trapped behind this Wall before it came down. Within its park-like grounds which were once a no-man's land are information posts and photos of people who died trying to cross the Wall. The Wall was actually a complex of two walls. The outer one was a 12-foot-high concrete barrier. The round top was designed to discourage grappling hooks. Sandwiched between the outer wall and an inner wall was a no-man's land, or "death strip." The complex circled what was West Berlin, stretching about a hundred miles it effectively made the Western sector of the city an island in the middle of communist East Germany. And always vigilant were many look-out towers. East German guards manned about 300 towers like this to stop anyone attempting to escape. Only a couple of these still stand. Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous border crossing between the East and West, stood about here. Once a tense and foreboding place, its now a garish, commercial free-for-all. Where serious military guards once stood, today actors pose playfully with tourists. Symbolizing the nerve-wracking standoff of the Cold War, a young American soldier faces East, and on the flip side, his Soviet counterpart faces West. The adjacent museum, the House at Checkpoint Charlie, shows how desperation drove East Berliners to all kinds of creative escape attempts over, under, and through the Wall. Escapees would hide, crammed into tiny cars. This one drove six people to freedom before finally being discovered. In another car, a person was actually hidden in a false gas tank. And this vehicle, armored with concrete and iron plates, simply blasted through under a hail of bullets. Exhibits show how tunnels were used for transporting people to freedom. Rooms recall the artful diplomacy of the age, including President Reagan's famous speech.

REAGAN

Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.

Cheering

REAGAN

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

Cheering

STEVES

And the last room celebrates the happy ending, the euphoric days in 1989 when people-power literally tore down the Wall.