The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall in two short videos

The Berlin Wall, which divided West Berlin and East Germany, lasted from 1961 to 1989. It came to symbolise the boundary between democracy and communism during the Cold War.

The Wall was erected in the dead of night on August 13, 1961, and by morning, Berliners were shocked to see a rigid border between the two. They had to remain on whichever side they had fallen asleep on during the night of August 13 until November 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell down as quickly as it had come up.

These two videos show the history behind construction of the wall and the celebration when it came down.

The rise 

The fall