In pictures: The Berlin Wall

BERLIN, GERMANY - AUGUST 05: A visitor standing on a ladder looks over a still-existing section of the Berlin Wall into the so-called 'death strip,' where East German border guards had the order to shoot anyone attempting to flee into West Berlin, as an original watchtower stands behind at the Bernauer Strasse memorial on August 5, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The city of Berlin will mark the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Wall on August 13. The Berlin Wall was originally built in 1961 by the communist authorities of East Germany in order to stop East Germans from fleeing west, and up to an estimated 245 people died trying to do so until the Wall came down in 1989. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** 120369697.jpg

1961 - Tanks approaching a checkpoint area of the Berlin Wall. Built by the East German government, the Berlin Wall divided East and West Berlin from 1961 until 1989. Germany will mark 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall this year with an internati???

BERLIN - 1964: Sightseers climb onto a bus to look at the newly-built Berlin Wall in 1964 in Berlin, Germany. Saturday, August 13th 2011 will mark 50 Years Since East German Troops Sealed The Border Between East And West Berlin. (File Photo/Keystone/Gett???

Soldiers building the Berlin Wall as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin in 1961 in Berlin, Germany. Saturday, August 13th 2011 will mark 50 Years Since East German Troops S???

November 1961 - Barbed wire on the West side of the Brandenburg gate, put up as a 'Safety measure' by the British in 1961 in Berlin, Germany. Saturday, August 13th 2011 will mark 50 Years Since East German Troops Sealed The Border Between East And West Be???

A British soldier standing guard in West Berlin, as the East Germans added further restrictions on the crossing of the East-West border in 1961 in Berlin, Germany. Saturday, August 13th 2011 will mark 50 Years Since East German Troops Sealed The Border Be???

Taken at the Potsdamer Platz, this image shows the Berlin wall built by the East German government to seal off East Berlin from the part of the city occupied by the three main western powers (USA, Great Britain and France), and to prevent mass illegal emi???

Taken in October of 1961 this image shows a car between US tanks, driving across the famous border of the American sector in Berlin, at Checkpoint Charlie crossing point, the only one in the Berlin Wall between East (Soviet sector) and West Berlin (Americ???

A Christmas tree seen across the Berlin Wall from the East on December 26, 1989 in Berlin, Germany. August 13th 2011 will mark 50 Years Since East German Troops Sealed The Border Between East And West Berlin. (File Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Get???

A little girl chisels away at the Berlin Wall from the east side on New Year's Eve, 31st December 1989. August 13th 2011 will mark 50 Years Since East German Troops Sealed The Border Between East And West Berlin. (File Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/???