Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a massive structure and one of the most iconic barriers the world has ever seen. It was built by the East Germans to keep their own citizens in, not to mention put an end to the West Berliners popping in for some cheap shopping.

In the beginning, the wall was a bit of a DIY project, made up of barbed wire, garden fences, and leftover bricks from construction sites. But, as the East Germans got more and more paranoid, they decided to upgrade to concrete walls, watchtowers, and snipers.

At almost 100 miles long, the Berlin Wall served as a reminder that if you were an East German, you weren’t going anywhere, and if you were a West Berliner, you weren’t getting in. That is, unless you were a smuggler, in which case you probably could make it over with a bit of determination…and a rocket launcher.

The wall wasn’t just a source of amusement for daring would-be escapees. Artists from all over the world came to Berlin to paint murals and make political statements. This led to some of the most colorful sections of the wall, which, let’s face it, was pretty grim-looking otherwise.

But, in November 1989, the East Germans finally realized that the wall wasn’t the chic decor item they thought it was. The people rose up, armed with nothing but their love for David Hasselhoff, and started tearing the wall down.

Now, all that’s left are a few sad-looking pieces of concrete and some fields littered with souvenir stalls selling chunks of the wall for extortionate prices. But, in its heyday, the Berlin Wall was the perfect accessory for any paranoid communist regime.