Rise And Fall Of The Berlin Wall

The History Channel's commemorative documentary, Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall, captures three decades of political strife between East and West, while vividly recounting tales of escape across what eventually became the frontline in the Cold War.

During the Wall's 28-year existence, at least 40,000 East Germans escaped and 75,000 were prosecuted for trying. Over 1,300 died during escape attempts. Designed to prevent East Germans from defecting to the West, the 559-mile death zone divided the country, and West Berlin--the symbol of freedom residing in the center of communist-occupied East Germany--lay surrounded.

Prior to the construction of the Wall, millions of Germans fled the communist East by way of West Berlin, and while the Wall may have saved East Germany from almost certain collapse, life there would always pale in comparison to the offerings of the West.

From the inception of the Wall in August 1961 to the "meeting of the tanks"--a confrontation several months later many believe could have started the third world war--the stage is set for decades of hardship for families affected by the Eastern Bloc's last-ditch effort to save a withering German economy.

The Wall, with its 30,000 border guards and state-of-the-art technology, would later become a major player in the Cold War, both helping to stabilize central Europe during the early '60s and gradually dissipating fear of the war.

From the origins of the Cold War to German Reunification, Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall features gripping accounts of defecting soldiers and broken families as they attempt escape amidst a deadly backdrop of fear and intimidation.

Release Date: December 15, 2009, Approximate Running Time: 94 Minutes, History Channel