The Berlin Wall & The Tunnels Beneath It

On 9 November 1989, the commander of a Berlin Wall border crossing yielded to demands and allowed guards to open the checkpoints. By the end of the day parts of the wall were being chipped off as souvenirs. In this episode, Helena Merriman takes us through the surprise overnight building of the wall which cut neighbourhoods, streets and families in half. She then takes us through the many methods of escape attempted by East Berliners. In particular, we are introduced to Joachim Rudolph who, very unusually, tunnelled back to the East after his escape in order to help others. Helena is the award-winning creator of the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 podcast, Tunnel 29, and the author of a book of the same title.

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