10 Mind-Blowing Misconceptions About The Berlin Wall

By Chris Waugh /

10. That It Was Actually Called The Berlin Wall...

Although it is commonly known as €œThe Berlin Wall€, perhaps unsurprisingly that was not the original name given to it by East German leaders. Not only was it not given such a generic name, the German Democratic Republic€™s (East Germany€™s) authorities ensured that €“ much like the actual symbolism of a physical partition between East and West €“ it represented the difference between socialism and capitalism. It was dubbed the €œAnti-Fascist Protection Rampart€ (or €œantifaschistischer Schutzwall€ in German) when it was first erected overnight on August 13, 1961, by the East German government €“ a direct dig at the capitalist West, who Soviet propaganda liked to paint as being a mere extension of Hitler€™s fascist ideology.