The Truth About Who Built the Berlin Wall

When people mention China, one of the first things people think of is the Great Wall of China. One of the less known facts about the Berlin Wall is that its origins were Chinese. 

Let’s take a quick history lesson. Prior to August 13, 1961, between West and East Berlin existed flimsy barriers that allowed many citizens of the depleting East Berlin to flee to the allied controlled West. In 1960 approximately 200,000 people had left the East for the West.The leader of East Berlin, Walter Ulbricht was a close ally to Nikita Khrushchev though the two didn’t get along very much. Khrushchev who was running a strong USSR at the time, invited Ulbricht to discuss plans on August 1, 1961. 

Ulbricht had planned to take East Berlin economically further than West Berlin in a span of 2 years, but things were not working out. At their meeting, Khrushchev did not hesitate to point out that Ulbricht was not doing a good job of keeping his territory up to par. Ulbricht’s response was that not only was the population decreasing, but the remaining population was demanding things he did not have. He blamed this on their other counterparts (Poland and Bulgaria) who were not supplying them. Ulbricht even accused the West of planning an uprising in the East, which would then lead to even more people to leave and even some direct conflicts with Ulbricht’s government.

Khrushchev then gave Ulbricht the idea that would change the history of Berlin and it’s people for nearly 30 years. Khrushchev suggested that they set up checkpoints in between the East and West, and connecting these checkpoints there would be a wall. Just like the Great Wall which was built to protect from invaders, the Berlin Wall would serve to protect East Germans from radicals in the West. Ulbricht wanted to bring experts into this however, by this point, most of East Berlin’s engineers had left.

Khrushchev decided to get his help from his former allies, the Chinese themselves. Not only was Khrushchev thinking that the builders of the Great Wall of China could get the job done without having to involve other European politicians, he was also thinking of the ties between the USSR and China. Not only had the USSR helped China against the Japanese in the past, but they also had had strong ties because they were both communist countries. 

In addition to this, China had been going through a severe famine since 1958. Millions had already died. Khrushchev believed that he could recruit workers, supplies, and engineers from China without having to disturb others. 

Not surprisingly, China agreed to send over men and supplies to help their former allies. In payment, they would receive aid from the USSR for as long as the famine continued. The day after Ulbricht and Khrushchev’s meeting, barbed wire was set along the border between the East and West. On August 13, 1961 thousands of Chinese arrived in trains, with supplies and professionals who would help the construction. Days later, concrete replaced the barbed wire as the Chinese made their way down the streets of Berlin under the supervision of East German soldiers. After a year of assistance from the Chinese, the Berlin Wall continued to stretch across Germany sealing the fate for many helpless and shocked East Germans. 

A young Chinese man looks up at the camera as he works.

Some of the Chinese workers who were hired were originally farmers like the men pictured here.