GDR - Wall construction - Brigade group 23.8.1961

The original press report from the GDR news agency ADN on the back of the picture reads: "Berlin 23.8.1961: After their deployment to secure the state borders, members of the brigade group from Berlin-Mitte are dismissed so that they can go back to work after a roll call on 23.8.1961 - During the roll call." The picture and text give an insight into the official representation of the events on 13 August 1961, how they were reported to the press and the people in East Germany. On 13.8.1961, the GDR started setting up street barricades with barbed wire and the construction of the Berlin Wall to separate eastern and western parts of the city. The wall was meant to stop the increasing number of people fleeing to West Berlin from the East. (Reduced quality due to age of document.