Berlin’s division is still visible from space, with the former West Berlin lit up in white and the former East Berlin in a softer yellow hue due to the use of outdated sodium vapor lamps. The city government lacks funds to install modern lighting, but the European Union is working to replace outdated lights across the continent. The Berlin Wall, which stood from 1961 to 1989, saw approximately 5,000 people flee from East Berlin to West Berlin, with 138 people killed trying to cross. The system collapsed due to a misunderstanding over new travel laws. The Wall consisted of two walls separated by a “death strip” with guard dogs, machine guns, and watchtowers.
The wall that divided East Berlin from West Berlin was torn down in 1989, effectively marking the end of the Cold War. But while the city has now been united for three decades, the streets continue to reveal Berlin’s divided history, at least when viewed from space. The western part of the city has kept pace with the times, with streetlights using modern fluorescent bulbs to light the way, but the eastern half still relies on sodium vapor lamps. The difference might seem insignificant, but if you could see the city the way astronaut Chris Hadfield saw it in a 2013 photo he took from 200 miles (322 km) above the Earth, you’d see the division as it did him: the former West Berlin lights up in white, while the former East Berlin maintains a softer yellow hue. A member of the Berlin city government told The Guardian that the city coffers did not have the funds to install modern lighting everywhere. However, equality will hopefully come soon: The European Union has been working to replace a million outdated lights across the continent.
The wall that was:
During the period of the Berlin Wall, from 1961 to 1989, approximately 5,000 people fled from East Berlin to West Berlin. 138 people are thought to have been killed trying to cross the Berlin Wall.
A misunderstanding over new travel laws prompted an East Berlin official to mistakenly allow people to cross from east to west, which soon led to the system’s collapse.
Throughout Berlin, the Wall actually consisted of two walls, separated by a 160-yard-wide (146-meter-wide) “death strip” with guard dogs, machine guns, and watchtowers.
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