American soldiers leaping from an armoured personnel carrier during exercises in Korea, 17th March 1954. (Photo by Three Lions)

“The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the “death strip”) that contained anti-vehicle trenches, “fakir beds” and other defenses. The Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc officially claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the “will of the people” in building a socialist state in East Germany. However, in practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period”. – Wikipedia

Photo: West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955. (Photo by Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A Russian prisoner eating bread. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Finland, circa 1940

Two children jumping through a water hydrant's shower on a New York street. They have come from a neighbouring co-educational playgroup organised by the city's Police Department. (Photo by Orlando/Getty Images). 1950

Hot-air balloons fly over Metropolitano park during the International Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Leon, state of Guanajuato, Mexico on November 19, 2023. (Photo by Henry Romero/Reuters)

A British policewoman chasing after a group of naked street boys by the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London. (Photo by Reg Speller/Getty Images). 1926

Two guards perform an execution in China, one holding the gun, the other holding a mask over the victim's face. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images). Circa 1925

An armoured vehicle surrounded by Chicago cops at the time of the American depression, 1933. (Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images)