Flickering red torch was West's first warning of Berlin Wall

(Reuters) - A red torch flickered in the shadows of the Brandenburg Gate as I drove down a deserted Unter den Linden towards the main crossing point between East and West Berlin in the early hours of August 13, 1961.

It was a border policeman waving me down. He strolled casually over and declared: "I'm afraid you cannot go any further. The border is closed (Die Grenze ist geschlossen)."