hated symbols of the cold war, dividing east and west. tens of thousands soldiers were ordered out to l l the first concrete blocks that would become the berlin wall. their communists leaders told them that it would protect them from fascists. but really it was to keep their own citizens in. 3,000 people were fleeing every day. the soldiers had orders to shoot to kill. at least 136 people died trying to escape to the west. unofficial tallies are far higher. president kennedy could not stop that wall going up, but he did travel there. >> it's been unbelievable. >> reporter: it was more than two decades later. another american president issued a direct challenge. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. >> reporter: two years after those words, the wall came down. first quietly and then in a riot of celebration. peter jennings was our witness to history. >> someone actually reached up and handed me a small piece of the wall. that they had chipped away. >> reporter: the wall had come down. today, they remembered their