The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall, 1961, built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to physically divide East and West Germany, was a symbolic wall in a different conflict. Reaching about 155 kilometers in total length, the Wall ran through the city’s center as a divide between the city’s two halves. The Wall was intended to stop the tide of East German East German refugees to the more prosperous West, as well as to send home the message that there was a difference between the communist East and an increasingly democratic West.
For nearly 30 years, the Berlin Wall was a powerful symbol that communism and democracy were divorced. It was a symbolic separation which physically and psychologically stamped the distance between families, friends and the dissolution of a people. Yet on November 9, 1989 history turned dramatically, as the Wall finally fell. It wasn’t only the end of the Cold War; it was also the start of Germany’s reunification and the end of the Soviet Union.
The Path of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall followed a path curving through the capital, traversing different parts of the city and tours many of its important sites. Let’s explore some of the key locations along its route:
Bornholmer Straße
The first border crossing to open that night of November 9, 1989, was at Bornholmer Straße, a street in Prenzlauer Berg district. This was the decisive point in allowing East Germans to flow peacefully into West Berlin, triggering an avalanche that led to the collapse of the Wall.
Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie, in the Friedrichstadt district, was one of two most famous border crossings between East and West Berlin. It was a checkpoint from which diplomats, military personnel, and foreigners passed between the two parts of the city. This historic site is today a visited tourist attraction, which provides understanding of the Cold War era.
Brandenburg Gate
It is the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin, and I think it was an emblematic structure of the separation of Germany. It crossed the line that separated East and West Berlin and served as a nice reminder of how the city was split. After the fall of the Wall the Gate became a powerful symbol of German unity and reconciliation.
Berlin Wall Today
The physical Wall is no more but remnants and memorials remind us of that historic significance. Visitors to Berlin can walk along the site of the Wall and get a better feeling for the impact it had. Some notable locations to include in your visit are:
East Side Gallery
The section of the original Wall that was painted now forms part of the East Side Gallery, an open air gallery, presented with colorful murals. This iconic segment of the Wall is now in Friedrichshain and part of a brightly colored symbol of unity and artistic expression along the Spree River.
Bernauer Straße
During the division, Bernauer Straße was one of the most heavily fortified places in the district of Mitte. Today it presents a multimedia exhibition describing the history and personal stories connected to the Wall.
Mauerpark
The “death strip” that separated the two sides of the Wall once included Mauerpark, in the Prenzlauer Berg district. Nowadays it’s a popular park where people from all parts of the city and tourists gather to take part in flea markets, listen to live music or try outdoor activities.
Conclusion
If a city can be physically divided, then I guess the Berlin Wall, which clearly did so, is also an immortal symbol of the negative human spirit and of the deepest human desire to be free. The Wall itself, however, is long gone, but its historical and collective memory of Berlin continues to mean a great deal.
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